The Book End

Microwave and Wireless Synthesizers: Theory and Design

Ulrich L. Rohde
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
638 pages; $98

The use of frequency synthesizers has increased dramatically in the last few years as a result of RF and microwave wireless applications. This book presents both up-to-date theory and practical circuit information to aid the designer in gaining a better understanding of synthesizers.

The book begins with basic loop fundamentals, providing a clear differentiation between analog and digital loop circuits. Loop characteristics are explained in detail. Chapter 2 outlines noise and spurious responses in loops. Noise contributions from the various loop components are described and a noise analysis of the entire system is presented. Chapter 3 looks at special loops, including the direct digital synthesizer and the fractional N synthesizer. Multiloop sampler loops are described and the use of a delay line to improve noise performance is demonstrated. Chapter 4 overviews loop components, including discussions on low noise oscillator design and the use of linear computer-aided design tools. Additional loop components covered include mixers, phase/frequency discriminators, wideband high gain amplifiers, programmable dividers and loop filters.

Chapter 5 offers an in-depth analysis of multiloop synthesizers. The application of microprocessors to optimize the synthesizer architecture is explained. Chapter 6 offers a practical synthesizer example that combines many of the techniques described throughout the book. The design of a high performance hybrid synthesizer, including its measured performance, provides the reader with a step-by-step look at the design procedures and rules that should be used for a successful first attempt. The four appendices provide a mathematical overview; a general-purpose nonlinear approach to the computation of sideband phase noise in free-running microwave and RF oscillators; an example of wireless synthesizers using commercial ICs; and a description of MMIC-based synthesizers.

This book provides a complete presentation of the theory and practical design steps used in modern synthesizer technology. It stands apart from the many narrowly focused texts on specialized portions of synthesizer design and offers the reader a complete reference text on the subject.

To order this book, contact:
John Wiley & Sons Inc.,
605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158
(212) 850-6336 or (800) 225-5945.

Analysis of Radome-enclosed Antennas

Dennis J. Kozakoff
Artech House Inc.
265 pages plus software; $79, £69

Radomes are finding wide applications today in ground, maritime, aircraft and missile electronic systems. However, little has been published to aid engineers in properly designing or specifying radome structures. This book aims to help the reader develop advanced software for radome analysis, and is particularly applicable for design engineers and scientists interested in antennas and radomes.

Chapter 1 presents radome history and a brief overview of radome analysis. The next chapter explains the basic principles and conventions of radome technology. Vector mathematics, electromagnetic theory, matrices and coordinate systems, and antenna pointing gimbal relationships are covered. Chapters 3 and 4 detail antenna fundamentals, radome dielectric materials and multilayer dielectric walls, respectively.

Chapter 5 focuses on radome analysis with an explanation of multilayer dielectric walls. Several types of radomes are demonstrated and a mathematical formulation for radome wall transmission is determined. Chapter 6 further explains radome analysis techniques, showing geometric and physical optics approaches for receiving and transmitting mode calculations.

Chapter 7 details radome modeling approaches, offering four BASIC computer program listings. Chapter 8 describes radome-enclosed monopulse antennas. Calculations of antenna patterns and monopulse error voltages are shown.

Chapter 9 further describes radome-enclosed antenna types, including spiral antennas, parabolas, air-supported radomes and metal space frame radomes. The four appendices cover vector operations in various coordinate systems; propagation constant and wave impedance information; a program listing for the Tangent Ogive Radome program; and an operations manual for the software's installation.

This book provides an understanding of the characteristics and design of modern radomes. In addition, it helps the designer in the analysis of radome performance.

To order this book, contact:
Artech House Inc.,
685 Canton St., Norwood, MA 02062
(781) 769-9750, ext. 4002; or
Portland House, Stag Place, London SW1E 5XA, UK
+44 (0) 171 973 8077.