Microwave Concepts

The field of radio frequency (RF) and microwave engineering generally covers the behavior of
alternating current signals with frequencies in the range of 100 MHz to 1000 GHz. RF frequencies range
from very high frequency (VHF) (30–300 MHz) to ultra high frequency (UHF) (300–3000 MHz), while
the term microwave is typically used for frequencies between 3 and 300 GHz, Today, most new
communication services and equipment use microwaves or the millimeter-wave bands.

Microwave signals of 1 to 30 GHz have wavelengths of 30 cm to 1 cm . Frequencies above 30 GHz are

referred to as millimeter waves because their wavelength is only millimeters (mm). The microwave
frequency spectrum is divided up into groups of frequencies, or bands, as shown below.

Microwave Engineering lecture-1

Benefits of Microwaves
Every electronic signal used in communication has a finite bandwidth. When a carrier is modulated by
an information signal, sidebands are produced. The resulting signal occupies a certain amount of
bandwidth, called a channel, in the radio-frequency (RF) spectrum. Channel center frequencies are
assigned in such a way that the signals using each channel do not overlap and interfere with signals in
adjacent channels
Multiplexing techniques help put more signals or information into a given bandwidth. Broadband
schemes such as spread spectrum and orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) allow many
radios to share a single bandwidth. The other major approach to solving the problem of spectrum
crowding has been to move into the higher frequency ranges. Initially, the VHF and UHF bands. the
higher the frequency, the greater the bandwidth available for the transmission of information. This not
only gives more space for individual stations, but also allows wide-bandwidth information signals such
as video and high-speed digital data to be accommodated.
Example:
Consider a standard AM broadcast station operating on 1000 kHz. The station is permitted to use
modulating frequencies up to 5 kHz, thus producing upper and lower sidebands 5 kHz above and below
the carrier frequency, or 995 and 1005 kHz.
This gives a maximum channel bandwidth of 1005 - 995 =10 kHz. This bandwidthrepresents 10/1000 =
0.01 or 1 percent of the spectrum space at that frequency
Now consider a microwave carrier frequency of 4 GHz. One percent of 4 GHz is 0.01 x 4,000,000,000=5
40,000,000 or 40 MHz. A bandwidth of 40 MHz is incredibly wide.
That is why most TV transmission is in the VHF and UHF ranges. There is even more space for video in
the microwave region. Wide bandwidth also makes it possible to use various multiplexing techniques
to transmit more information. Multiplexed signals generally have wide bandwidths, but these can be
easily handled in the microwave region.
Another advantage is that antenna gain is proportional to the electrical size of the antenna. At higher
frequencies, more antenna gain can be obtained for a given physical antenna size, and this has
important consequences when implementing microwave systems. Also Microwave signals travel by
line of sight and are not bent by the ionosphere as are lower frequency signals. Satellite and terrestrial

Microwave Engineering lecture-1

communication links with very high capacities are therefore possible, with frequency reuse at
minimally distant locations.

Disadvantages of Microwaves and Millimeter Waves

- The higher the frequency, the more difficult it becomes to analyze electronic circuits. The

analysis of electronic circuits at lower frequencies, those below 30 MHz, is based upon current-
voltage relationships (circuit analysis). Such relationships are simply not usable at microwave
frequencies. Instead, most components and circuits are analyzed in terms of electric and
magnetic fields (wave analysis), also power measurements are more common than voltage and
current measurements.
- At microwave frequencies, conventional components become difficult to implement. For

example, a common resistor that looks like pure resistance at low frequencies does not exhibit
the same characteristics at microwave frequencies. The figure below shows equivalent circuits
of components at microwave frequencies. One of the solutions is to use transmission lines,
rather than lumped components, at microwave frequencies. When transmission lines are cut to
the appropriate length, they act as inductors, capacitors, and resonant circuits. Special versions
of transmission lines known as striplines, microstrips, waveguides, and cavity resonators are
widely used to implement tuned circuits and reactance.
-

- conventional semiconductor devices such as diodes and transistors simply will not function at

microwave frequencies because of effect of transit time (the amount of time it takes for the
current carriers, holes or electrons to move through a device). At low frequencies, transit times
can be neglected; but at microwave frequencies, they are a high percentage of the actual signal

Microwave Engineering lecture-1

 period. This problem has been solved by designing smaller microwave diodes, transistors, and
ICs and using special materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) in which transit time is
significantly less than in silicon.
- specialized components have been designed for microwave applications. This is particularly true

for power amplification, where special vacuum tubes known as klystrons, magnetrons, and
traveling-wave tubes are the primary components used for power amplification.
- microwave signals, as do light waves, travel in perfectly straight lines. This means that the

communication distance is usually limited to line-of-sight range. Antennas must be very high for
long-distance transmission

Microwave Engineering lecture-1