Introduction to RF IC Design

This is a senior course for students with background knowledge of CMOS device and Analog IC Design. Through this course, you will comprehend and grasp the followings:

  • Principles, analysis, and design of CMOS Radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits for wireless communication systems;SpectreRF for RF;
  • Circuit and system level design considerations;
  • Low noise amplifiers (LNA), mixer, voltage-controlled-oscillator (VCO), and phase-locked-loop (PLL);
  • Cadence SpectreRF for circuit simulations;
  • Skills for technical presentation

 

Course Feature

All in English

All the lectures are given in English. Moreover, other materials such as self-compiled slides, assignments and lab tutorials are manuscripted in English, too. The all-English teaching will let students get familiar with the most authentic terminologies, improving students’ ability of comprehending massive English references.


Lab Classes

Students’ behaviour on lab classes occupies 20 percent from the final score. With TA’s detailed instructions during each lab, students will surly benefit a lot from their own experience of RF chip design.

Final Project

In contrast to assignments, design projects require the students to solve and optimize a design problem, given only a set of specifications and goals. They require a combination of both manual analysis and extensive tool usage. The instructors believe that  projects are the best possible way of learning the material offered in the text book in-depth.

Teamwork

Students are required to work in groups for the final project. They will learn that teamwork is the key point to achieve high scores. After the team leader delivered the speech, other teams are supposed to comment on them and give scores. This interaction helps students understand the importance of the technique share and improve their presentation skill.

 

Grading Policy

Assignments 40%
Project 40%
Lab 20%