Wireless Transceiver Design and Implementation

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Simulate communication systems using computational baseband models.
• Design and present a simulation of a communication system using computational baseband models.
• Design a transceiver system architecture against a comprehensive performance specification.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Appreciate the practical challenges of digital transmission.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Specify active and passive components required for a wireless transceiver.

Noise and Noise figure

• Sources of noise
• Noise models
• Noise figure
• Cascaded noise figure
• Measurement of noise figure

Link budgets

• Sources of loss
• Link loss equations
• Maximum noise figure
• Maximum range

The superhet

• Filter selectivity
• Adjacent channels
• Image frequencies
• Multiple stage superhets
• The frequency mixer
• Intermodulation products

Transceiver Design

• Components used in transceiver designs
• Typical transceiver design examples
• Specifying amplifiers, mixers

Synchronisation

• The timing and carrier synchronisation problem
• Timing sync methods
• delay locked loop and DSP equivalent
• Open-loop timing sync
• Zero Crossing detection
• Carrier sync methods
• Carrier regeneration
• Costas loop introduction
• Decision directed

Review of Passive Filters

• Synthesis of doubly terminated filters
• Low-Pass to Band-Pass transformation
• Filter implementations - ceramic, SAW
• Fractional bandwitdh
• Software-assisted specification and design

Review of Matching

• Maximum power transfer
• RLC Matching networks

Power amplifiers

• Class A, B, AB, C
• Power efficiency
• Linearisation techniques
• Suitability of PA classes to modulation types

Antennas

• Fundamental model
• Types of omnidirectional antennas-
• Physical limits - volume vs bandwidth and efficiency

Assessment strategy

Laboratory sessions are scheduled in the labs on level 2 of the Zepler building

Length of each session: 3 hours

Number of sessions completed by each student: 1

Max number of students per session: 12 (constrained by number of USRPs)

Demonstrator:student ratio: 1:12

Preferred teaching weeks: 8 to 11

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External