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Design >> RF Design >> How to start in RF Design
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Message started by kidman on Apr 9^th, 2008, 8:51am

Title: How to start in RF Design
Post by kidman on Apr 9^th, 2008, 8:51am

I am an Electronics and Communcations Engineering student at my senior year. Me and 3 colleagues are interested in learning RF design. Can anybody recommend how the learning sequence should go. For example what to learn first and which books to read and so on?... Thanks

Title: Re: How to start in RF Design
Post by loose-electron on Apr 10^th, 2008, 1:24pm

not sure of the university, but why don't you find the professor in the department who specializes in that field, and go pick his brains?????

Title: Re: How to start in RF Design
Post by chenyan on Apr 12^th, 2008, 10:10am

Start with RF Microelectronics by Razavi

It is the very basic of RF design.

Title: Re: How to start in RF Design
Post by ksj116 on May 22^nd, 2008, 8:00pm

as the above guy said, I started my RFIC design study but afterwards i think i have learned much less and feel to not have a thoroughly comprehension. why? do i have weak basic knowledge? and anybody can recommend the fundmental knoledge needed before study the RFIC design. Thxs a lot.

Title: Re: How to start in RF Design
Post by vivkr on May 26^th, 2008, 2:59am

ksj116 wrote on May 22^nd, 2008, 8:00pm:

I cannot make a general comment, as I am not an RF designer myself. But if you are really passionate about your field (RF deisgn in this case), then you would get around the initial difficulties and put in the extra effort to understand the concepts. Nobody (atleast not most people) have a solid grasp of concepts just after reading through books. Real world practice matters in engineering. Otherwise, you can try something else which interests you more. Hope this helps.

Vivek

Title: Re: How to start in RF Design
Post by didac on May 26^th, 2008, 3:44am

Hi,
Beeing myself a student in this field I have to agree with loose-electron and vivkr, it's difficult to give advice without knowing the particular background given at your university(I've taken a course on RFIC years ago with people of 9 different countries and the background of each one was quite different considering that all of us had nominally the same studies). As vivkr says books are good to "see the idea"(for example Razavi it's good to enter into the RF idioms if you come from analog background, Lee it's better to start designing) but my personal experience is that you learn a lot trying to "play" with designs from books/papers and see what happens(and trying to understand WHY is happening), also I was very lucky in working with people with a lot of experience and very patient so if I get stucked I can ask.
Hope it helps,

Title: Re: How to start in RF Design
Post by Hyvonen on May 26^th, 2008, 4:17am

I agree with Didac and others regarding good books about RF engineering. Of course, the focus on books depends on how far you are already, and what direction you'd want to go.

Before going deeper, there is a major difference between "integrated RF" (i.e., RF circuits in integrated semiconductor, these days mostly Si/SiGe but others too), and "discrete RF" (transmission lines, RF components, antennas). Most people are working on one of these two rather distinct fields.

Once you got that figured out, there's plenty you can do. On one hand, you can go towards the discrete RF, focusing on electromagnetics, transmission line theory etc. On the other hand, you can go towards integrated circuits, focusing on analog circuit techniques, semiconductor physics etc. Once you figure which way you want to go, the next step will be easier.

Of course, taking that first step in either direction is difficult. And if you think about doing both, I fully encourage you to do that, but know that it will be difficult to be good in both; being good in one of them will score you career prospects, but being mediocre in both will get you nowhere. (However, I know people who are very good in both, and - needless to say - they are doing OK)

I guess my point is that "find your niche, whatever it may be, and become an expert.

This is the engineering advice; I'm sure there are plenty of opposing views out there on this.

Title: Re: How to start in RF Design
Post by jbdavid on Jun 19^th, 2008, 1:47pm

It might make sense to pick up the ARRL handbook and start building your own radios..
translating some of the learning to silicon will not be so hard..