RF IC Design (January 2025)

• Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits
• Semester Offered: 2nd semester
• Course Credit: Lecture: 3 units

Catalog Description

EE229: Introduction to RF and wireless technology. Characteristics of passive devices at RF. High-frequency amplifier design. Analysis of distortion in amplifiers. Low-noise amplifiers and mixers. Oscillators. Frequency synthesizers. Power amplifiers. Phased-locked loops. Modulators and demodulators. Transceiver architectures. Prereq: EE 220. 3 u.

Course Information

• Instructor: Louis P. Alarcon (louis.alarcon@eee...)
• Schedule: Tuesdays, 7am - 10am
• Venue: EEEI 120 and via Zoom
  • Zoom link
  • Meeting ID: 955 0973 0919
  • Passcode: 14953304

Announcements

• 1/21: Welcome to EE229! This class will be broadcast via Zoom and is available to all Philippine companies and universities as part of the CIDR program.
• 1/21: Our first lecture will be on 1/28. Zoom details to follow.
• 1/21: Here is the Zoom link.
• 2/13: Activity 1 is now available (Due Friday, 2/21, 5pm)
  • Submit your Google Colab (Jupyter Notebook) *.ipynb file here.
  • Please name your file LastName_FirstName_EE229_Activity01.ipynb.

Class Schedule

Week	Date	Topic	Resources
Basic Concepts in RF Design
1	1/28	Introduction to EE229 Challenges in RF Design The Big Picture General Considerations	Lecture 1 (pdf, video) Fun with NGSPICE, Python, and Google Colab (Try it out!) Series LC circuit frequency response Skywater 130nm NMOS LVT transistor characteristics
2	2/4	Two-Port Networks Passive Matching Networks (1)	Lecture 2 (pdf, video) (Updated 2/10) Example: Simple L-Match calculation and simulation Download and/or make a copy, then feel free to edit and experiment! Notes: Resonance Passive Matching Networks You don't have to do the design problems here but you can use them for practice. We will have a new set of design problems.
3	2/11	Passive Matching Networks (2) Nonlinearity	Lecture 3 (pdf, video) Example: Nonlinearity warm-up Download and/or make a copy, then feel free to edit and experiment! Notes: Nonlinearity You don't have to do the activities here but you can use them for practice. We will have a new set of activities.
4	2/18	Nonlinearity Metrics	Lecture 4 (pdf, video)
Communication Concepts
	2/25	No Class (EDSA Revolution Anniversary)
5	3/4	Noise in RF Circuits Resistor Noise Diode and Transistor Noise Noise Analysis Sensitivity and Dynamic Range
6	3/11	Modulation Analog Modulation Digital Modulation Multiple Access Techniques Time and Frequency Division Multiplexing CDMA
7	3/18	Transceiver Architectures Heterodyne Receivers Direct-Conversion Receivers Image-Reject Receivers Direct Conversion Transmitters
RF Circuits
8	3/25	Low Noise Amplifiers Input Matching LNA Topologies
9	4/1	Mixers (1) Passive Downconversion Mixers
10	4/8	Mixers (2) Active Downconversion Mixers
	4/15	No Class (Lenten Break)
11	4/22	Oscillators Cross-Coupled Oscillators Voltage-Controlled Oscillators
12	4/29	Phase-Locked Loops Type-I and Type-II PLLs PFD/CP Nonidealities
13	5/6	Power Amplifiers PA Classes High-Efficiency PAs Cascode Output Stages Linearization
Transceiver Design Example
14	5/13	Transceiver Design Example (1) System-Level Considerations Receiver Design
15	5/20	Transceiver Design Example (2) Transmitter Design Synthesizer Design

Textbook

Behzad Razavi, RF Microelectronics (2nd Edition), Prentice Hall Press, 2011, USA.

Important Dates

From the UP Diliman Academic Calendar for AY 2024-2025

• Start of classes: January 20, 2025
• Mid-Semester: March 18, 2025
• Dropping deadline: April 24, 2025
• Lenten break: April 14-19, 2025
• LOA deadline: May 7, 2025
• End of classes: May 22, 2025