Note: This unit is an archived version! See Overview tab for delivered versions.
ELEC5403: Radio Frequency Engineering (2017 - Semester 1)
| Unit: | ELEC5403: Radio Frequency Engineering [not offered in 2021] (6 CP) |
| Mode: | Normal-Day |
| On Offer: | Yes |
| Level: | Postgraduate |
| Faculty/School: | School of Electrical & Computer Engineering |
| Unit Coordinator/s: |
Dr Lin, Zihuai
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| Session options: | Semester 1 |
| Versions for this Unit: | |
| Site(s) for this Unit: |
| Campus: | Camperdown/Darlington |
| Pre-Requisites: | None. |
| Brief Handbook Description: | This unit of study builds upon earlier work and provides an introduction to radio frequency components and systems used in wireless and satellite communications as well as in other high frequency applications. It assumes some knowledge of: basic circuit analysis; semiconductor device models and behaviour; transistor operation as switches and amplifiers; transistor operation as current sources and current mirrors; differential amplifiers. The following topics are covered: RF circuit element models, high-frequency effects and biasing in active devices, transmission lines and the Smith Chart, RF system characteristics, RF amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, power amplifiers, microwave measurements. |
| Assumed Knowledge: | Students will be expected to be familiar with ELEC3404 - Electronic Circuit Design , ELEC3104 - Engineering Electromagnetics and the third year course in Circuit Design: ELEC3105 - Circuit Theory and Design. |
| Lecturer/s: |
Dr JAMES, GEOFFREY
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| Timetable: | ELEC5403 Timetable | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time Commitment: |
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| T&L Activities: | Lecture: Takes place in the 4th level Lecture Theatre starting at 0900 on Thursdays Laboratory: The formal Laboratory session commences at 1400 on Thursday. Students are encouraged to amke self use of the laboratory at all other times during the week when the lab is open. |
Attributes listed here represent the key course goals (see Course Map tab) designated for this unit. The list below describes how these attributes are developed through practice in the unit. See Learning Outcomes and Assessment tabs for details of how these attributes are assessed.
| Attribute Development Method | Attribute Developed |
| Ability to understand and apply the variety of available `matching` techniques and when to apply them. | Design (Level 4) |
| Ability to understand stability criteria of active circuits and use this to design transistor amplifiers and transistor oscillators. Ability to formulate and fully understand the application of `Scattering Parameters` of two ports (including active transistor circuits). Ability to understand Transmission Line operation at Radio Frequencies. |
Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 4) |
| The Laboratory work is presented in the form of a detailed Logbook. | Communication (Level 2) |
| Group interaction in the Laboratory to tackle testing design challenges. | Project and Team Skills (Level 2) |
For explanation of attributes and levels see Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table.
Learning outcomes are the key abilities and knowledge that will be assessed in this unit. They are listed according to the course goal supported by each. See Assessment Tab for details how each outcome is assessed.
Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 4)
1. Ability to analyse and design solutions for RF specified systems up to Microwave frequencies using principles and techniques presented.
2. Proficiency in applying the available 'matching' techniques using clearly defined approaches.
3. Ability to demonstrate an understanding of transmission line operation at radio frequencies using concepts and principles presented throughout the course.
4. Ability to formulate the application of 'Scattering Parameters' for two ports (including active transistor circuits) using principles and techniques developed throughout the course.
5. Ability to design transistor amplifiers and oscillators using stability criteria of active circuits to the extent of the material presented.
Maths/Science Methods and Tools (Level 4)
6. Ability to demonstrate an understanding of fundamental theories which apply over the broad RF area.
Information Seeking (Level 2)
7. Ability to undertake inquiry and knowledge development by firstly identifying the limitations of the current knowledge and then drawing on varied sources and media formats, selecting and synthesising the information most pertinent to the specific subject of RF systems.
Communication (Level 2)
8. Ability to write and keep up to date a logbook to communicate technical engineering activities such as design, measurements and analysis in a clear, coherent and chronological order, maintaining a professional record of work carried out thus far.
Project and Team Skills (Level 2)
9. Ability to work in a team sharing the load through clearly defined roles, drawing on the knowledge and skill of others through receptiveness to their opinions, while contributing constructively towards tackling design and testing challenges in a laboratory environment.
| Assessment Methods: |
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| Assessment Description: |
Log Book: Students are required to log their progress through the laboratory program. This is reviewed in Week 6 of the Semester and feedback commentary is provided. The completed book is then finally assessed at the end of the Semester. Final Exam: The Examination is a `Closed Book` format (NB this is different to previous years) and a summary of necessary equations, graphs, and constants will be provided. |
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| Grading: |
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| Policies & Procedures: | See the policies page of the faculty website at http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/student-policies/ for information regarding university policies and local provisions and procedures within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies. |
| Prescribed Text/s: |
Note: Students are expected to have a personal copy of all books listed.
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| Recommended Reference/s: |
Note: References are provided for guidance purposes only. Students are advised to consult these books in the university library. Purchase is not required.
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| Online Course Content: | www.eelab.usyd.edu.au/ELEC5403 |
| Note on Resources: |
Each Lecture (including all diagrams that are used) will be subsequently published on the course website. The 'PUFF' program plus all example progrmas developed with it will be provided. Powerpoint 'Movies' illustrating the performance of a transmission line with a mismatched will be provided. |
Note that the "Weeks" referred to in this Schedule are those of the official university semester calendar https://web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp
| Week | Description |
| Week 1 | Introduction - the challenge of working at Radio Frequencies. |
| Week 2 | Transmission Line Theory and introduction to 'Smith' charts. |
| Week 3 | Detailed Smith chart development. Introduction to impedance matching. The "PUFF" computer program. |
| Week 4 | More on stub matching. Two stub 'tuners'. Quarter Wave matching. 'High - Low' matching. The effect of a mismatched source. Two port parameters. The development of "S" parameters. |
| Week 5 | Review of transistor amplifiers and bias configurations. The biassing of transistors at RF frequencies. Introduction to RF transistor design. |
| Week 6 | The use of "S" parameters to assess circuit stability. Applying feedback to two ports. Introduction to 'Flow' graphs and their application. |
| Week 7 | Developing the performance of RF transistor amplifiers. |
| Week 8 | The design of a complete RF receiver. Introduction/review of filter design. |
| Week 9 | RF filter design. |
| Week 10 | Coupled line filters. Directional couplers. |
| Week 11 | Introduction to RF oscillator design. |
| Week 12 | The complete development of a practical RF oscillator. |
| Week 13 | Course review/Revision. Specific query responses. |
| Assessment Due: Log Book | |
| STUVAC (Week 14) | Detailed feedback responses are provided on the web page to specific problem queries up until the night before the examination. |
| Exam Period | The students are permitted to take their practical laboratory notebook in to the examination and are required to submit it for assessment at the conclusion of the examination. |
| Assessment Due: Final Exam |
Course Relations
The following is a list of courses which have added this Unit to their structure.
Course Goals
This unit contributes to the achievement of the following course goals:
| Attribute | Practiced | Assessed |
| Design (Level 4) | Yes | 0% |
| Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 4) | Yes | 86.66% |
| Maths/Science Methods and Tools (Level 4) | No | 3.33% |
| Information Seeking (Level 2) | No | 3.33% |
| Communication (Level 2) | Yes | 3.33% |
| Project and Team Skills (Level 2) | Yes | 3.33% |
These goals are selected from Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table which defines overall goals for courses where this unit is primarily offered. See Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table for details of the attributes and levels to be developed in the course as a whole. Percentage figures alongside each course goal provide a rough indication of their relative weighting in assessment for this unit. Note that not all goals are necessarily part of assessment. Some may be more about practice activity. See Learning outcomes for details of what is assessed in relation to each goal and Assessment for details of how the outcome is assessed. See Attributes for details of practice provided for each goal.
