Wireless Transceiver Design Techniques

Course 199

Summary:

This 5-day course provides technical professionals with the design concepts and development tools required to architect RF transceivers for most wireless applications. The course is intended for working engineers that are in the design, test or support phase of new transceiver technology. A complete understanding of design concepts CAD techniques and system level testing will be covered. Also, Critical system specifications will be discussed based on worldwide standards and an in-depth review of transceiver configurations will be evaluated. The use of RF simulation tools will be used to show design concepts and the trade-offs between modulation techniques and RF performance. The latest RFIC chip sets will be discussed along with the future of RFIC technology.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing the course, the participant will be able to:

Identify the critical RF parameters required in wireless transceiver technology
Describe digital modulation techniques and their effects on RF performance
Develop detailed receiver and transmitter specifications using RF simulation and link budget tools
Understand the trade-offs of different transceiver architectures
Develop test platforms for transceivers to meet worldwide standards

Target Audience:

A BSEE or equivalent experience is required along with a good understanding of RF fundamentals.

Outline:

Day One

Wireless Standards and Design Specifications
• Overview of wireless standards : - GSM, CDMA2000, WCDMA, etc. - 802.11a/b/g, WLAN - 802.15.1 Bluetooth - 802.15.4 WPAN (ZigBee) - iDEN, GPS • Transmitter and receiver block diagrams, performance parameters and limitations • System Specifications : CDMA 2000, GSM/EDGE, GSM/GPRS, GSM/WCDMA, 802.11,Bluetooth, iDEN, GPS • Design Complexities and trade-offs : spectral efficiency Vs power efficiency, architectures, cost, applications etc. • Complex digital modulation techniques and their effects on RF performance parameters • Next generation technologies, digital signal processing, multifunctional/multistandard software defined radios • Defining Eb/No, BER, SNR, noise bandwidth density, etc. • The RF performance of a system defined by the probability of bit error • Signal and noise power spectral densities • Maximum data capacity in GSM and CDMA cellular systems., understanding Shannon’s law for maximizing data rates • Common mode Vs differential mode noise analysis • Design techniques for multistandard radio systems • CMOS, GaAs HBT , gallium nitride (GaN) and the latest device technologies

Day Two

Receiver Architectures and Design Techniques
• Receiver noise, antenna noise, noise power, noise factor and noise figure • Important receiver parameters : Receiver sensitivity, minimum detectable signal (MDS), Single carrier and spurious free dynamic range (SFDR), Intermodulation distortion products (IIP2, IIP3,) , cascaded overall intercept point, Internal blocking and desensitization, blocking specifications for GSM and CDMA handhelds, Selectivity, Cross modulation, Image rejection • Receiver Types : Superheterodyne (multiconversion), Zero IF/Low IF, Software defined, I-Q base band down conversion • A/D considerations, high dynamic range. Low power consumption • Multistandard system integration techniques • CAD and link budget analysis, different design approaches

Day Three

Transmitter Architectures and Modulation Techniques
• Transmitter Architectures and trade-offs, direct conversion, two-step, hybrid designs • Nonlinearities, efficiency, power added efficiency (PAE), gain compression • AM to AM and AM to PM conversion, class of operation • Modulation types, FM GMSK, BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK, GSM, p/4 DPSK, QAM, 8PSK, OFDMA etc. • Large signal polar modulation • Modulators/demodulators, base band filtering techniques • Design Examples

Day Four

Multistandard System Integration Design Techniques
• Multifunctional switches, duplexers, antennas • Review of one-port, parameters • Cascaded connections and de-embedding • Mixed Mode S-parameters • Converting single ended S-parameters to mixed mode S-parameters • Balanced Vs single ended design requirements • Optimum PCB layout techniques, modeling • De-embedding front end losses : baluns, filters, switches, etc. • Transceiver packaging parasitics

Day Five

Transceiver Design Examples and Measurement Requirements
• Spreadsheet-based linear systems analysis • Effects of changing the gain, intercept point, filtering and power levels • Peak to Average power ratio • EVM, ACPR, I/Q amplitude phase imbalance • SINAD, sensitivity, BER • RF to base band measurements, (noise figure, dynamic range, gain, etc) • Over the air (OTA) and total radiated power (TRP) measurements • Intelligent power management , longer talk time • Overview of RFIC transceiver chip sets

Subject Areas Covered

RF Systems Integration/Transceiver Architecture

Check the above links for other courses that may interest you based on subject matter.