Radio-frequency (RF) engineering is a subset of

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

involving the application of transmission line, waveguide, antenna,

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, and electromagnetic field principles to the design and application of devices that produce or use signals within the radio band, the frequency range of about 20 kHz up to 300

GHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

. It is incorporated into almost everything that transmits or receives a radio wave, which includes, but is not limited to, mobile phones, radios,

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

, and two-way radios. RF engineering is a highly specialized field that typically includes the following areas of expertise: # Design of antenna systems to provide radiative coverage of a specified geographical area by an electromagnetic field or to provide specified sensitivity to an electromagnetic field impinging on the antenna. # Design of coupling and transmission line structures to transport RF energy without radiation. # Application of circuit elements and transmission line structures in the design of oscillators, amplifiers, mixers, detectors, combiners, filters, impedance transforming networks and other devices. # Verification and measurement of performance of radio frequency devices and systems. To produce quality results, the RF engineer needs to have an in-depth knowledge of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and general

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

theory as well as specialized training in areas such as wave propagation, impedance transformations, filters and microstrip printed circuit board design.

Radio electronics

''Radio electronics'' is concerned with electronic circuits which receive or transmit

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

signals. Typically, such circuits must operate at radio frequency and power levels, which imposes special constraints on their design. These constraints increase in their importance with higher frequencies. At microwave frequencies, the reactance of signal traces becomes a crucial part of the physical layout of the circuit. List of radio electronics topics: * RF oscillators: Phase-locked loop, voltage-controlled oscillator *

Transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

s, transmission lines, transmission line tuners, RF connectors * Antennas, antenna theory * Receivers, tuners *

Amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power su ...

s * Modulators, demodulators, detectors * RF filters * RF shielding, ground plane * Direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS), noise power * Digital radio * RF power amplifiers ** Metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET)s: Power MOSFET, Laterally-diffused metal-oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) ** Bipolar junction transistors * Baseband processors ( Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS)) * RF CMOS ( mixed-signal integrated circuits)

Duties

Radio-frequency engineers are specialists in their respective field and can take on many different roles, such as design, installation, and maintenance. Radio-frequency engineers require many years of extensive experience in the area of study. This type of engineer has experience with transmission systems, device design, and placement of antennas for optimum performance. The RF engineer job description at a broadcast facility can include maintenance of the station's high-power broadcast transmitters and associated systems. This includes transmitter site emergency power, remote control, main transmission line and antenna adjustments, microwave radio relay STL/ TSL links, and more. In addition, a radio-frequency design engineer must be able to understand electronic hardware design, circuit board material, antenna radiation, and the effect of interfering frequencies that prevent optimum performance within the piece of equipment being developed.

Mathematics

There are many applications of electromagnetic theory to radio-frequency engineering, using conceptual tools such as vector calculus and

complex analysis Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathematics, including algebraic ...

. Topics studied in this area include waveguides and transmission lines, the behavior of radio antennas, and the propagation of radio waves through the Earth's atmosphere. Historically, the subject played a significant role in the development of nonlinear dynamics.

References

External links

Practical Guide to Radio-Frequency Analysis and Design
{{Authority control Radio spectrum Radio waves Radio waves Electromagnetic spectrum Broadcast engineering Electrical engineering Electronic engineering Broadcasting occupations Engineering occupations MOSFETs Telecommunications techniques

Radio electronics

Duties

Mathematics

See also

References

External links