WIRELESS CIRCUIT AND SYSTEM DESIGN: A NEW UNDERGRADUATE LABORATORY

Paul G. Flikkema, Lawrence P. Dunleavy, Horace C. Gordon, Rudolf E. Henning and Thomas M. Weller Department of Electrical Engineering University of South Florida Tampa, Florida USA

Abstract | This paper describes an innovative new in-

tegrated lecture laboratory course for electrical engineering juniors. The course, designed as the second course in a year-long sequence in electromagnetics, brings to life fundamental principles of electromagnetics through study of the circuit, signal, and system concepts used in today's wireless communication systems. The course is taught in a new lab whose state-of-the-art fabrication, measurement, and computing facilities provide hands-on experience in design, measurement, analysis, and simulation of circuits and systems.

acquire the skills necessary to utilize modern engineering tools, including instrumentation and computer-aided-engineering CAE software. An overall goal of this course is to help students to improve their engineering skills|problem solving, critical thinking, design, and teaming|that they will need throughout their careers. The pedagogical antecedents of this course include a number of engineering education reform e orts. Course development e orts by the Synthesis Coalition 1 employ aspects of case study, dissection, and discovery by experiment that we employ. Our e ort is also grounded in studies speci c to the discipline 2 . The technical perspective builds on previous e orts in the microwave RF circuits area 3, 4, 5 , and re ects developments in integrated electronics and their impact on wireless receiver design 6 . To our best knowledge, this course is unique in its integration of circuit and systems engineering fundamentals. The instructional methodology is patterned on a model for new product development that allows the use of structured learning and encourages open-ended problem solving. One of the primary elements of this approach involves having the student gain an understanding of how a current product or system operates, e.g., a 930 MHz paging unit. We introduce the concept of system block diagrams, stress the signi cance of system engineering, and reveal how characteristics of individual components a ect the overall system performance. During the semester, students are exposed to circuit design, fabrication, and measurement. Concurrently, fundamentals of communication theory are examined and critical interdependencies between signals and circuits aspects are highlighted e.g., loss, dispersion, bandwidth. The new course is o ered in a dedicated facility called the Wireless and Microwave Instruction WAMI Laboratory. The lab consists of ve student workstations and one instructor workstation. Since students can use the instructor workstation also available for senior design projects, we can accommodate 12 students per lab section.

2. BACKGROUND

Engineering educators must equip students with the fundamental knowledge required to build productive careers that span several generations of technology. At the same time, today's environment calls for immediate on-thejob productivity and the ability for engineers to work in quickly changing teams. Finally, we must also motivate engineering students to learn the fundamentals through relevant hands-on experience. As part of an e ort to improve the undergraduate curriculum in electrical engineering at the University of South Florida, we created, and o ered for the rst time in Spring of 1997, a new course called Wireless Circuits and Systems Design Laboratory. This course was designed from the outset to achieve all of these goals. The technical content of the course and the laboratory instrumentation are designed to help students grasp signal, system, and circuit aspects of modern wireless systems. This rapidly growing area includes personal communication networks, intelligent transportation systems, and other applications that employ micro- and millimeter-wave frequency bands. Speci cally, the objectives of the course are for students to: develop knowledge of the principles of wireless systems and circuits and the relationships between them, gain practical experience in circuit and systems engineering techniques; and
PARTIAL SUPPORT FOR THIS WORK WAS PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S DIVISION OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION THROUGH GRANT DUE9650529 AND A HEWLETT-PACKARD EQUIPMENT GIFT.


1. INTRODUCTION

3. THE WAMI LABORATORY FACILITY

A breakdown of the instrumentation into student workstation, instructor workstation, and shared equipment is given in Table 1. To achieve a balance of emphasis between circuits and signals, each student station features both a vector network analyzer VNA and a spectrum analyzer. Thus the lab provides for signal analysis as well as vector network analysis of circuits in the frequency domain. The other major instrument at each workstation is a digitizing oscilloscope for time-domain signal measurements. For economy, each of two signal sources is shared by three workstations, with appropriate ampli cation and bu ering. Measured data from the workstation instrumentation can be acquired for computer processing and presentation using GPIB interfaces and vendor-provided instrument control software. The design emphasis of the course is strengthened signi cantly with the computer numerically-controlled circuit board milling machine. It allows fabrication of the students' own designs e.g., lters and matching networks, providing students the opportunity to characterize the performance of their circuits using the VNA. Also located in the lab are benches for minor circuit assembly, soldering, and inspection. Integral to laboratory are high performance personal computers with full networking capability. Resident software includes Hewlett Packard's Unix-based Communications Design Suite CDS CAE software for system design, layout and analysis, and PC-resident H-P Series IV Libra for design, layout and analysis, of microwave circuits. Other software includes MathCAD for general signal analysis and basic circuit design and spreadsheets for data reduction and plotting. We also have X11 software on all PC's so that students have access to their Unix accounts and applications. Finally, Netscape Navigator is available for web browsing, including the extensive information available on the the course web site. In addition to the Pentium PC's located at each workstation, the lab has a dedicated 64-bit UltraSparc server to maximize performance when the students are using the CDS system modeling and simulation software. All computers are networked using a switched Ethernet hub. To allow for growth in the future, all network components can be easily upgraded to support 100 Mb s data transfers. All USF undergraduate electrical engineering students must complete a senior design project prior to graduation. Typically, a project in the microwave and or wireless area is a fabricated and tested hybrid microwave integrated circuit e.g., ampli er or oscillator, a fabrication-ready monolithic microwave integrated circuit MMIC design, or a CAE-assisted system design and analysis. The WAMI laboratory instrumentation provides the latest tools for these projects. In particular, the instructor senior design workstation provides additional capability for this use due to its higher performance equipment up to 6 GHz. To support senior design project e orts and for WAMI Lab demonstrations, we also have the Ansoft Strata electromagnetic simulator available on each of the PCs. We expect that senior design project students will develop and test new

Student Workstation

3 GHz Vector Network Analyzer 2.9 GHz Spectrum Analyzer 400 MHz Digital Oscilloscope Networked Pentium PC Digital Multimeter Power Supply Instructor 6 GHz Vector Network Analyzer Senior Design 6.5 GHz Spectrum Analyzer Workstation 400 MHz Oscilloscope Networked Pentium PC Digital Multimeter Power Supply Shared Unix Workstation Server Instrumentation Circuit Board Milling Machine 2 GHz RF Signal Generators 2 Laser Printer

Table 1. Laboratory instrumentation. There are ve student workstations and one instructor senior design workstation.
experiments and system demonstrations for the Wireless Circuits and Systems Design Laboratory. One of the strengths of the new laboratory is its integration of both systems and circuits aspects of wireless communication engineering. However, a possible concern is the relatively high initial cost of the equipment. One solution would be to assign more than two students to each bench. However, we strongly believe that this seriously dilutes the hands-on learning that characterizes the lab. There are two alternate approaches that could be used to lower costs signi cantly while preserving the lab's mission. Probably the simplest is to reduce the capability of the instrumentation: while our network and spectrum analyzers are capable of measurements at up to 3 GHz, reducing this to 2 GHz would trim their costs by at least 25. The second option is to delete the VNA from each bench and augment each spectrum analyzer with a tracking generator. In this way, the spectrum analyzer becomes a tool for scalar network analysis as well as for signal analysis. Finally, a third approach is to selectively delete instrumentation and tailor the experiments accordingly, e.g., focus on either spectrum or network analysis. The Wireless Circuits and Systems Design Lab, a two semester credit-hour course, is the second in a two-course junior-level sequence in electromagnetics; the rst is Introduction to Electromagnetics four credit-hours. This sequence replaces a sequence consisting of two three-hour lecture courses and a one credit-hour laboratory. In addition to Introduction to Electromagnetics, the prerequisites for the Wireless Circuits and Systems Design Lab are completion of two other courses: Network Analysis and Design, and Electronics I. The course has an integrated lecture lab format. Each

4. COURSE OVERVIEW

week starts with a one-hour lecture to all students, where key technical material is presented on a just-in-time basis to equip students with understanding of the fundamental concepts as well as the requisite practical knowledge to perform the laboratory that week. We also have either a pre-lab assignment or a quiz at the beginning of the lab session so that students can start quickly in the lab sections. A laboratory manual detailing each experiment serves as the course text. The manual, in addition to the tutorial material from the lectures and laboratory procedures, includes a number of procedures that students can refer to as needed. Examples include instrument calibration, measurement set-up, and data acquisition procedures. In addition to printed copies, a HTML version of the lab manual is available via a link from the course web page. This approach allows students to call up information via the web browser on each workstation's PC, or from home. As mentioned in the introduction, one of the objectives of the course is to develop students' teaming skills. However, in order to maximize the hands-on learning experience for each student, we believe that no more than two students should be at each workstation. We have found that we can adhere to this policy, while still promoting teaming skills, by assigning partners at random and rotating partners several times during the semester. To establish an atmosphere of cooperation early in the semester, Lab 2 System Modeling and Simulation is divided into two portions. In the rst portion, one student sits at the keyboard and is coached through the procedure by his her partner. At roughly the two-hour mark, students trade roles and repeat the procedure. Using this approach, both students also get a solid, handson introduction to the software package while setting up their individual accounts for the semester. Finally, teamwork is also encouraged using the E-Teams described below. For the rst o ering of the course, a team of three faculty members shared the lecturing, and had primary roles in the development of the experiments. We also arranged our schedules so that one faculty member was present at all times during the laboratory sessions. In addition, we had one graduate teaching assistant GTA assigned to each laboratory session, and an additional graduate student provided assistance in the use of the CNC milling machine for fabrication of the students' designs. We believe that, after the usual start-up investment, the laboratory will require the amount of time both faculty and GTA appropriate for a 2 credit-hour laboratory. The technical level of this laboratory places relatively high requirements on the expertise of GTA's. One advantage we had was the availability of a pool of graduate students with strong backgrounds and expertise in microwave circuits and systems. The organization of the laboratory exercises is built upon a cohesive study of the foundations of wireless circuits

Lab Description 1 Frequency- and Time-Domain Representations of Sinusoidal Signals 2 System Modeling and Simulation 3 Introduction to RF Subsystems for Wireless 4 VNA Circuit Characterization 5 Lumped-Element Filter Design 6 Impedance Matching 7 Distributed Lowpass Filter 8 Microstrip Coupled-Line Coupler Mixer 9 Frequency Conversion 10 Modulation 11 Planar Antennas 12 System Integration and Test

Table 2. Chronological list of laboratory assignments.

and systems. These concepts are re ected in the title of each laboratory, and are bound together by their relationships to the complete system. In this sense, the block diagram of the receiver shown in Figure 1 essentially functions as the course syllabus, with selected blocks becoming the topic of each laboratory exercise. As mentioned earlier, the laboratory assignments weave together circuit, signal, and system concepts: for example, by the time students construct a simple mixer, they have already studied its role in frequency translation for heterodyne receiver designs. An overview of the individual laboratory experiments is provided in Table 2. A normal 15 week semester consists of the 12 labs listed. This is because two of the laboratories each extend over two lab sessions. In both of these labs, the rst week consists of design of a circuit and performance characterization by simulation. Between the two sessions, the students' designs are fabricated using the CNC circuit milling machine. When the students arrive for the second session, they are given their machined designs and proceed with nal assembly e.g., connectorizing and measurement. This process gives students invaluable experience in the design process, including exposure to the di erence between simulated characteristics and actual measured data. Course evaluation will primarily rely on two sources: students in the course and an external advisory board. The students are surveyed periodically during the course to determine the e ectiveness of the course pedagogy. To ensure valuable feedback, we have established studentrun evaluation teams E-Teams consisting of volunteers from each lab section. The E-Team members solicit comments and suggestions from all other students and work together to prepare evaluations of the instructors, labs, and the course. This information will supplement the standard, university-required student course evaluation near the end of the course. The external com-

6. EVALUATION

5. COURSE ORGANIZATION

Lab 11 Antenna Lab 6 Lab 4 Lab 7

Labs 8,9 LO Lab 5 Labs 8,9 Lab 10 Data Out

Match

Amp Pre-Select Filter

Mixer Labs 2,3,12

IF Filter

Demod. LO Mixer

Communications System

Figure 1. Receiver block diagram with associated laboratory sessions.

mittee, called the WAMI Advisory Council, is assisting the faculty team by reviewing course materials, suggesting changes in response to technological developments, and assessing the course's e ectiveness. This committee consists primarily of representatives from the wireless systems and components industry. The impact of this new lab in developing skilled wireless engineers was unanimously voiced at the rst meeting of the WAMI Advisory Council held in April 1997. All council members applauded the systematic, handson approach of the experiments as well as their utilization of modern, industry-standard tools. Today's evershortening product design cycle times reduces the time available for training of newly-hired graduates. The board members remarked that entry-level engineers with the skills emphasized in this lab will be prepared to contribute immediately to product design and development, giving them an advantage over typical students who need several months of training. We have described an innovative undergraduate laboratory course that gives students an opportunity to develop a range of critical engineering skills. The course, along with its state-of-the-art laboratory, is unique in its integration of circuit- and system-level concepts and its capability to give students hands-on experience with modern tools. Further information can be found on the web at http: www.eng.usf.edu WAMI. Though student evaluation results are preliminary, students are unanimously positive about this new course. We believe that students are motivated in large part by the awareness that it provides them with an excellent hands-on introduction to the modern engineering tools used in the rapidly growing eld of wireless communication. We also believe that they get invaluable exposure to principles and applications of electromagnetics that will serve them both in subsequent courses and after graduation. 1 Synthesis Coalition, The synthesis strategic plan." 2 3 4 5 6 WWW: http: www-synthesis.stanford.edu , July 1995. R. E. Henning and L. P. Dunleavy, Educating microwave engineers in the United States," IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 41, pp. 913 919, June July 1993. R. R. Spencer and G. Worstell, A spectrum analyzer laboratory project," IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 36, pp. 301 306, Aug. 1993. P. H. Young, Microstrip design laboratory," IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 34, pp. 113 117, Feb. 1991. E. F. Owen, Microwave laboratory experiments using computer-aided test," IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. E-30, pp. 191 194, Aug. 1987. A. Adibi, Low-power radio frequency IC's for portable communications," Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 83, pp. 544 569, Apr. 1995.

7. CONCLUDING REMARKS

REFERENCES