mmWave Training | mmWave Design Training Course

mmWave Training 

Extremely high frequency is the International Telecommunication Union designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz.

We know this spectrum better as the millimeter wave band.

The spotlight has been on millimeter waves (mmWaves) ever since the major telecom carriers decided this was the band that would be the focus on building out the new 5G wireless network. The main reason for selecting the extremely high frequency band is because all the lower bands had become far too congested, which impact transmission speeds and latency.

Not only that, but just the amount of bandwidth available at mmWave frequencies (30 GHz to 300 GHz) is enormous compared to the amount of frequency spectrum used by 4G and previous wireless network technologies. Consequently, the hundreds of megahertz of wireless transmission bandwidth available at center frequencies allows 5G wireless networks to operate with almost zero latency and extremely high data speeds.

The millimeter wave’s high frequency also makes them a very efficient way of sending large amounts of data such as computer data, or many simultaneous television or voice channels

All that said, mmWaves are not perfect communication solutions. Compared to lower bands, radio waves in this band have high atmospheric attenuation.  They are absorbed by the gases in the atmosphere. Therefore, they have a short range and can only be used for terrestrial communication over about a kilometer.

Absorption by humidity in the atmosphere is significant except in desert environments, and attenuation by rain (rain fade) is a serious problem even over short distances. Millimeter waves also have issues with penetrating buildings and other objects.

A major challenge of telecom companies has been to find ways to overcome wwWave shortcomings to be useful for 5G networks. Beamforming, massive MIMO and small cell clusters are strategies used to harness the potential of millimeter waves

mmWave Training | mmWave Design Training Course by Tonex

mmWave Training Course, mmWave Design Training Course, is a 3-day course covering mmWave analysis, design and testing (millimeter wave applied to many applications). Millimeter waves describe a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that has a wavelength range of about 1 cm to 1 mm (equivalently from about 30 to 300 GHz). This portion of the spectrum is especially useful for high-speed wireless communications.

Besides 5G, this course will also address various circuits, systems, and block diagram designs that are being use and implemented in the next generation of mobile devices configured to operate with mmWaves.

All key concepts from RF design (s-parameters, transmission line theory, microstrip antennas, LNAs, etc.) will be reviewed, and the differences between 4G circuit topologies, components, and requirements and 5G-ready circuit topologies, components, and requirements will be described in detail. Engineers who want to plan, design, test robust RF/Wireless MMICs and boards, in the 30-100 GHz frequency range, will benefit from this comprehensive design course.

Learning objectives

Upon completing the course, attendees will be able to:

• List attributes of mmWave technology
• Learn about applications of mmWave
• Explain the impact of mmWave technology and challenges to silicon integrated circuit and system design
• Illustrate potential mmWave deployment scenarios
• Learn about mmWave system architecture and design
• Describe mmWave Analysis and Design challenges
• Illustrate mmWave wave propagation, antenna design, and communication channel capacity limits
• Evaluate the benefits and shortcoming of silicon-based mm-wave integrated circuits in broader context
• Give examples of advantages and limitations of mmWave designs
• List and describe design biasing networks for active circuits and broadband amplifiers
• Describe key design considerations for a MMIC power amplifiers at mmWave
• Describe how to calculate the lifetime of MMIC chips in packaged and unpackaged assemblies

Who Should Attend

mmWaveTraining is an ideal course for RF engineers, scientists, software engineers, testing engineers, analysts, engineering managers, antenna technicians, field measurement technicians, and project planners.  Attendees will learn more about antenna principles and  design of mmWave antennas using simulation, practical examples and enforcing mathematical and physics of mmWave and antennas.

Content

Fundamentals of mmWave

• Basics of mmWave
• mmWave Applications, Systems and Circuits
• Applications of mmWave
• Satellite communications
• Automotive radar
• 5G
• mmWave Spectrum and Frequency Range
• Bandwidth & Scalable Capacity
• 57 – 66 GHz: The 60 GHz Millimeter Wave Band or V-Band
• 71 – 76 GHz and 81 – 86 GHz: The 70 GHz and 80 GHz Millimeter Wave Bands or E-Bands
• 92 – 95 GHz: The 94 GHz Millimeter Wave Band or W-Band
• 60 GHz Usage Scenarios
• FCC licensed 28 GHz 5G band (27.5 – 28.35 GHz)
•  37 GHz band (37 – 38.6 GHz)
• 39 GHz band (38.6 – 40 GHz)
• 28 GHz 5G FEM MMIC in SMT Plastic Package
• mmWave Propagation
• Friis Equation
• The communication link
• 60 GHz communications/IoT
• Beamforming
• Propagation & Signal Attenuation
• Millimeter wave (mmWave) Phased-array Transceivers
• Operations & Challenges
• Phased-Array Architectures
• IF phase-shifting
• Performance

mmWave Circuits and mmWave Building Blocks

• CMOS with low-noise operation
• Fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) CMOS
• Flicker noise considerations
• Mixed-signal domain: ultrawideband baseband circuits A/D and D/A
• Transformer-based input integrated matching LNAs
• Compact oscillators for low voltage operations
• Active Inductors
• Active-LC Oscillators
• Phase noise in oscillator topologies (Cross-coupled, Colpitts, Hartley Armstrong) and frequency considerations

mmWave Devices

• mmWave Design
• Active circuits for RF/mm-wave front-ends
• PA, LNA, VGA, others
• High performance passive circuits for RF/mm-wave front-ends
• Antenna, filter, combiner, divider, coupler, switch, phase shifter and others
• Integrated Transmitters/Receivers
• Intermediate Frequency Subsystems
• Integrated Transceivers
• PLL/Synthesizers
• Integer-N PLLs
• Fractional-N/Integer-N PLLs
• Integer-N PLLs with Integrated VCO
• Common mm-Wave Antennas
• mmWave Antennas
• Antenna Ranges
• Far-field Testing
• Near-Field Testing
• How to test and measure antenna performance
• Timed (Phased)-array Transceivers
• Electronic beam steering
• Compact antennas
• Phase shifting (hardware, power)

mmWave Microelectronic/EM Design Challenges

• Substrate losses
• Parasitic effects and coupling
• Distributed circuit elements
• Simulations
• Packaging
• Impedance matching
• Measurement
• Energy efficiency
• Noise (flicker)
• Circuit topology limitations
• System architecture limitations
• Compliance with standard regulations

mmW Systems Engineering Principals

• mmW Circuit design
• Transceiver architecture
• Challenges
• Major accomplishments
• Major issues
• Power delay profile of a single antenna
• Hardware design
• Receive antenna multiplexer
• Multiplexed waveforms
• Best lessons learned
• System planning
• Analysis of Millimeter Wave Beam
• Systems requirements
• Design, Modeling and simulation
• Implementation
• Testing, verification, integration and validation
• Operations
• Best lessons learned

mmWave Design Challenges

• mmWave Link Budget Calculations
• Understanding and calculating path loss
• Atmospheric Loss
• Rain Attenuation
• Sky Noise
• Receiver Sensitivity and antenna noise figure
• Multiple Antennas/MU-MIMO DL and UL
• Millimeter-wave Circuit and System Design
• Active and Passive Device Modeling
• Low-Noise Amplifier Design
• Oscillators and VCOs
• Power Amplifiers
• Multiple Antenna Systems
• mmWave RF Design and Measurement
• Design Process Differences
• Co-design of IC, Package, Board and Cooling Solution

Phase Shifters and Considerations

• Passive phase shifters
• Switched LC-networks
• Reflective-type phase shifters
• Loaded line phase shifters
• Linearity, Losses, Noise, Area
• Active phase shifters
• Vector modulator phase shifters
• Linearity, Losses, Noise, Area
• Variable Gain Amplifiers (VGAs)
• Digital Gain Selector (DGS)
• Passive components: power-splitters (Wilkinson)

mmWave Design Techniques

• mmWave devices and systems
• mmWave device characterization issues
• Tuned amplifier, power amplifier design examples
• On-chip transmission line design
• Antenna
• Silicon Integration
• High Frequency Interface
• Capacity Limits
• On Chip Antennas
• Integrated Phased Arrays
• Passive MMIC Elements
• Active Devices
• mmWave Amplifiers

mmWave Board, RFIC and MMIC Design Techniques

• Device technologies
• Design cycle – process selection, device characterization, circuit topology decision, design, taping-out, testing
• RF Integrated Circuits (RFICs)
• Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs)
• GaAs, Si, SiGe and GaN technologies at mmWave frequencies to 100GHz
• MMIC and RFIC Design and Technology Development
• Custom ICs mmwave MMICs for mmWave systems
• Disciplined design approach
• Theory, and practical strategies required to achieve first-pass design success
• Implementation of mmWave circuits on SiGe, GaAs, InP, and GaN substrates
• Processing, masks, simulation, layout, design rule checking, packaging, and testing
• Design examples with emphasis on increasing yield, and reliability
• MMIC Design
• Advantages and tradeoffs
• Triple design constraints: cost, performance, reliability, size

Antenna Concepts and Design Considerations for 5G On-Package

• Antenna diversity
• End-fire radiation
• Yagi antennas, patch antennas, and other architectures
• Antenna and Waveguide Elements Applied in 5G
• The Monopole
• The Dipole
• The Loop
• The Slot
• Microstrip Antennas
• Waveguides
• Size versus Frequency
• Common Waveguides
• Connection Tips
• Aperture Antennas
• Aperture design concepts
• Antenna Arrays
• Types of antenna arrays
• Feed network design considerations
• Beamsteering and shaping concepts
• Performance trade-offs

mmWave Design Case Studies

• mmWave Components
• 2-18 GHz MMIC up-converter
• LNAs, PAs and switch MMICs for 40.5 to 43.5 GHz microwave point to point links
• CMOS transceivers for 1.8 GHz and 2.4 GHz applications
• GaAs phase shifter MMICs for phased array applications
• Broadband GaN PA MMICs for ESM

mmWave Packaging

• Packaging requirements
• Loss/isolation/match, support ICs (CTE/thermal/bias/mechanical)
• Packaging needs drivers
• Increased IC power dissipation
• Increased IC functionality – I/O count, Higher frequency, Higher density
• Multilayer Organic Packages, ceramics, etc. pros and cons
• Surface mount components evolution: Quad Flat No-leads package (QDNP), Quad Flat Package
• Fan-out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP)

Sample Case Studies

• mmW application case studies
• mmW system case studies
• mmWave Trends and evolution
• Case Study – Single Chip Front End Module (FEM) for 28 GHz 5G
• Case Study – Single Chip Front End Module (FEM) for 60 GHz
• 802.11ad/ay/ai/aj

Workshops

• Design simulation examples
• Design practices

CAD software will be used to simulate design examples using design software available from National Instruments (formerly AWR).

mmWave Training