ELT-41727 Practical RF Electronics: First Principles Applied, 5 cr
Additional information
This course is an introduction to radio frequency design. It shows how the most fundamental building blocks of RF electronics can easily be understood, constructed, and tested in practice. We also review mathematical tools needed therein.
This course is composed of in-class and out-of-class tasks that provide elementary understanding that is the basis of all RF design. In most tasks students work in small teams and build basic RF circuits on solderless breadboard and test their operation. These building blocks evolve gradually from simple blocks such as a transistor amplifier into oscillators, modulators, mixers, and complete transmitters. Hands-on tasks include also antennas, filters, and demodulators.
Students get on loan a 'mini-lab' that comprises (1) electronic components; namely transistors, resistors, capacitors, and inductors; (2) a solderless breadboard; and (3) a myDAQ that is a small-size USB-device that operates, for instance, as an oscilloscope, signal generator, and digital multimeter. With the 'mini-lab' students are able to rehearse with the ideas and concepts that are applied in construction of a simple but fully functional 18-MHz radio transmitter.
Person responsible
Jari Kangas, Mikko Valkama, Olli-Pekka Lunden
Lessons
| Implementation | Period | Person responsible | Requirements |
| ELT-41727 2017-01 | 1 |
Jari Kangas Olli-Pekka Lunden |
Attending lab sessions, completing succesfully related pre/posttasks. Succesfully completed assignments. |
Learning Outcomes
After completing the course * student is aware of limitations of conventional circuit analysis, understands needs for high frequency component models, and is able to apply high-frequency, small-signal models to circuit analysis. * student can apply basic linear and nonlinear RF component models and use related mathematical tools. * student can explain how electromagnetic wave phenomena is inherent in design and analysis of electronic devices at radio frequencies. * student is able to construct simple electronic devices using breadboards and explain how their basic properties can be tested. * student is able to identify different types of antennas, and, he or she can explain meaning of basic antenna properties.
Content
| Content | Core content | Complementary knowledge | Specialist knowledge |
| 1. | Review of circuit analysis and related mathematical tools | Orthogonality, normalization in functional spaces. Principles of deriving the Fourier series, i.e. use of orthogonality and error minimization. | |
| 2. | Small signal modeling, basic high frequency component models. | Local linearization principle. | |
| 3. | Basics of EM waves, properties of elementary antennas. | ||
| 4. | Basic building blocks of transmitter-receiver systems: transistor amplifier circuit to oscillators, modulators, mixers, filters, and antennas. Construction of basic RF circuits. Overview of typical RF design principles. |
Instructions for students on how to achieve the learning outcomes
Students' activity is important for benefitting from the labworks. The tasks are intended to activate students to study throughout the course and hence support their learning.
Assessment scale:
Evaluation scale passed/failed will be used on the course
Partial passing:
Correspondence of content
| Course | Corresponds course | Description |
| ELT-41727 Practical RF Electronics: First Principles Applied, 5 cr | ELT-41726 Background for Electromagnetic Systems, 3 cr |