EE 432 - UHF and Microwave Engineering

Designation:

Senior/Grad-level technical elective for Electrical Engineering students

Catalog Data:

Transmission line and waveguide characteristics and components: design of UHF-microwave amplifiers, oscillators and filters: measurement techniques: design projects.

Prerequisites by topic:

1. An understanding of transmission lines and characteristic impedance
2. Familiarity with laboratory equipment such as oscilloscope
3. Basic concepts of antenna and propagation of plane waves
4. Use of PSPICE for electronic circuit analysis and design
5. Linear analysis of two-port impedance and admittance parameters

Course Objectives:

1. Use Smith charts to calculate reflection coefficients and impedance.
2. Microstrip layout and analysis of amplifiers, oscillators and couplers.
3. Matching networks and S parameter description of active devices.
4. Design amplifiers and oscillators and characterize their stability and performance.
5. Noise figure and dynamic range of amplifiers and oscillatory.
6. Waveguides, modes, filters and microwave system analysis.

Topics:

1. Complex impedance calculations with transmission line lengths (2 classes).
2. Smith chart and S parameters in system analysis for matching (3 classes).
3. Noise and dynamic range characterization of amplifiers (2 classes).
4. Matching networks for gain, bandwidth and stability (3 classes).
5. Design of microwave amplifiers for gain and stability (4 classes).
6. Oscillator design, stability and dielectric resonators (3 classes).
7. Dividers, couplers, Wilkinson, quadrature and Lange couplers (4 classes).
8. Mixers, switches and MMIC (3 classes).
9. Project presentations and discussions (2 classes).
10. Review and overview of materials (2 classes)

Class Schedule:

Two 75-minute lectures and one 2-hour laboratory per week.

Computer Usage:

1. Microwave Office is used for homework and laboratory exercises during the semester.
2. Microwave Office and word processor used for formal technical reports on group projects.
3. Power Point used for class project presentations.

Laboratory projects and excercises:

1. Students complete four laboratory projects that demonstrate network analyzer measurements. Students are required to maintain laboratory notebooks and submit them for grade at mid-semester. Technical writing and maintaining lab notebook as well as working in groups are part of satisfying 15 % of the grade.
2. Laboratory projects involve using the spectrum analyzer and noise figure meter to understand amplifier design techniques and performance. Concepts developed in class are demonstrated and reinforced.
3. Microwave Office is used to analyze microwave amplifiers to familiarize students with capabilities for design and development. Student projects are expected to follow on and develop the amplifier capabilities and performance.

Contribution to meeting the professional component:

This course builds on the electronic circuit design in EE 310 and the PSPICE usage for circuit analysis. The electromagnetic analysis follows fields in EE 330. Topics in microwave amplifiers relate to economic and manufacturability concepts in global competition.

Relationship to program outcomes:

1. Graduates will understand how to analyze and design simple microwave circuits. [Ref: Outcome O.2.1.]
2. Graduates will have attained computer proficiency. [Ref: Outcome O.1.3.]
3. Graduates will have teamwork skills. [Ref: Outcome O.5.1.]
4. Graduates will possess oral and written communication skills. [Ref: Outcome O.5.2.]