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1 of 17
3
To reduce the effects of conducted feedback we can add
3
1 2
2 1
attenuation between the gain blocks and ensure that TimeDelay
Amplifier2 TimeDelay TD2
there is adequate RF filtering (by using filter- AMP1 TD1 Delay=-1.0e-6 sec
cons/capacitive feedthru’s) as part of the DC bias net- S21=dbpolar(30,0) Delay=1.0e-6 sec Amplifier2 ZRef=50. Ohm
S11=polar(0,0) ZRef=50. Ohm AMP2
works. S22=polar(0,180) S21=dbpolar(30,0)
S12=dbpolar(0,0) S11=polar(0,0)
S22=polar(0,180)
− 10dB ⇒ Convert to power Term
Term1
S12=dbpolar(0,0) Term
Term2
- 10 Num=1 Num=2
Z=50 Ohm Z=50 Ohm
= 10 20 = 0.316
1 m1 m2
freq=6.501GHz freq=6.995GHz
dB(S(2,1))=63.297 dB(S(2,1))=57.609
64
m1
PhaseAngle = dB(S(2,1))
63
⎛ 0.316 ⎞ o
tan - 1⎜ ⎟ = 17.5
⎝ 1 ⎠ 62
61
Figure 3 Resulting signal phasor due to the intro-
duction of the feedback loop gain phasor of magni-
60
tude –10dB (which equates to a power of 0.316)
The previous example can be run on ADS [2] using the 59
S-parameter schematic shown in Figure 4. In this simu-
lation a electrical delay of 1uS has been added to give 58 m2
the circuit some frequency dependence. This is effec-
tively giving us the phase error, to cause the resulting 57
6.0 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 8.0
phasor to move around the circle of Figure 3 with fre-
freq, GHz
quency.
The resulting simulation plot is shown in Figure 5. The Figure 5 Resulting gain plot from the ADS S-
resulting phase plot would consist of a ‘saw-tooth’ re- parameter simulation shown in Figure 4, showing the
sponse between ±180 degrees. If however, we remove
Sheet
5 of 17
10
Attn =15dB
5
-5 - 15
-10 − 15dB ⇒ 10 20 = 0.18
-15 m2
m2 freq=6.699GHz
phase(S(2,1))=-18.435
-20
6.0 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 8.0 0.18
freq, GHz
Figure 9 Example circuit to show the effects of fi- S_Param TimeDelay TimeDelay
SP1 TD2 TD1
nite return losses on the gain uncertainty or Start=6 GHz Delay=2e-6 sec Delay=-2e-6 sec
gain/phase ripple. Stop=8 GHz ZRef=50. Ohm ZRef=50. Ohm
Step=
If we assume negligible transmission loss in the coaxial
Term
cable then: Term Term2
Term1 Num=2
Num=1 Z=50 Ohm
The reflected signal back from Amplifier 2 will be Z=50 Ohm Amplifier2 Amplifier2
AMP1 AMP2
S21=dbpolar(10,0) S21=dbpolar(10,0)
V1 – 16dB S11=polar(0,0) S11=dbpolar(-16,0)
S22=dbpolar(-16,180) S22=polar(0,180)
S12=dbpolar(0,0) S12=dbpolar(0,0)
(if v1 = 0dBm then reflected signal will be –16dBm.
Now this signal will get reflected back (ie double re-
flected) by amplifier 1 reduced by another 16dB ie Figure 10 S-Parameter ADS schematic to simulate ef-
fect of finite return losses. The first amplifier has been
set up to have an output return loss of –16dB, with the
V1 – 16dB-16dB second amplifier input return loss also set to –16dB.
The delay of 2us is inserted to represent coaxial cables,
(if v1 = 0dBm then doubled reflected signal will be – micro-strip etc joining the two amplifiers. The second
32dBm. delay of –2us takes out the electrical delay to leave the
phase pk-pk response after simulation.
Sheet
7 of 17
19.7
Channel/ Channel/
6.0 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 8.0 Chain1 Chain2
m3 freq, GHz m4
freq= 6.312GHz freq= 6.442GHz f1
phase(S(2,1))=1.439 phase(S(2,1))=-1.423
Phase_ripple
Eqn Phase_ripple=m3-m4
2.862
2 m3 50dB
rejection
1
m4 F1 through chain 2
-1
attenuated by 50dB
-2
6.0 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 8.0 Figure 13 Frequency response of the two-channel sys-
phase(S(2,1)) freq, GHz tem shown in Figure 12. The signal f1 is centred on
channel/chain 1 and will pass through to the output
Figure 11 Resulting gain & phase ripple plots from the largely unaffected by the chain 1 channel filter. How-
ADS simulation shown in Figure 10. The plots show ever, f1 passing through chain 2 will hit the stop-band
agreement with the hand calculations presented in the of chain 2 channel filter and will attenuate the signal
example. by 50dBc (assuming that this is the stop-band rejection
for the filter). This f1 attenuated signal together with
4.7 MULTI-PATH EFFECTS the larger unaffected f1 signal will combine at the out-
The Multi-path effect is best illustrated by the following put of the system resulting in increased gain & phase
example: ripple.
Assuming the output attenuators are set the same then the gain
f1 ripple will be:
- 50
− 50dB ⇒ 10 20 = 3.162E −3
⎛ 3.162E −3 ⎞
± tan −1 ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ = ± 0.181o = 0.36o pk − pk Eqn Ripple=m1-m2
⎝ 1 ⎠ m1 Ripple m2
freq=7.898GHz 0.054 freq=8.071GHz
dB(S(2,1))=-0.061 dB(S(2,1))=-0.116
1.0
If however the chain 1 attenuator was increased by 20dB 0.9
(So that the signal f1 was reduced by 20dB) then the 0.8
0.7
gain and phase ripple will increase: 0.6
0.5
0.4
- 30 0.3
0.2
dB(S(2,1))
− 50dB ⇒ 10 20 = 0.0316 0.1
0.0
m1
m2
-0.1
-0.2
..resulting in a gain uncertainty of: -0.3
-0.4
-0.5
20 log (1 ± 0.0316) = ± 0.27dB -0.6
-0.7
-0.8
-0.9
with a potential gain ripple of 2 x 0.27dB = 0.55dB pk- -1.0
7.4 7.6 7.8 8.0 8.2 8.4 8.6 8.8 9.0 9.2 9.4 9.6
pk.
freq, GHz
BPF_Chebyshev
Amplifier2 BPF2 Amplifier2
AMP4 Fcenter=9 GHz AMP3
S21=dbpolar(3,0)
S11=polar(0,0)
BWpass=250 MHz S21=dbpolar(3,0)
S11=polar(0,0)
Figure 16 Simulation result of the multi-path ADS sche-
Ripple=0.01 dB
S22=polar(0,180) BWstop=450 MHz S22=polar(0,180) matic of Figure 14, with attenuator ATTEN1 set to 20dB
S12=dbpolar(0,0) S12=dbpolar(0,0)
Astop=30 dB in the wanted signal path. The plot verifies that the at-
MaxRej=50 dB
tenuator will degrade the gain ripple to ~0.55pk-pk.
4.8 OUT-OF-BAND RESPONSE/REJECTION noise. Any Non-linearity’s will result in noise products
This design parameter is dominated by the system filters. appearing in the output notch band.
However, it is important to ensure that amplifier designs
do not give rise to gain peaks at lower or higher fre- This level relative to the un-notched frequency band is a
quencies. (This is important for stability considerations). measure of the non-linearity (NPR).
The positioning of the filter within the gain chain has to
be a best compromise considering the following:
Noise NPR
• Rejection of unwanted input signals at the front Power
end to avoid the need for excessive power han- Density
dling capability of subsequent stages.
• Out-of-Band noise generated in the post filter
stages. There may be a practical limit to the
post filter system output noise density.
Input Signal f Output Signal
4.9 AMPLITUDE LINEARITY/OUTPUT
POWER [4]
As an RF system is driven harder from an RF source, Figure 17 Ilustration of the Noise Power Ratio test,
then the increased RF power will gradually change the sometimes used to establish a more “traffic realistic”
gain characteristic from linear operation (for small sig- performance evaluation, resulting in the measurement
nals) to gain compression and eventually limiting. This of non-linearity (NPR).
gain compression gives rise to non-linearity.
4.9.2 Third Order Intermodulation Product
Many equipments, have to deliver a specified output Characteristics (For 2 equal carriers)
power (with a defined linearity performance) and meet When two equal RF carriers are supplied to an active
the overall DC to RF efficiency or specified DC power device it’s non-linearity’s will give rise to intermodula-
limit. tion products separated by the difference of the two
main carriers as shown in Figure 18.
This however, is not often a major problem for a single
carrier system where essentially, the gain reduces and
the efficiency can increase. -X dBc
The intermodulation measurement requires two equal 4.9.3 Linearity Assessment of Cascaded Stages
carriers to varied in power whilst measuring the differ- The first part of the assessment involves establishing the
ence in power between one of the fundamental carriers 3rd order Intermodulation charactersitics for each stage.
and one of the 3rd order intermodulation products. This can be done by studying the data sheet, CAD simu-
lation or by test if possible. For simple calculations use
Total the approximation already outlined.
Output Analyse the cumulative gains and stage output powers.
Power
(dBm)
From each stage 3rd order IM characteristic, deduce the
intermodulation ratio (dBc), using the formula:
Output Intercept Level
-(O/P Intercept power level – (Stage O/P Power) x 2
~ 10dB Then vector add (ie convert dB’s to powers, add then
1dB Gain Compression reconvert back to dB’s again) the intermodulation com-
(Output) ponents for each stage, to give an overall performance.
⎡⎛ − 46 ⎞ ⎛ − 32 ⎞⎤
⎢⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟⎥
= 20 log⎢⎜10 20 ⎟ + ⎜10 20 ⎟⎥ = - 30.42dBc
⎢⎜⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟⎥
Total Input Power (dBm) ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
⎣⎢⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠⎦⎥
Figure 19 Plots of gain compression (red curve) and 3rd
order intermodulation level (blue line) for a typical
amplifier. Figure 20 Example system used to show how to calcu-
late the overall 3rd Order Intermodulation ratio.
+
+
Reference Voltage
Attenuator Noise Factor = 1+ (x - 1)T
To
Integrator D.C Comparator
ALC loops are sometimes poorly designed. The follow- Overall Cascaded Noise Factor:
ing points should therefore be considered:
F2 − 1 F3 − 1
• Ensure that the detector input RF power is suf- F1 + + + ....etc
G1 G1.G2
ficient to minimize the DC drift effects of the
detector, comparator and integrator. The DC re-
Overall Cascaded Noise Temperature:
sistors tolerance & drift, reference & supply
voltage variations etc can all be significant.
T1 T2
• Imperfect tracking of the detector diode and T1 + + + ....etc
compensating diode over temperature, life and G1 G1.G 2
radiation environment will give errors. Life and
Radiation drift per diode can be around 2mV to An example RF chain using these equations is shown in
5mV each. Hence the differential can be as Figure 22. The operating temperature is set at 50ºC or
high as 4mZ to 10mV. 323ºK
• The detector characteristic changes between
single carrier and multi-carrier operation when
working at higher levels.
• Ensure loop stability by making the integrator
time constant dominant.
• Ensure loop stability by making the integrator
time constant dominant.
• Be sure to “current drive” the PIN diode at-
tenuator if used.
4.12.3 Intermodulation Products [4] • Mixers are usually specified (by the manufac-
Third order intermodulation products have been dis- turer) for 50-ohm broadband terminations.
cussed in section 4.9.2, however higher order products This usually gives the best linearity perform-
can be a problem as the example in Figure 24 shows. ance. So in reality actual performance will be
The amplifier will generate harmonics of the input fre- worse!!
quency if driven into compression. These harmonics will • An isolator at the LO input is not necessarily
‘mix’ in the mixer with harmonics of the Local oscillator the best solution. They are often relatively nar-
frequency, that are generated in the mixer as a large LO row-band and give poor return loss at the
power is often required to sufficiently switch the mixer. higher order frequencies.
• A low value resistive attenuator can often im-
Input range = prove performance (but be careful to ensure
5950MHz to that the LO drive is still sufficient).
6050MHz
• Mixer/filter interfaces can be troublesome.
Higher products will be reflected back to the
mixer at some arbitrary phase, therefore, use a
Lo = 4500MHz Pass-band of filter = circuit with a broad-band match eg a diplexer.
1450Mhz to 1550MHz
• Watch out for “fortuitous” nulling at bread-
- (2 x 6025) + (3 x 4500) = 1450 board level that cannot be consistently re-
- (5 x 6010) + (7 x 4500) = 1450 peated.
+(4 x 5990) - (5 x 4500) = 1460 All in band signals !!
+(7 x 6000) - (9 x 4500) = 1500
LO = 1500MHz +10dB
At +10dBm
-20
LO2 Spurious LO2 = 1510MHz
-25 ~ +10 – 25 – 15 = -30dBm
Fc = 150MHz
-30
-35
-40
-45
1500MHz Leakage
-50 Fc = 150MHz
say –15dB
-55
Input range =
-60 1650MHz to
1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 1660MHz
• Brehmsstrahlung level will limit practical driver/parameter was described and illustrated with ex-
screening, therefore select a ‘harder’ compo- amples, verified by ADS simulations where applicable.
nent and/or use a circuit that is more tolerant to Where possible solutions to potential design pitfalls
drift. were given, together with general guidance on ensuring
a compliant design. It was noted however, there will be
5 SYSTEM APPROACH CHECKLIST design trade-offs between certain key parameters (eg
Finally here is a list of the main things to consider as linearity and power consumption, noise figure and
part of the equipment design: gain/attenuation etc.
• Be aware of the Project Requirements, ensure
that you fully understand what the equipment is Finally, a checklist of the main points to consider during
to do and the definitions of it’s parameters. the design process was given, which could form the ba-
• Establish a functional block diagram (Include sis of a design/peer review.
redundancy if necessary) – based upon the
functional analysis.
• Check to see if the is a single part failure and if 7 REFERENCES
so is there a way of designing it out? Some cus- [1] ADS – Advanced Design System, Agilent Technolo-
tomers may permit simple passive single part gies, http://eesof.tm.agilent.com/
failures but they are best avoided. [2] Pekka Eskelinen, Introduction to RF Equipment and
• Examine closely to ensure that a failure does System Design, Artech House, 2004, ISBN 1-58053-
not jeopardize a redundant circuit – For exam- 665-4.
ple don’t rely on a good input match from a
failed amplifier! [3] M.M Radmanesh, Radio frequency and Microwave
• Incorporate existing hardware designs if possi- Electronics (Ilustrated), Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN 0-13-
ble in order to minimize cost and reduce risk. 027958-7, p473.
• Divide the whole equipment into lower level
assemblies. [4] Devendra.K.Mistra, Radio Frequency & Microwave
- Divide the technologies where sensible (For engi- Communication Circuits: Analysis & Design, John
neering disciplines). Wiley & Sons, 2001, ISBN 0-471-41253-8, Chapter 2
- Ease of testing (Provide intermediate test monitor [5] Mini-Circuits, P.O.Box 350166, Brooklyn, NY
points to minimize the number of sub-assemblies). 11235 U.S.A, http://www.minicircuits.com.
- Minimize the number of different module or cir-
cuit designs.
- Design the equipment for ease of manufacturing.
• Produce simple short-form specifications
for each functional block, in order to make
the design more controllable.
• Involve Mechanical & Production engi-
neering at an early stage – Ensure that eve-
ry body buys into the scheme, to avoid
manufacturing and processing difficulties.
• Be very cautious with new parts.
- Don’t be influenced by salespersons over–enthusiastic
claims.
- Do the offered engineering samples truly represent the
production item performance?
- Avoid single sourcing if possible.
- Don’t place unrealistic requirements on the part sup-
plier as it can increase risk!
6 CONCLUSION
This tutorial described the typical parameters specified
by customers for RF equipments in the form of the
‘Equipment Specifications’ that includes electrical, me-
chanical and environmental performance. Each design