Modern Receiver Front-Ends: Systems, Circuits and Integration

Wiley-Interscience
234 pages; $79.95
ISBN: 0-471-22591-6

The main focus of this book is the integration of, and interaction among, various building blocks for, and the development and characterization of, receiver subsystems for wireless applications. Such a book will be helpful for the understanding of receiver front-end development and architectural trade-offs. It could also serve the needs of an aggressive researcher in the area of receiver front-ends.

The book is organized into nine chapters. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to advanced receiver architectures. Chapter 2 discusses the different issues and parameters concerned with system design for receiver front-ends. Chapter 3 is targeted toward an overview of different receiver architectures and their applications. Chapter 4 walks the reader through an example of high frequency receiver front-end design in a commercially available silicon germanium technology. The receiver design and developments are discussed in detail, along with simulation and characterization techniques necessary to focus on details of implementation. This chapter provides the reader with the full flow of a design cycle, starting from computer simulation and ending with real silicon implementations. Chapter 5 is focused on various subharmonic mixing techniques, starting with the different methods of realizing subharmonic mixing techniques and followed by their integrability with other RF building blocks. Chapter 6 provides a silicon-based active subharmonic mixing approach, which is very helpful in developing an in-depth understanding of the receiver front-ends. Chapter 7 demonstrates various types of passive components and their integration methodologies in silicon-based substrates. Chapter 8 describes various practical issues in the integration of receiver subsystems. Chapter 9 introduces the interested reader to the potential future applications of wireless communications. The book is written with the assumption that the reader has knowledge of basic electronic circuits, microwave fundamentals and communication theory.

To order this book, contact: John Wiley & Sons Inc., One Wiley Drive, Somerset, NJ 08875 (800) 225-5945.


Introduction to RF Equipment and System Design

Artech House Inc.
270 pages; $99, £66
ISBN: 1-58053-665-4

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the most important aspects and components of radio frequency equipment and systems. It applies theoretical fundamentals to real-world issues, extensively using examples from recent design projects. This practical design guide shows the readers how to configure effective receiver and transmitter architectures from commercial blocks, determine the most efficient ways of circumventing wave propagation problems in a real network and assemble a reliable test environment for an RF project. Chapter 1 clarifies some fundamental concepts of system engineering and, in particular, their use in RF design projects. Chapter 2 offers different possibilities for adjusting the difficult system matrix of inbound and outbound signals and the propagation path in between. In Chapter 3, systems problems involving wave-propagation mechanisms are described. Chapter 4 introduces some of the fundamental building blocks, which the designer can use, for example, to construct a demonstrator or even the final system. Chapter 5 is dedicated to antennas and their associated hardware. Starting from their selection criteria, the antenna types are described considering their RF as well as their mechanical properties and the components used. In Chapter 6, transmitters, receivers and transceivers are considered. The requirements, block diagrams and choice of building blocks are described. Some examples, including a satellite ground beacon, material analysis with millimeter waves, a mobile millimeter-wave radar, a microwave telemetry system and UHF time and frequency reference, are included. The subject of RF measuring instrumentation is covered in Chapter 7. Test setup definition and typical test instruments for systems are offered and computer control is considered. Several examples are given such as estimating VHF ground conductivity, a high power HF vector analyzer, the pattern and impedance measurements of compact antennas, and the test instrumentation for air navigation facilities.

To order this book, contact: Artech House Inc., 685 Canton St., Norwood, MA 02062 (781) 769-9750 ext. 4030; or 46 Gillingham St., London SW1V 1HH UK +44 (0) 207-8750.