James Chu

Applications of RFID Technology [Book\/Software Reviews]

This book is intended for radiofrequency identification (RFID) system designers, program managers, and regulators. It covers broad aspects of RFID requirements and RFID environments. The first chapter of this book offers an introduction to radiofrequency identification (RFID) history, applications, business applications, and standards. The remaining chapters focus on: radio-frequency spectrum and propagation, the theory of electromagnetism and Maxwell’s equations, near field, far field, and EH field; automatic identification systems (AISs; RFID standards, air interface, key players, and an example of an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) tags; RFID near-field and far-field propagation of low-frequency systems and high-frequency/microwave systems; RFID system design requirements; integrating RFIDs and sensor networks; and RFID market trends, barriers to RFID adoption, security, privacy, health risks, ethics, and moral dilemmas of RFID technology.

Integrated Microwave Front-Ends with Avionics Applications [Book\/Software Reviews]

This book has a total of 14 chapters, covering planar transmission lines, lump elements, directional couplers, filters, switches, limiters, phase shifters, duplexers, low-noise amplifiers, and mixers. The author also introduces a variety of avionics equipment, such as XPDR (transponder), distance measuring equipment (DME), universal access transceiver (UAT), automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), traffic collision avoidance system, and antennas,along with the design and fabrication technology. This book, overall, is very practical and useful to the design and field engineers in RF/microwave and avionics. It can serve as a field guide for experienced engineers as well as a beginner.

Silicon Design and Measurement [Book/Software Reviews]

The motivation for his book stems from the complexity of on-wafer measurements and their associated characterization techniques. His intent is to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real-world silicon design and measurement and also to satisfy the needs of modern RF integrated circuit designers and researchers. Dr. Lourandakis provides a complete and comprehensive guide to performing on-wafer measurements, calibration, and de-embedding of silicon-integrated passive devices. The book opens with an introduction to two basic domains of signal analysis: frequency- and time-domain analysis.

Considering Backhaul [Book\Software Reviews]

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the subject of microwave backhaul. Design information on this subject is sparse, and it is not easy to collect and interpret. This fact was the driving force behind the creation of this book, which focuses on the electronics of backhaul and describes in detail all the subsystems responsible for transforming the information signal that comes from baseband processing into an electromagnetic wave traveling through the air. Electronics for Microwave Backhaul presents an overview of the evolution of the electronics for microwave radios, from their initial development to present implementations and future trends. The authors have stayed abreast of current real-world industry products and present many real-world solutions to the design issues.

Bridging Academic Knowledge and Real-World Silicon Design [Book\/Software Reviews]

The focus of his book is the complex subject of on-wafer measurements and their associated characterization techniques. The author aims to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real-world silicon design and measurement and thus satisfy the needs of modern-day RF integrated circuit designers and researchers. His purpose is to provide a complete and comprehensive guide for performing on-wafer measurements, calibration, and de-embedding of silicon-integrated passive devices. This book starts with the introduction of two basic domains of signal analysis: frequency- and time-domain analysis. The author indicates that LRRM calibration is more robust and its coverage is better in terms of the theoretical value over a broader frequency range.

RF Front-End Technologies--30 Years of Applied Research and Development [Book\/Software Reviews]

The author, Mike Harris was a principal research engineer, division chief, and associate director in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory at Georgia Technical Research Institute. He has 40 years experience in semiconductor materials and device technology. He developed semiconductor processes for gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) pseudomorphic HEMTs (pHEMTs). The second author, Rick Sturdivant, has industry experience designing products for microwave and millimeter-wave systems. He developed the world’s first array module for phased-array radar. He is currently president of Microwave Packaging Technology, Inc. This book focuses on RF application-specific integrated circuit chip set design for active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) for radar and communication applications in both transmit and receive modules. It condenses 30 years of applied research and development of RF front-end technologies. T/R modules technology topics covered in the text include an introduction to phased arrays in radar and communication systems, T/R modules, and module components; monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs); T/R module packaging; RF interconnect materials; thermal management for T/R modules, and MMICs; T/R module manufacturing and testing; module costs; and next-generation T/R modules.

An Introduction to UWB Antenna Design [Book\/Software Reviews]

This textbook is a collaborative work by three authors from the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City, Mexico. Conceived as a reference for the development of ultrawide-band (UWB) antennas, it addresses applications in body-area networks, radar, imaging, spectrum monitoring, electronic warfare, and wireless sensor networks. The various topics considered in this textbook range from recent proposals to theory and guidelines for the design of the UWB antenna. This book begins with a very basic introduction to UWB antenna theory and a simple explanation of each type of UWB antenna. These are perfect for entry-level UWB antenna designers as well as UWB equipment designers and operators.

Wideband Amplifiers and Their Applications [Book\/Software Reviews]

This textbook aims to present all relevant information and comprehensive design methodologies for wideband amplifiers and their applications—from theoretical approaches and circuit simulations to practical implementation techniques for RF and microwave distributed amplifiers.

A comprehensive survey of electrostatic discharge protection (review of, "electrostatic discharge protection: advances and applications" [book review]

This book was edited by Dr. Juin J. Liou in collaboration with Krzysztof Iniewski and 20 other editors. It brings together a team of experienced and well-respected researchers and engineers from around the world, representing universities and semiconductor industries, with expertise in electrostatic discharge (ESD). Some of the following topics are addressed: an introduction to ESD; design of component-level-on-chip ESD; ESD and EOS; ESWD, EOS, and latch-up test methods; design of power rail ESD clamp circuits; ESD protection in automotive integrated circuit applications; ESD protection circuits using NMOS parasitic bipolar transistors; ESD development in foundry processes; advanced TCAD methods for ESD design; ESD protection of failsafe and voltage tolerant signal pins; and ESD design and optimization in advanced CMOS technology. This book is an A-to-Z complete guide for the ASIC ESD designer; it includes charts, tables, test procedures, and standards, making it a must-have for every ESD designer.

PA Design Basics [Book\/Software Reviews]

The introduction to this book can be a resource for both working engineers and students: it fills an existing gap in the area of RF power amplifier design, serving as a complete guide and providing practical methods and detailed examples of the various design stages including analytical formulation and simulation. Computer-aided design (CAD) tools to verify the design are presented using a step-by-step process, and most of the equations are at the college algebra level, making this book easy to follow. The book’s extensive coverage includes not only an introduction to the design of several amplifier topologies but also the design and simulation of an amplifier’s surrounding sections and assemblies. In addition, unlike other texts, the book focuses on the higher level design sections and assemblies for RF amplifiers, helping designers to accomplish the amplifier design according to the given specifications. In terms of active devices, the text focuses on metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). Most of the CAD programs are based on MATLAB and Ansoft Designer CPW. This book focuses on the simulation side—it uses the Advanced Design System and the OrCAD/PSpice environment, including the PSpice device model. The book is truly written for the RF power amplifier designer and students alike. The content is just at the right level, and the examples are very helpful and easy to apply to practical design work. The color excellent. There are many design programs written in MATLAB; if the author can post these MATLAB scripts on the downloadable website, it would double the value of the book. The book also includes homework problems at the end of each chapter. By incorporating a test bank and PowerPoint slides for the classroom instructor, this book would become an excellent teaching textbook at the undergraduate level.