Module:3

Transmit and Receive

modules(TRM)
Dr.P.LATHA
SENSE
 Transmit and Receive
modules(TRM)

Block schematic, Timing and signal generation

for TRM operation,
Gain and phase control,
Design of power amplifiers,
Transmit-receive switch, circulator, blanking
switch,
types of amplifiers (linear amplifiers, low noise
amplifiers and solid-state amplifiers), and band
pass filter

Module 3 2
 Radar Block Diagram

We will cover this particular part

of the radar in this lecture

Propagation Waveform
Transmitter
Medium
Generator
Duplexer
Target
Cross
Doppler
Section Antenna Receiver A/D
Pulse Processing
Compression

Console /
Tracking & Display
Detection Parameter

Estimation Recording

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -3
 Simplified Radar Transmitter/Receiver
System Block Diagram
High Power Transmit Sections Low Power Transmit Section
(100’s of W to 1’s MW) (10’s of mW to 1 W)

High Power
Amplifier

Waveform
Duplexer Filter
Generator

Low Noise
Amplifier
00101111010
Filter Receiver A/D

Low Power Receive

Sections
(W to mW)
• Radar transmitter and receiver can be divided into two
important subsystems
– High power transmitter sections
– Low power sections
Radar waveform generator and receiver

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -4
 Outline

• Introduction
• Radar Transmitter Overview
– High Power Amplifier

• Radar Waveform Generator and Receiver

• Radar Transmitter/Receiver Architecture
• Summary

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -6
 Power Amplification Process

Driver
Amplifier(s)

Low Power Signal

(from WFG)

PPAA PA 2 HPA 3
11

PA = Power Amplifier
HPA = High Power Amplifier

• Amplification occurs in multiple stages

– Driver amplifiers
– High power amplifier
• Requirement for power amplifier
– Low noise
– Minimum distortion to input signal

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -7
 Method to Obtain Higher Power

High Power Combiner

HPA

Antenna Antenna Driver Amp.

Driver Amp.
Waveform
HPA
Waveform 
Generator
Generator

1 – Single amplifier transmitter 2 – Parallel combining of HPA’s

Single antenna Single antenna

• Higher transmitted power can be obtained by combining

multiple amplifiers in parallel
– Lower efficiency (due to combiner losses)
– Increased complexity

HPA = High Power Amplifier

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -8
 Types of High Power Amplifiers

• Vacuum tube amplifiers and solid state amplifiers

Vacuum Tube Solid State

Amplifiers
Amplifiers
High Low
Output Power (10 kW to 1 MW) (10’s to 100’s W)
High Low
Cost per Unit ($100’s )
($10’s K to $300 K)

Cost per Watt $1 – 3 Varied

Size Bulky and heavy Small foot print

•Dish antenna •Active array

Applications
•Passive array •Digital array

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -9
 Average Power Output Versus Frequency
Tube Amplifiers versus Solid State Amplifiers

106

Tube Amplifiers Dominate

10 4
Average Power (Watts)

Region of Competition

102

Solid State Amplifiers Dominate

1

10-2
.1 1 10 100 1000
Frequency (GHz)

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -10
 Power Amplifier Examples

• Tube amplifiers
– Klystrons
– Travelling wave tubes

• Solid State amplifiers

– Solid state power transistors

Criteria for choosing high power amplifier

– Average power output as a function of frequency
– Total bandwidth of operation
– Duty cycle
– Gain
– Mean time between failure (MTBF)
– etc…
Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -11
 MIT/LL Millstone Hill Radar
Klystron Tubes (Vacuum Devices)

Output device Klystrons (2)

Center Frequency 1295 MHz
Bandwidth 8 MHz
Peak Power 3 MW
Average Power 120 kW
Pulse Width 1 ms

Beam Width 0.6o

Antenna Diameter 84 ft

•
• Originally
Originally designed
designed in
in early
early 1960’s
1960’s

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -12
 How Big are High Power Klystron Tubes ?
Millstone Hill Radar Transmitter Room
Varian
Varian X780
X780 Klystron
Klystron
•• $400,000/tube
$400,000/tube
Waveguide output • 7 ft (height) x 1ft (diameter)
• 7 ft (height) x 1ft
•(diameter)
600 lbs
• 3% duty cycle
•• 42
600 lbs
dB gain Waveguide Harmonic Filter
•• 600W
3% duty
peakcycle
input drive level
• 42 dB gain
• 600W peak input drive
Flex Waveguide Output flanges
level

200’
Spare Tube antenna
waveguide

Vacuum Pump

Water Coolant
Hoses, 70 Gal/min Power Amplifier Room 1 kW Peak Solid State Driver Amp.

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -13
 Photograph of Traveling Wave Tubes
Another Type of Tube Amplifiers
S Band X Band
VTS-5753 VTX-5681C
Center Freq : 3.3 GHz Center Freq : 10.0 GHz
COUPLED COUPLED
Bandwidth : 400 MHz Bandwidth : 1 GHz
CAVITY TWT CAVITY TWT
Peak Power : 160 kW Peak Power : 100 kW
Duty Cycle : 8 % Duty Cycle : 35 %
Gain : 43 dB Gain : 50 dB

~ 8 ft

S-Band Transmitter
 Example of Solid State Transmitter
Radar Surveillance Technology Experimental Radar (RSTER)

Driver Amp Module

Power Amp Module

•• 14
14 channels
channels with
with 140
140 kW
kW total
total
peak power
peak power
– 8 kW average power
– 8 kW average power
• Each channel is supplied by a
• Each
powerchannel is module
amplifier supplied by
a– power
10 kWamplifier module
peak power
– 10 kW peak power

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -15
 Solid State Active Phased Array Radar
PAVE PAWS

• PAVE PAWS
– First all solid state active aperture electronically steered phased
array radar
– UHF Band
– 1792 active transceiver T/R modules, 340 W of peak power each

Courtesy of Raytheon. Used with Courtesy of Raytheon. Used with

permission. permission.

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -16
 Outline

• Introduction
• Radar Transmitter Overview
– High Power Amplifier
– Duplexer

• Radar Waveform Generator and Receiver

• Radar Transmitter/Receiver Architecture
• Summary

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -17
 Radar Transmitter/Receiver Timeline

Pulse Width

High Power Pulse

Receive Window A/D Samples

Receiver

Radar PRI

Duplexer Switch Transmit Receive Transmit Receive

• Sensitive radar receiver must be isolated from the powerful radar

transmitter
– Transmitted power typically 10 kW – 1 MW
– Receiver signal power in 10’s W – 1 mW
• Isolation provided by duplexer switching
PRI = Pulse Repetition Interval

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -18
 Duplexer Function

Antenna

Duplexer HPA • Transmitter ON

– Connect antenna to
X transmitter with low loss
Limiter/
Limiter/ – Protect receiver during
Receiver
Switch transmit interval
Switch
Transmit Interval
• Receiver ON
– Connect Antenna to
receiver with low loss
Antenna
– (transmitter must be turned
off in this interval)
Duplexer X HPA
– Limiter/switch is used for
additional protection
against strong interference
Limiter/
Limiter/
Receiver
Switch
Switch
Receive Interval
HPA = High Power Amplifier
Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -19
 Outline

• Introduction
• Radar Transmitter Overview
• Radar Waveform Generator and Receiver
• Radar Transmitter/Receiver Architecture
• Summary

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -20
 Simplified Functional Descriptions

Waveform Generator

Waveform Amplify To Antenna

Upconvert Filtering
Generation

Carrier Signal

10011110010
From Antenna
A/D Amplify Downconvert Filtering

Receiver

• Waveform generator and receiver share several similar functions

– Amplification, filtering and frequency conversion

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -21
 Frequency Conversion Concepts

Waveform Generator Receiver

Frequency Upconversion Frequency Downconversion
Baseband to L Band L Band to Baseband

Waveform Up L Band L Band Down 0.1 GHz

0.1 GHz Converter 1.5 GHz 1.5 GHz Converter To A/D

Local Oscillator Local Oscillator

1.4 GHz 1.4 GHz

• Upconverter translates the • Downconverter translates

waveform frequency to a the receive frequency to
higher frequency a lower frequency
• Reason: • Reason:
– Waveform generation – Dynamic range of A/D
less expensive at lower converter higher at lower
frequency frequency

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -22
 Simplified System Block Diagram
Waveform Generator and Receiver
Waveform Generator
1.5 GHz 0.1 GHz
HPA
(L-Band)
Up Waveform
Duplexer Filtering Filtering A
converter Generation
1.4 GHz

Local Oscillator

1.5 GHz Low Noise 1.4 GHz

(L-Band) Amplifier 0.1 GHz
Down 0010110100
Filtering converter A Filtering A/D

Receiver

• This example shows only a single stage conversion

– In general, design based on multiple stage of frequency conversion
are employed
• Multiple stages of amplification and filtering are also used

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -23
 Outline

• Introduction
• Radar Transmitter Overview
• Radar Waveform Generator and Receiver
• Radar Transmitter/Receiver Architecture
• Summary

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -24
 Dish Radars

ALCOR ALTAIR TRADEX MMW MILLSTONE HAYSTACK/HAX

KWAJALEIN

Waveform
Duplexer Transmitter
Generator

001011110100
Receiver A/D

• Conventional radar transmitter/receiver design employed

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -25
 Radar Antenna Architecture Comparison
Dish Radar Passive Array Radar Active Array Radar

T/R
Modules

T R
T T

O R • Beam agility
PR R
• Effective radar
• Very low cost • Beam agility resource
• Frequency • Effective radar management
diversity • resource
Higher cost • Low loss
N • Dedicated
management
CO function • Requires custom • High cost
transmitter and high- • More complex
• Slow scan rate
power phase shifters cooling
• Requires • High loss
custom
transmitter
• High loss
Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -26
 Active Phased Array Radar

HPA
Low Power
Section
T/R
Subarray Duplexer

…
…

#1
Receiver
T/R
Active T/R Module
T/R
Subarray
…
…

#2 Waveform
T/R
Generator
001011110100
A/D

T/R
…
…

T/R

• Transmit/Receive function distributed to each module on array

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -27
 Large Phased Arrays

Active Array Radar

Passive Array Radar THAAD Radar

25,344 elements
SPY-1
4100
elemen
ts

Courtesy of Raytheon. Used with

permission.
Passive Array Radar

Cobra Dane
15.3K active elements

Courtesy of
Raytheon. Used
with permission.

Radar_TxRxCourse
Courtesy of Raytheon. Used with permission.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -28
 Digital Array Radar Architecture
Digital on Receive

Subarray Waveform

…
 Analog T/R
#1
Generator
A/D

Subarray
…

#2  Analog T/R 001011100

111100001
A/D Multichannel
111100001
A/D Digital Digital
Beams

…
…
OneBeamformer
Digital
Beam
011110100 (Analog Array)
…
…

 Analog T/R

A/D

• Each active analog T/R module is followed by an A/D for

immediate digitization
– Multiple received beams are formed digitally by the digital
beamformer

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -29
 Digital Array Example
Digital On Receive

RSTER
(14 Digital Receivers)

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -30
 Digital Array Radar Architecture II
Digital on Transmit & Receive
001110010100 Waveform
Waveform Control
Information
1 Analog T/R Digital T/R

2 Analog T/R Digital T/R 001011100

111100001 Multichannel

…
Digital Digital Beams
Beamformer
011110100

N Analog T/R Digital T/R

• Both waveform generation and receiver digitization are

performed within each T/R module
– Complete flexibility on transmit and receive

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -31
 Summary

• Radar transmit function is accomplished in two stages:

– Waveform generator creates low power waveform signal and
upconverts it to RF
– Transmitter amplifies waveform signal

• Radar receiver performs filtering, amplification and

downconversion functions
– Final received signal is fed to an A/D for digitization

• Radar transmit/ receive architecture is highly dependent on

the antenna type
– Centralized architecture: dish radars, passive array radars
– Distributed architecture: active array and digital array radars

Radar_TxRxCourse
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PPhu 061802 -32
 Gain control

Gain control can be accomplished either with a manual or automated gain

control (AGC).
Linear amplifiers have limited dynamic range compared with log amplifiers. Gain
control is normally required to enable the detection of smaller targets.
Typically, gain control in radar is accomplished using gain-controlled IF
amplifiers.

Some applications control the gain using feedback from the detected video
signal. Manual gain control allows an operator to set the overall gain of the receiver.
It is not normally used for adjusting the gain based on target returns since this would
require frequent adjustments
Automated, or automatic, gain control enables the radar to control the gain based on
the strength of the target returns.
One form of AGC employed when tracking targets samples the detected
returns from the radar and continually adjusts the gain to provide an almost
constant detected output. This is commonly referred to as slow AGC in that the
gain adjustment time constant is several radar pulses in duration. This type
of gain control is normally used in monopulse radar receivers for tracking single
targets.

For example, the output from the monopulse sum channel is detected and used to
set the gain in both the sum and the angle difference channels. In this manner the
amplitude of the angle error signals in the difference channels maintains a
constant relationship with the off-boresight angle.
Currently, most automated gain control circuits use analog feedback to adjust
the gain control voltage into the IF amplifier. Another form of AGC is to have a
switchable attenuator on the RF input to prevent receiver saturation and to
increase overall receiver dynamic range. This is usually a rather coarse adjustment,
for example, to switch in 20 or 30 dB of attenuation on the receiver front end.
Instantaneous AGC can be used, for example, in a monopulse receiver to maintain
constant angle indication independent of target amplitude returns.
In an instantaneous AGC receiver, the gain is adjusted separately for each target
separated in range. With this type of gain control, the detected video signal is used in
an analog feedback to the gain control input of the IF amplifier.
A delay line is normally incorporated to provide the receiver time to adjust the IF gain
for each individual detected target. Care must be taken in this type of receiver to
prevent the receiver from adjusting the gain on the basis of noise
 POWER AMPLIFIERS

Power amplifiers are used in the final stages of radar and radio transmitters to
increase the radiated power level. Typical output powers may be on the order
of 100–500 mW for mobile voice or data communications systems, or in the
range of 1–100 W for radar or fixed point radio systems.
Important considerations for RF and microwave power amplifiers are
efficiency, gain, intermodulation distortion, and thermal effects
Single transistors can provide output powers of 10–100 W at UHF frequencies,
while devices at higher frequencies are generally limited to output powers
less than 10 W.
Various power-combining techniques can be used in conjunction with
multiple transistors if higher output powers are required. So far we have
considered only small-signal amplifiers, where the input signal power is low
enough that the transistor can be assumed to operate as a linear device.
.
 POWER AMPLIFIERS

The scattering parameters of linear devices are well defined and do

not depend on the input power level or output load impedance, a
fact that greatly simplifies the design of fixed-gain and lownoise
amplifiers.
For high input powers (e.g., in the range of the 1 dB compression
point or third-order intercept point), transistors do not behave
linearly. In this case the impedances seen at the input and output of
the transistor will depend on the input power level, and this greatly
complicates the design of power amplifiers
 Characteristics of Power Amplifiers
Classes

The power amplifier is usually the primary consumer of DC power in

most hand-held wireless devices, so amplifier efficiency is an
important consideration. One measure of amplifier efficiency is the
ratio of RF output power to DC input power

This quantity is sometimes referred to as drain efficiency (or collector

efficiency). One drawback of this definition is that it does not account
for the RF power delivered at the input to the amplifier. Since most
power amplifiers have relatively low gains, the efficiency of measured
using above tends to overrate the actual efficiency. A better measure
that includes the effect of input power is the power added efficiency,
defined as
 POWER AMPLIFIERS

where G is the power gain of the amplifier. Silicon bipolar junction

transistor amplifiers in the cellular telephone band of 800–900 MHz band
have power added efficiencies on the order of 80%, but efficiency drops
quickly with increasing frequency. Power amplifiers are often designed to
provide the best efficiency, even if this means that the resulting gain is less
than the maximum possible.
Another useful parameter for power amplifiers is the compressed gain, G1,
defined as the gain of the amplifier at the 1 dB compression point. Thus, if
G0 is the small-signal (linear) power gain, we have
 POWER AMPLIFIERS

nonlinearities can lead to the generation of spurious frequencies and

intermodulation distortion. This can be a serious issue in wireless
transmitters, especially in a multicarrier system, where spurious signals
may appear in adjacent channels.
Linearity is also critical for nonconstant envelope modulations, such as
amplitude shift keying and higher order quadrature amplitude
modulation methods
Class A amplifiers are inherently linear circuits, where the transistor is
biased to conduct over the entire range of the input signal cycle.
Because of this, class A amplifiers have a theoretical maximum efficiency
of 50%. Most small-signal and low-noise amplifiers operate as class A
circuits.
In contrast, the transistor in a class B amplifier is biased to conduct only
during one-half of the input signal cycle. Usually two complementary
transistors are operated in a class B push-pull amplifier to provide
amplification over the entire cycle.
 POWER AMPLIFIERS

The theoretical efficiency of a class B amplifier is 78%.

Class C amplifiers are operated with the transistor near cutoff for more
than half of the input signal cycle, and generally use a resonant circuit in
the output stage to recover the fundamental. Class C amplifiers can
achieve efficiencies near 100% but can only be used with constant
envelope modulations.
Higher classes, such as class D, E, F, and S, use the transistor as a switch to
pump a highly resonant tank circuit, and may achieve very high
efficiencies.
The majority of communications transmitters operating at UHF frequencies
or above rely on class A, AB, or B power amplifiers because of the need for
low distortion products.
 Transmit-Receive Switch
•Ensures the radar can alternate between transmitting and receiving
signals without interference.

•Protects sensitive receiver components from high-power transmit

signals.

•During transmission: The switch directs the high-power signal from

the transmitter to the antenna.

•During reception: The switch routes the low-power reflected signal

from the antenna to the receiver.

•Uses RF switches, circulators, or diodes.

•Fast switching speeds are essential to maintain radar performance.

•
 Gas Discharge Switch

A switch that operates based on the ionization of gas

within a sealed tube.
The gas becomes ionized when a sufficient voltage is applied,
causing it to conduct and allowing the switch to close. When the
voltage drops below a threshold, the gas de-ionizes, and the switch
opens.
Critical for generating the high-power pulses required for radar
transmission.
Prevents damage to receiver components by quickly switching off
high-power circuits after pulse generation.
Fast Switching Capabilities-Ensures minimal delay in radar signal
transmission and reception.
 Advantages of Gas Discharge Switches

High Power Handling:

Can manage extremely high voltages and currents, making
them ideal for radar systems.
Fast Response Time:
Enables quick switching essential for high-frequency radar
operations.
Durability:
Robust and capable of withstanding multiple high-energy
pulses without degradation.
 Challenges and Limitations

Wear and Tear:

Over time, the electrodes in gas discharge switches can erode,
leading to reduced performance.
Triggering Complexity:
Requires precise control and timing circuits for reliable
operation.
Size and Weight:
Gas discharge switches can be bulky, which may limit their use in
compact systems.
 Branch type Duplexers

The branch-type duplexer, diagrammed in above figure was

one of the earliest duplexer configurations employed. It
consists of a TR (transmit-receive) switch and an ATR (anti-
transmit receive) switch, both of which are gas-discharge
tubes.
 Branch type Duplexers

When the transmitter is turned on, the TR and the ATR tubes ionize;
that is, they break down, or fire.
The TR in the fired condition acts as a short circuit to prevent
transmitter power from entering the receiver.
Since the TR is located a quarter wave length from the main
transmission line, it appears as a short circuit at the receiver but as an
open circuit at the transmission line so that it does not impede the
flow of transmitter power.
 Balanced duplexer:

The balanced duplexer, is based on the short-slot hybrid junction which consists of two
sections of waveguides joined along one of their narrow walls with a slot cut in the
common narrow wall to provide coupling between the two. The short- slot hybrid may be
considered as a broadband directional coupler with a coupling ratio of 3 dB.
In the transmit condition power is divided equally into each waveguide by the first short
slot hybrid junction. Both TR tubes break down and reflect the incident power out the
antenna arm as shown
 Balanced duplexer:

The short-slot hybrid has the property that each time the energy
passes through the slot in either direction, its phase is advanced
90deg . Therefore, the energy travels as indicated by the solid lines.
• Any energy which leaks through the TR tubes (shown by the dashed
lines) is directed to the arm with the matched dummy load and not to
the receiver. In addition to the attenuation provided by the TR tubes,
the hybrid junctions provide an additional 20 to 30 dB of isolation.
On reception the TR tubes are unfired and the echo signals pass
through the duplexer and into the receiver as shown in Fig.6b. The
power splits equally at the first junction and because of the 90degree
phase advance on passing through the slot, the energy recombines in
the receiving arm and not in the dummy-load arm.
 Balanced duplexer:

The power-handling capability of the balanced duplexer is inherently

greater than that of the branch-type duplexer and it has wide
bandwidth, over ten percent with proper design. A receiver protector,
is usually inserted between the duplexer and the receiver for added
protection.
 Circulators

In radar, circulators are used as a type of duplexer, to route signals from the transmitter to the
antenna and from the antenna to the receiver, without allowing signals to pass directly from
transmitter to receiver.
 Working Principle:

The ferrite discs and permanent magnets inside the Circulator create very strong
rotary magnetic fields similar to the water motion in glass. This leads to follow
the magnetic flow by any RF/microwave signals in the desired frequency band
from one port towards the next adjacent port and not in the opposite direction.
Two types of circulators and their
scattering matrices.

(a) Clockwise circulation. (b) Counterclockwise circulation

 Photograph of a disassembled ferrite
junction circulator

Photograph of a disassembled ferrite junction circulator, showing the stripline

conductor, the ferrite disks, and the bias magnet. The middle port of the circulator is
terminated with a matched load, so this circulator is actually configured as an isolator.
Note the change in the width of the stripline conductors due to the different
dielectric constants of the ferrite and the surrounding plastic material
 Performance Parameters:

An important consideration when selecting a Circulator is to

ensure the device has adequate performance specifications for
the given application.
Insertion loss, VSWR & Isolation are the basic and most important
performance parameters for Circulators. These parameters have a
direct trade off with bandwidth; with increase in the operating
bandwidth there is degradation in their values.
Isolation: A measure of the separation of signal levels on
adjacent ports of a Circulator is called as Isolation. It is measured
in dB .The greater the isolation value, the lesser will be the
interference from a signal on one port relative to an adjacent
port.
 Performance Parameters:

Insertion Loss (I.L.): Transmission path insertion

loss is another important parameter when
selecting a Circulator. The total amount of energy
lost while transmitting the RF signal from one
port to another port of the Circulator is called as
Insertion Loss.
VSWR: VSWR stands for voltage standing wave
ratio. The ratio of the reflected power to the
incident power of standing waves created due to
impedance mismatch between RF source and
load.
 PIN Diodes and Control Circuits
A PIN diode can be used in either a series or a shunt configuration to form a single-pole,
single-throw RF switch.
In the series configuration of Figure a, the switch is ON when the diode is forward biased,
while in the shunt configuration the switch is ON when the diode is reverse biased. In both
cases, input power is reflected when the switch is in the OFF state. The DC blocking
capacitors should have a relatively low impedance at the RF operating frequency, while the
RF choke inductors should have a relatively high RF impedance. In some designs, high-
impedance quarter-wavelength lines can be used in place of the chokes, to provide RF
blocking.

Single-pole PIN diode switches. (a) Series configuration. (b) Shunt configuration
An ideal switch would have zero insertion loss in the ON state, and infinite attenuation in
the OFF state.
Realistic switching elements, of course, result in some insertion loss for the ON state and
finite attenuation for the OFF state.
Knowing the diode parameters for the equivalent circuits of Figure allows the insertion
loss for the ON and OFF states to be calculated for the series and shunt switches. With
reference to the simplified switch .
we can define the insertion loss in terms of the actual load voltage, VL , and V0, which is
the load voltage that would appear if the switch (Zd ) were absent:
The ON-state or OFF-state insertion loss of a switch can usually
be improved by adding an external reactance in series or in
parallel with the diode, to compensate for the diode
reactance. This technique usually reduces the bandwidth,
however. Several single-throw switches can be combined to
form a variety of multiple-pole and/or multiple-throw
configurations.
 Low Noise Amplifier

 Low noise amplifiers (LNA) are devices capable of amplifying

extremely weak signals and provide voltage levels suitable for
analog to digital conversion or further analog processing.
 They are employed in applications involving low amplitude
sources like many types of transducers and antennae.
 When dealing with weak sources, the performance of the
measurement system is dominated by the gain and noise
introduced by the first stage.
 Thus, the selection of a proper LNA is critical for the good
operation of the experimental setup.
 Low Noise Amplifier

Behavior of a noisy amplifier:

 Low Noise Amplifier

Specifications of a LNA:
LNAs have the same specifications as ordinary amplifiers. However, they are
intended to provide very high gains and add little noise to the input signal, so
the user should focus on the parameters concerning the noise response of the
amplifier:
Noise factor and noise figure: The noise factor (F) compares the noise output
of an amplifier with that obtained with an ideal noiseless device. The noise
factor of any amplifier is always higher than 1 because electronic components
unavoidably introduce noise.

to decibel notation, i.e., 𝑁𝐹 = 10 · 𝑙𝑜𝑔10(𝐹). A good quality LNA should

A related parameter is the noise figure (NF), which is the noise factor converted

present a NF close to 0dB (or F close to 1), which is the limit of a noiseless
amplifier. The noise factor is dependent on the impedance of the source that
provides the input signal. Because of this, its value is provided for a specific
value of source impedance
 Low Noise Amplifier

Noise spectral density: The noise spectral density (NSD) refers to the
distribution of intrinsic noise power of the amplifier over its
bandwidth. It corresponds to Nampl in the figure above, although
it is usually expressed as the equivalent input noise (Nampl/G) for
a better comparison with the noise of the input signal.
 OTHER PARAMETERS

Additional parameters that the user should check when assessing

a LNA are:
▪ Gain: The gain required for a specific application will depend on
the levels of the signals intended to amplify. Values of gain ranging
from 40dB to 80dB are not uncommon in low-noise measurements
where signals on the order of µV are converted to tens or
hundreds of mV. A rough estimation of the required gain is
recommended since too low gains result in a poor amplification
while too high gains lead to amplifier saturation.

▪ Bandwidth: The bandwidth of the amplifier should cover the

range of frequencies of the signal intended to measure, including
DC operation if required.
 OTHER PARAMETERS

▪ Offset:
This parameter only affects to amplifiers with DC operation. It
consists of a spurious DC level that appears at the output of the
amplifier due to the intrinsic limitations of any modern
semiconductor device.

▪ Input impedance:
The input impedance of the amplifier has a significant influence on
the noise added to the output signal. The higher the impedance,
the higher the noise levels. However, a low input impedance could
lead to poor measured levels when the low signal source has a
high impedance, like in the case of piezoelectric transducers. In
these situations, a higher input impedance may be necessary.
TWO-PORT POWER GAINS

Fig: A two-port network with arbitrary source

and load impedances
TWO-PORT POWER GAINS

Power gain = G = PL/Pin is the ratio of power dissipated in

the load ZL to the power delivered to the input of the two-
port network. This gain is independent of ZS, although the
characteristics of some active devices may be dependent on
ZS.
Available power gain = GA = Pavn/Pavs is the ratio of the
power available from the two-port network to the power
available from the source. This assumes conjugate matching
of both the source and the load, and depends on ZS, but
not ZL .
Transducer power gain = GT = PL/Pavs is the ratio of the
power delivered to the load to the power available from the
source. This depends on both ZS and ZL .
 TWO-PORT POWER GAINS

The reflection coefficient seen looking toward the load is

while the reflection coefficient seen looking toward the

source is

where Z0 is the characteristic impedance reference for the scattering

parameters of the two-port network.
TWO-PORT POWER GAINS

In general, the input impedance of the terminated two-port network will

be mismatched with a reflection coefficient given by in, which can be
determined using a signal flow graph or by the following analysis. From the
definition of the scattering parameters, and the fact that

we have

Eliminating V − 2 from and solving for V − 1 /V + 1 gives

TWO-PORT POWER GAINS
 Low-Noise Amplifier Design

Besides stability and gain, another important design consideration for

a microwave amplifier is its noise figure. In receiver applications
especially it is often required to have a preamplifier with as low a
noise figure as possible since,the first stage of a receiver front end
has the dominant effect on the noise performance of the overall
system.
Generally it is not possible to obtain both minimum noise figure and
maximum gain for an amplifier, so some sort of compromise must be
made. This can be done by using constant-gain circles and circles of
constant noise figure to select a usable trade-off between noise figure
and gain. Here we will derive the equations for constant–noise figure
circles and show how they are used in transistor amplifier design
 Ideal Filters versus Actual Filters

A.Ideal Filter: A linear 2-port network that provides perfect

transmission of signals for frequencies in a certain
passband region, infinite attenuation for frequencies in
the stopband region, and a linear phase response in the
filter’s passband region (to reduce signal distortion).
B.Goal: The goal of an actual filter’s design is to approximate
an ideal filter’s performance requirements, within
acceptable tolerance, using real circuit components:
Resistors: R, inductors: L, capacitors: C, transmission line
sections, unit elements and resonating structures.
Stop
Magnitude plotStop
for four ideal filters,
LowalongUpper
with their circuit
Attenuation

Attenuation

Attenuation

Attenuation
Stop
Band Band Stop Stop Band
symbols: Band Band
Low Upper
Pass Pass Pass
Pass Pass
band band band band band

LowPass Filter: LPF HighPass Filter: HPF BandPass Filter: BPF BandStop Filter: BSF
 Passes low freq.
 Rejects high freq.
 Passes high freq.
 Rejects low freq.
 Passes freq. band
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 Rejects all other freq.
 Rejects freq. band
 Passes all other freq.
 Importance of RF Filters

1. Frequency spectrum allocation and frequency spectrum

preservation. RF signals consist of:
A. Desired signals at desired frequencies.
B. Undesired signals & undesired ‘noise’ at unwanted frequencies.
2. Signal interference reduction or elimination: Receiver
protection.
3. Elimination of unwanted harmonics & intermodulation
products generated from nonlinear devices, like:
A. Frequency multipliers,
B. Frequency mixers,
C. Power amplifiers.
4. Signal processing
& spectrum
shaping.
5. Frequency
multiplexing.

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 General Application of RF Filters

1. Receivers: Filters the incoming signal right after reception

to remove external ‘white noise’ and external
undesirable & interfering signals, thereby avoiding
nonlinear operation of the Receiver’s Low Noise Amplifier
and/or causing the Receiver to detect & process an
unwanted signal.
2. Transmitters: Filters suppress much of the transmitter-
generated harmonic frequencies, wide-band noise,
intermodulation distortion (IMD) products, and out-of-
band conversion frequencies.
3. Communication systems: The various frequency channels
are very close, thus requiring bandpass filters with
very narrow bandwidth & high out-of-band skirt
attenuation/rejection.
4. Diplexers: Filters which provide high isolation (loss) between
transmit signal frequencies and receive signal
applications, filters are used to attenuate/block
frequencies.
unwanted high
frequency intermodulation
5. Multiplexers: Filters which separate or combine signal
products.
frequencies to different signal channels: Frequency
 Specific Applications of RF Filters

1. Communication Systems:
A. Terrestrial Microwave Links: Receiver protection Filters,
Transmitter Filters, Channel-dropping Filters,
Transmitter harmonic frequency rejection Filters,
Local Oscillator Filters, Mixer’s image-frequency
rejection Filters.
B. Satellite Systems:
1) Spacecraft/Satellite: Front-end Receive Filters, Input multiplexer
channelization Filters, Output multiplexer channelization Filters,
Transmitter harmonic frequency rejection Filters.
2) Earth Stations : LNA’s transmit reject Filters, High Power
Amplifier’s harmonic frequency reject Filters, Up Converter &
Down Converter Filters.
2. Mobile and Cellular Systems :
A. Base Station Receive protection Filters.
B. Base Station Transmitter Filters.
C. Subscriber’s hand set Diplexer Filters.
D. Satellite Mobile Applications:
1) Aeronautical Transmit/Receive Systems.
2) Maritime Satellite Terminals.
4. High3)RF
Land MobileApplications:
Power Satellite Terminals.
Various &
6
 RF Filter Applications: Example
Transmit and Receive (Tx & Rx) Communication System
Radiated
RF Signal
Rx Bandpass Filter:
Suppresses the Power
IF Bandpass Filter:
Supplies receive channel
Amplifier’s harmonic
selectivity & suppresses
distortion & limits the LNA
mixer image frequency RF
input.
signals.

Tx Bandpass LO Bandpass
Filter: Suppresses Filter: Suppresses
harmonic distortion Rx Bandpass Filter: frequency harmonic
from the Power Increases RF RF signals
Amplifier. selectivity & generated inside
suppresses LO Local Oscillator (LO).
leakages.
 Common Transmission Media of RF
Filters

100 Lumped
Relative Bandwidth,

LC
Filters Planar: Printed
1 suspended
circuit & substrate
0 Filters.
Coaxial
1. Filters Dielectri
0 c Waveguide
Resonato Filters
%

0. r Filters
1

0.0
1 P- L- S- C- X- K-band Q-band V-band W-
band
250 MHz band2 GHzband
1 GHz band
4 GHz band
8 GHz band 33 GHz
20 GHz 50 GHz 75 GHz

Frequency Band Designation

As technology improves, the transmission media of filters can extend across
broader frequencies.
 Illustration of planar TEM Bandpass
Filters
1. Edge-coupled Band Pass Filter: Input
A. Distributed transmission-line bandpass
filter.
B. Uses quarter wavelength long coupled
lines.
C. Prone to spurious amplitude response
at Output
higher frequencies.

2. Combline Band Pass Filter: Input

A. Physically compact bandpass filter. Output
B. Uses quarter-wave transmission line
resonators that are capacitively
3. Hairpin Band Pass Filter:
coupled.
C. Similar
A. Good skirt rejection
to the at higher
edge-coupled
frequencies.
bandpass filter, but is
considerably shorter. Output
Input
4. Interdigital Band Pass Filter:
A. Physically compact bandpass filter. Output
B. Good skirt rejection at high
frequencies. Input
C. Short-circuited transmission lines
that take the structure of interlaced Atlanta
Feb-2015 RF
fingers.
www.AtlantaRF.com Services, Software & Designs
 Illustration of some RF Bandpass Filters

8-pole Helical 4-pole Dielectric- 4-pole Combline Bandpass

Filter loaded Coaxial Filter
Bandpass Filter

3-pole Parallel Edge-Coupled Stripline Bandpass

5-pole Hairpin Bandpass
Filter Filter