Modeling and Optimization of the Microwave PCB Interconnects Using Macromodel Techniques

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System-level design and RF front-end implementation for a 3-10ghz multiband-ofdm ultrawideband receiver and built-in testing techniques for analog and rf integrated circuits

This work consists of two main parts: a) Design of a 3-10GHz UltraWideBand (UWB) Receiver and b) Built-In Testing Techniques (BIT) for Analog and RF circuits. The MultiBand OFDM (MB-OFDM) proposal for UWB communications has received significant attention for the implementation of very high data rate (up to 480Mb/s) wireless devices. A wideband LNA with a tunable notch filter, a downconversion quadrature mixer, and the overall radio system-level design are proposed for an 11-band 3.4-10.3GHz direct conversion receiver for MB-OFDM UWB implemented in a 0.25mm BiCMOS process. The packaged IC includes an RF front-end with interference rejection at 5.25GHz, a frequency synthesizer generating 11 carrier tones in quadrature with fast hopping, and a linear phase baseband section with 42dB of gain programmability. The receiver IC mounted on a FR-4 substrate provides a maximum gain of 67-78dB and NF of 5-10dB across all bands while consuming 114mA from a 2.5V supply. Two BIT techniques for analog and RF circuits are developed. The goal is to reduce the test cost by reducing the use of analog instrumentation. An integrated frequency response characterization system with a digital interface is proposed to test the magnitude and phase responses at different nodes of an analog circuit. A complete prototype in CMOS 0.35mm technology employs only 0.3mm2 of area. Its operation is demonstrated by performing frequency response measurements in a range of 1 to 130MHz on 2 analog filters integrated on the same chip. A very compact CMOS RF RMS Detector and a methodology for its use in the built-in measurement of the gain and 1dB compression point of RF circuits are proposed to address the problem of on-chip testing at RF frequencies. The proposed device generates a DC voltage proportional to the RMS voltage amplitude of an RF signal. A design in CMOS 0.35mm technology presents and input capacitance <15fF and occupies and area of 0.03mm2. The application of these two techniques in combination with a loop-back test architecture significantly enhances the testability of a wireless transceiver system

Microwave Radar Sensor Modules

Systems and methods for detecting biometrics using microwave radar sensor modules are disclosed. Integrated microwave sensor modules can include a transmitter unit configured to generate at least one continuous wave transmit signal based upon at least one frequency control signal, a receiver unit configured to utilize a cancellation path to cancel contributions to a return signal based upon at least one cancellation path control signal, and a microcontroller unit that includes a processor, a memory containing a microcontroller application, where the microcontroller application configures the processor to generate at least one frequency control signal to generate least one CW transmit signal having a plurality of frequencies, generate at least one cancellation path control signal to automatically adjust the cancellation path in real time, receive at least one demodulated signal, digitize the at least one demodulated signal, and update the at least one frequency control and cancellation path control signals

Multicarrier reflectometry

Journal ArticleA new reflectometry method called multicarrier reflectometry (MCR) for fault location in cables is proposed. MCR combines a weighted set of sinusoidal excitations into a signal that is sent down the wire. The reflected signal from the cable under test is analyzed in order to determine the length of the wire or possible location of a fault. In the frequency domain, the phase response of the reflected signal contains the desired information. This method provides a system with greater flexibility than conventional frequency domain reflectometry, better noise immunity than time domain reflectometry, and the ability to employ frequency agility to avoid certain interference bands. This method introduces an approach to the generation of test signals that allows more control over the bandwidth of the test signal. All the data analysis can be done in the digital domain after the reflected wave is sampled, thus enabling the use of more meticulous digital signal processing techniques. The major advantage of this method is the potential use in live cables carrying other signals such as power or data. The bandwidth over which the test signals are transmitted can be chosen specifically to avoid the bandwidth of the live wire signal

Robotic computer–aided tuning of multi-cavity RF filters

Due to the demand for precision RF filter solutions, fully automated cavity filter manufacturing systems are a topic of interest for researchers. Currently, tuning stages for filter production lines are implemented by hand. This stringent process is both expensive and time consuming. Depending on the complexity of the cavity filter, this process may take up to several hours. Therefore, it is not suitable for higher volume production. To overcome this problem, Radio Frequency Systems (RFS Pty Ltd.) company is trying to develop a number of automated filter manufacturing systems that make the leap from conventional &amp;lsquo;trial and error&amp;rsquo; manual filter tuning to automatic robotic tuning and set a new standard for filter production. The aim of this project, supported by RFS, is to design and manufacture a Robotic Computer-Aided Tuning (RoboCAT) system. The first section of this thesis deals with the design and fabrication of an automated robot arm to interface with tuning elements. For this purpose, a customised coaxial screw/nut driver is created to tune and lock the tuning elements simultaneously. Aspects of the automated tuner include: (1) Backlash compensation to increase the tuning resolution and reduce the tuning time. (2) Absolute positioning in order to have a second feedback source for robot codes along with obtained data from Computer&amp;ndash;Aided Tuning (CAT) software. (3) Fault recognition ability to detect any potential error in CAT codes in early stage. The second stage of this project deals with finding a proper tuning instruction. By having a complete tuning instruction, it is feasible to write a standalone tuning code for an automated tuning system. It can be concluded from literature that circuit model parameter extraction is the only ideal tuning technique to be implemented by automated setup. This technique allows all elements to be tuned simultaneously rather than sequentially. However, in order to tune the filter using this technique, adequate initial optimization variable values are required to prevent the system from running into local minimum or failing to converge to the proper solution. This case arises when the filter is highly detuned. To overcome this problem, a coarse tuning technique based on phase format of input reflection coefficient of the filter is proposed in this thesis. In this method, resonators are tuned by bringing successive resonators to resonance, while the phase passes through the &amp;plusmn;180˚ and 0˚ crossing at the center frequency. At the end of each sequence cross coupling is mapped across the entire range of its motion. Tuned cross coupling is recognized by measuring the return loss of the filter. Written codes based on this technique are able to guide the robot through coarse tuning process in a short time. Then, the circuit model parameter extraction technique is practically implemented by automated setup to complete the tuning. This proposed tuning system has been validated through experimental results. Results showed that utilizing the backlash compensation solution enables the robot to use accurate &amp;lsquo;1&amp;rsquo; arcminute rotational resolution to achieve less than &amp;lsquo;5&amp;rsquo; KHz frequency deviation in obtained filter response. This cannot be achieved with manual tuning. Elimination of mapping the tuning elements throughout the lash reduced the overall tuning time by 11 minutes and 23 seconds in an average of twenty tuning attempts. Absolute positioning system of the RoboCAT successfully detected the faulty tuning attempts caused by an error in CAT software. This enabled the robot to be function without supervision. Fabricated comprehensive coaxial/screw nut driver fitted with the designed SCARA, Cartesian, and multi-armed robots in order to tune the different filter types in the company without need for design updates. Several tuning attempts have been performed by the automated setup utilizing the proposed coarse tuning technique. Obtained filter response at the end of each tuning was very close to the ideal filter response. Therefore perfect initial values for the variables to be optimized were provided for the fine tuning program. This reduced the fine tuning time from 13 minute to less than 32 seconds and prevented the system from running into local minimum. Successful results in all tuning runs showed effectiveness of the tuning technique. Obtained tuning times via created setup was compared with traditional manual tuning attempts. RoboCAT achieved a tuned filter with an average time of 6 minutes compared to the manual tuning approach which took 42 minutes. These results obtained from 20 tuning attempt on a six-pole cross-coupled filter while the filter was tuned to channel 40 at a center frequency of 613.5 MHz

Applied Measurement Systems

Measurement is a multidisciplinary experimental science. Measurement systems synergistically blend science, engineering and statistical methods to provide fundamental data for research, design and development, control of processes and operations, and facilitate safe and economic performance of systems. In recent years, measuring techniques have expanded rapidly and gained maturity, through extensive research activities and hardware advancements. With individual chapters authored by eminent professionals in their respective topics, Applied Measurement Systems attempts to provide a comprehensive presentation and in-depth guidance on some of the key applied and advanced topics in measurements for scientists, engineers and educators

AGV RAD: AGV positioning system for ports using microwave doppler radar

Automation and intelligence have become an inevitable trend in the development of container terminals. The AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) positioning is a primary problem to build the automated ports. Although the existing Ultra-High Frequency(UHF) RFID technology has good measurement accuracy and stability in the port AGV positioning, the exposed magnetic tags are easy to damage under the common heavy load, and its construction and maintenance cost is unbearable to most ports. Among the candidate technologies for the AGV positioning, microwave Doppler radar has a strong penetrating ability, and can work well in a complex environment (day and night, foggy, rainy). Therefore, the microwave Doppler radar-based AGV positioning system has attracted a lot of attention. In this thesis, a test system using the above technique was established, together with a NI myRIO real-time Wi-Fi compatible computation platform. Several computation algorithms were implemented to extract the accurate values of range and velocity. Wavelet denoising with the adapted threshold function was considered to filter noise contained in radar signals. In the frequency domain analysis, FFT and Chirp-Z Transform (CZT) joint algorithm was proposed to suppress the influence of fence effects and also improves real-time performance. In addition, 2D-FFT is used to calculate velocity of AGV. According to the port-like environment, the suitable AGV positioning algorithm and communication method based on microwave Doppler radars and NI myRIO-1900s also be proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed system was experimentally tested and several results are included in this thesis.Automação e inteligência artifical tornaram-se uma tendência inevitável no desenvolvimento dos terminais dos contentores. O posicionamento do VAG (Veículo Autónomo Guiado) é um dos problemas principais para construir as portas automatizadas. Embora a tecnologia RFID de frequência ultra-alta (UHF) existente tenha uma boa precisão e estabilidade de medição no posicionamento VAG dos portos, as etiquetas magnéticas expostas são fáceis de danificar sob a comum carga pesada e o seu habitual custo de construção e manutenção é insuportável para a maioria das portos. Entre as tecnologias para o posicionamento VAG, o radar Doppler de microondas possui uma forte capacidade de penetração e pode funcionar bem em ambientes complexos (dia, noite, nevoeiro e chuva). Portanto, o sistema de posicionamento VAG baseado em radar Doppler de microondas atraiu muita atenção. Nesta tese, foi estabelecido um sistema de teste usando a técnica acima mencionada, juntamente com uma plataforma de computação em tempo real, NI myRIO compatível com Wi-Fi. Vários algoritmos de computação foram envolvidos para extrair os valores precisos de distancia e velocidade. O “denoising” de wavelets com a função de limiar adaptado foi utilizado para filtrar o ruído nos sinais de radar. Na análise do domínio da frequência, o algoritmo conjunto FFT e Chirp-Z Transform (CZT) foi proposto para suprimir a influência dos efeitos de resolução e também melhorar o desempenho em tempo real. Além disso, o algoritmo 2D-FFT é usado para calcular a velocidade do VAG. De acordo com o ambiente dos portos, o algoritmo de posicionamento VAG e o método de comunicação adequado baseados em radares Doppler de microondas e NI myRIO-1900s também serão propostos. A eficiência do sistema proposto foi testada experimentalmente e vários resultados estão descritos nesta dissertação

34th Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems-Final Program

Organized by the Naval Postgraduate School Monterey California. Cosponsored by the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society. Symposium Organizing Committee: General Chairman-Sherif Michael, Technical Program-Roberto Cristi, Publications-Michael Soderstrand, Special Sessions- Charles W. Therrien, Publicity: Jeffrey Burl, Finance: Ralph Hippenstiel, and Local Arrangements: Barbara Cristi

NASA Automated Rendezvous and Capture Review. Executive summary

In support of the Cargo Transfer Vehicle (CTV) Definition Studies in FY-92, the Advanced Program Development division of the Office of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters conducted an evaluation and review of the United States capabilities and state-of-the-art in Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C). This review was held in Williamsburg, Virginia on 19-21 Nov. 1991 and included over 120 attendees from U.S. government organizations, industries, and universities. One hundred abstracts were submitted to the organizing committee for consideration. Forty-two were selected for presentation. The review was structured to include five technical sessions. Forty-two papers addressed topics in the five categories below: (1) hardware systems and components; (2) software systems; (3) integrated systems; (4) operations; and (5) supporting infrastructure

New achievements and configurations of helical resonator filters for space applications - theory and design

The satellite for communication uses frequencies from UHF band (300MHz to 3 GHz) up to Ka band (40GHz). The dimensions of the components in the satellite transponder, usually decrease with the frequency increment. For the Ka band typical dimensions of the microwave components are in the order of 10mm while for lower frequencies such as UHF band, the dimensions are in the order of 100mm. For this last case, there is the necessity of the reduction of the size of the component to save mass and minimize the footprint in the satellite transponders. This work focuses on the filters that compose the input and output multiplexer (IMUX and OMUX) for the UHF band applications. In particular, the OMUX manage several hundred of watts of RF power, so, in this case, the filters has to be designed for high power, maintaining the small dimensions and low mass. In the thesis, prototypes waveguide filters loaded by single helical resonator were designed and manufactured. The prototypes were tested for high power in ESA-VSC High Power RF Laboratory in Valencia to verify their power handling characteristics. For the IMUX, the thesis concentrates on the mass and dimensions saving due to the fact that, for UHF band, typical size of waveguide filters is higher than 100mm. the proposed solution is to use a dual mode concentric helices filters. The novelty of this kind of solution required the development of the mathematical background for the first dimensioning and analysis of filter characteristics. All the theory developed is reported in this work. The output of this procedure is the design and simulation of a very compact dual mode concentric helices filter (28.08mmx28.08mmx10.36mm). A prototype is produced using 3D additive manufacturing technique and the test campaign is in progress. In conclusion, for the helical resonator filter in OMUX, the high power test confirms that this technology is promising for power handling purposes and gives some suggestions for future development such as changing the helix geometry and loading the helices with dielectrics. For the dual mode concentric helices filter, the hope is that the test campaign will confirm the designed results and after, the possible next step is to improve the design for high power applications