Microwave Devices, Circuits and Subsystems for Communications Engineering
A. Glover, S.R. Pennock and P.R. Shepherd, Editors
John Wiley & Sons Ltd. • 549 pages; $119.95
This book originated from a master’s degree course in RF communications engineering offered by the University of Bradford, UK. As such, it reads like a textbook, with many problems to challenge the reader. The focus of this book is microwave communications and so, while much of the material offered is generic, the selection and presentation of the material are conditioned by this application. Chapter 2 is a review of semiconductors and their fundamental properties. The role of electrons and holes as charge carriers in intrinsic semiconductors is described and the related concepts of carrier mobility, drift velocity and drift current are presented. Semiconductor devices of all types are described in detail. Chapter 3 is a survey of practical transmission line structures, including those without conductors (dielectric waveguides), those with a single conductor (conventional waveguide) and those with two conductors (such as microstrip). Virtually all systems need amplifiers to increase the amplitude and power of a signal. Chapter 4 starts by defining the power and gain quantities. Amplifier requirements, such as power, low noise and stability are then considered. A mixer is a nonlinear circuit, which must be implemented using a nonlinear component. Chapter 5 outlines the operation of commonly used nonlinear devices. Chapter 6 provides the background and tools for designing filter circuits at microwave frequencies. The various filter characteristics are described as well as the various types of filter responses. Chapter 7 describes the fundamentals of microwave oscillator design, including simple active component realizations using diodes and transistors. The standard topology of transistor feedback oscillators is described and analyzed from a mathematical point of view. Examples of practical voltage-controlled oscillator designs complete this section.
To order this book, contact:
The Atrium, Southern Gate
Chichester, West Sussex
PO19 8SQ, England
+44 1243-779777
Introduction to Modeling HBTs
Matthias Rudolph
Artech House • 336 pages; $119, £70
The aim of this book is not only to provide a reference of relevant HBT models, but also to discuss their background from a circuit designer’s point of view. A second motivation comes from the fact that texts on transistors frequently give the reader the impression that a compact model is obtained for free as a by-product of understanding the device physics. However, it is not as simple, as one discovers quickly when attempting to understand how a specific compact model works. Chapters 1 and 2 give a general introduction to compact modeling. The treatment focuses on the circuit level, watching the physics through the equivalent circuit. This way, instead of developing the model from physics upwards, it enables a discussion of practical implementation issues, the possibilities that are provided by modern circuit simulators, and also shortcomings and pitfalls. Chapter 3 then discusses the physics and technology of III-V HBTs. This chapter does not comprehensively provide all aspects of semiconductor physics. It is focused on the effects that are of practical relevance in contemporary HBT devices. Chapter 4 combines the preceding chapters and discusses modeling issues specific to HBTs. It thereby provides an explanation of the building blocks needed for a dedicated HBT model. Since noise is a special topic, it receives its own development in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6, a discussion of the most recent HBT models available plus two widespread bipolar models, SPICE Gummel-Poon and VBIC, is provided. Finally, Chapter 7 addresses the most important issue of all: how to obtain the model parameters. It is, as everything in science, a fragment, since each technology calls for adjustments of the extraction procedures. However, the strategies presented in the book seem to be satisfactory for most transistors.
To order this book, contact
Artech House 685 Canton St.
Norwood, MA 02062
(781) 769-9750 ext. 4030; or
46 Gillingham St.
London SW1V 1HH UK
+44 (0) 207-8750