SIMAD University

Faculty of Engineering
RF & MICROWAVE ENGINEERING

CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION TO MICROWAVE
ENGINEERING

Engr Burhan Omar Sheikh Ahmed

M.Eng (Electrical-Electronics and Telecommunications)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO
MICROWAVE ENGINEERING
 SPECTRUM & WAVELENGTHS

• Electromagnetic radiations are defined in 2 zone; one is known as a non-

ionizing zone, another one is known as ionizing zone.
• Ionizing radiation has more energy which is given by the formula E equal to Hf
where f is frequency. So, higher the frequency, it will have a higher energy. So,
it can break the molecular bond and hence, it is known as ionizing.
 INTRODUCTION
• Microwave refers to alternating current signals with
frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.

3 x105 3 x 106 3 x107 3x 108 3x109 3x1010 3x1011 3x1012 3x 1013 3x1014

FM
AM Short
Far
Long wavebroad VHFbroad Microwaves infrared Visible
wave
radio infrared
Casti TV casting light
radio
ng radio
radio

103 102 101 1 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 10-6

• Figure 1 shows the location of the microwave

frequency
 INTRODUCTION
• Typical frequencies
 AM broadcast band 535-1605 kHz
 Shortwave radio 3-30 MHz
 FM broadcast band 88-108 MHz
 VHF TV (2-4) 54-72 MHz
 VHF TV (5-6) 76-88 MHz
 UHF TV (7-13) 174-216 MHz
 UHF TV (14-83) 470-890 MHz
 GPS 1575 ± 10 MHz
 Wi-Fi – 2400 to 2483 MHz and 5.2/5.8 GHz Band
 Microwave ovens 2.45 GHz
MICROWAVE BAND DESIGNATION

Frequency (GHz) Wavelength (cm) IEEE band

1-2 30 - 15 L
2-4 15 - 7.5 S
4-8 7.5 - 3.75 C
8 - 12 3.75 - 2.5 X
12 - 18 2.5 - 1.67 Ku
18 - 27 1.67 - 1.11 K
27 - 40 1.11 - 0.75 Ka
40 - 300 0.75 - 0.1 mm
 RF Sources - Commercial
FM TOWER PT = 10 KW
(88-108MHz)

TV TOWER PT = 40 KW
(180-220MHz)

RF
AM TOWER
SOURCES PT = 100 KW
IN SOMALIA
(530-1620KHz)

Wi-Fi PT = 10 –
(2.4 - 2.5 GHz) 1000 mW

CELL TOWER
(800,900,1800, PT = 20 W
2100, 2300 MHz)
GSM900 – 2 W
MOBILE
GSM1800, 3G –
PHONES
1W
APPLICATION OF MICROWAVE ENGINEERING

Applic
ations

Military
Aircraft Safety and
Navigation
RADAR
Missile Guidance and
Control

Civil Medical
Wireless
Communication
Cancer/Tumor
Vehicle Collision Detection
Avoidance Medical Diagnostics
Remote Sensing and Therapy
History of Microwave Engineering
Original apparatus used by Hertz for his
Electromagnetics experiments
MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
 TYPICAL Tx ARCHITECTURE

Typical transmitter architecture (from RF & Microwave Wireless System, Wiley)

 TYPICAL Tx ARCHITECTURE…(cont)

• Input baseband signals (video, data, or voice) is assumed to be

band limited to a freq fm

• Signal is filtered to remove any components beyond passband

• Message signal is then mixed with a local oscillator (LO) to

produce modulated carrier (up-conversion) (fLO+fm OR fLO-fm),

fm<fLO

• Modulated carrier can be amplified & transmitted by the

antenna.
TYPICAL Rx ARCHITECTURE

Typical receiver (from RF & Microwave Wireless Systems, Wiley)

 TYPICAL Rx ARCHITECTURE…( contd)

• When signal arrives at Rx, normally it is amplified by a Low

Noise Amplifier (LNA)

• Mixer then produce a down-converted signal at freq of fIF+fm

OR fIF-fm; fIF<fm

• Signal is then filtered to remove undesired harmonics &

spurious products from mixing process
• Signal is then amplified by an intermediate freq (IF) amplifier
• Output signal of amplifier goes to detector for the recovery of
the original message.
 Microwave Components and Systems
Passive Microwave Components: Microwave Systems:
 T-line • Mobile Phone
 Antenna • Repeater / Signal Enhancer
 Power Divider / Compiner • Radio Frequency Identifation
 Coupler Number ( RFID).
 Filter • RF Transciever
 Attenuator • GPS and GSM Modules.
Active Microwave Components: • Radar
 Amplifier • RF Energy Harvesting.
 Oscillator • High Power Microwave
 Mixer Systems
 RF Switch
 Phase Shifter
Transmission Lines
 Antennas
• Monopole/dipole antennas.
• Loop/slot antenna;
• Antenna Array,
• Microstrip;
• Yagi-Uda.
• Reflector Antenna
 Power Dividers / Combiners

• 2 – Way
• 3 – Way
• 4 - Way
Branch Line and Directional Coupler
• When two unshielded
transmission lines are in
close proximity, power
can be coupled from one
line to the other due to
the interaction of the
electromagnetic fields.
Such lines are referred to
as coupled transmission
lines, and they usually
consist of three
conductors in close
proximity
 Microwave Filters
• Filter is a two-port network used to control the
frequency response at a certain point in an RF or
microwave system by providing transmission at
frequencies within the passband of the filter and
attenuation in the stopband of the filter.

• Different type of filters;

 Low Pass Filter,
 High Pass Filter.
 Band Pass Filter and
 Band Reject Filter.
 Attenuators
• Attenuator basically attenuates the signal.
• Attenuator will be something like opposite of amplifier
in amplifier we amplify the signal in attenuator we
actually attenuate the signal or reduce the signal.

• Fixed Attenuator:
 Attenuation: 3, 10, 20, 30 dB.
 Power Handling: 0.5, 5, 20, 100 W.
• Variable Attenuator:
 Attenuation: 3 to 30 dB
 Power Handling: 0.5 W.
 Microwave Amplifiers
• is an electronic device that can increase the power of a signal (a
time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic
circuit that uses electric power from a power supply to increase
the amplitude of a signal applied to its input terminals, producing
a proportionally greater amplitude signal at its output. The
amount of amplification provided by an amplifier is measured by
its gain.
• Low Noise Amplifier:
 1 to 2 dB with gain=10 to 20 dB ( Power output< 0.01 W=
10 dBm).
• Medium Power Amplifier:
 Power output: 0.01 W to 1 W where 1 W = 30 dBm.
• High Power Amplifier:
 Power output > 1 W= 30 dBm).
 Oscillator, Mixer
• Oscillator is a nonlinear circuit that converts DC
power to an AC waveform. Most RF oscillators
provide sinusoidal outputs, which minimizes undesired
harmonics and noise sidebands.
• A mixer is a three-port device that uses a nonlinear or
time-varying element to achieve frequency conversion.
 Up-converter, down-converter
EFFECTS OF MICROWAVES
ON HUMAN BODY
 Microwave Heating Principles
• Microwave radiation causes vibration in the water
molecules, which leads to friction and heating.
• The radiation effects are classified as:
 Non-thermal
 Thermal
• Current exposure safety standards are mainly based
on the thermal effects, which are inadequate.

• Non-thermal effects are several times more harmful

than thermal effects.
 Microwave Heating Concept
• 4.2 KW (4200 W) of microwave power raises
temperature of 1 Litre of water by 1℃ in 1 second.
• In energy absorption term, 4.2 KW-sec microwave
energy will increase the temperature of 1 Liter by 1
℃.
• For example, in a microwave oven, temperature of
one cup of water increases from 30 ℃ to 100 ℃ in
approx. 70 seconds with 500W of microwave
power.
• With 1W power (same as output power of cell
phones), temp. will increase by 1℃ in 500 seconds.
 Microwave Heating Concept..(cont)
• When a human body is exposed to the electromagnetic
radiation, it absorbs radiation, because human body consists
of 70% liquid. It is similar to that of cooking in the
microwave oven where the water in the food content is heated
first.
• Microwave absorption effect is much more significant by the
body parts which contain more fluid (water, blood, etc.), like
the brain which consists of about 90% water.
• Effect is more pronounced where the movement of the fluid is
less, for example, eyes, brain, joints, heart, abdomen, etc.
Also, human height is much greater than the wavelength of
the cell tower transmitting frequencies, so there will be
multiple resonances in the body, which creates localized
heating inside the body. This results in boils, drying up of the
fluids around eyes, brain, joints, heart, abdomen, etc.
 Cell Phone - Ear Warming?
• Have you ever noticed warm
sensation in ear after using mobile
phone for a long time?

Temp. of ear lobes increases by

1 ℃ when cell phone is used for
approx. 20 minutes.

Warm sensation -> pain -> irreversible hearing loss

All these effects lead to Ear Tumor

 SAR and Cell phone use time limit
A cell phone transmits in the frequency range
of 824 - 849 MHz (CDMA), 890 - 915 MHz
(GSM900) and 1710 – 1780 MHz (GSM1800).

6 minutes / day usage

• SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) - Rate at which
radiation is absorbed by human body, measured in
watts per kg (W/kg).
• In USA, max. SAR limit for cell phones is 1.6 W/Kg
which is for 6 minutes. It has a safety margin of 3 to 4,
so a person should not use cell phone for more than 18
to 24 minutes per day.
 iPhone XS Max RF Exposure Information

• iPhone has been tested and meets applicable limits for radio frequency (RF)
exposure.
• Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) refers to the rate at which the body absorbs
RF energy. The SAR limit is 1.6 watts per kilogram in countries that set the
limit averaged over 1 gram of tissue and 2.0 watts per kilogram in countries
that set the limit averaged over 10 grams of tissue.
• To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free option, such as the built-
in speakerphone, the supplied headphones, or other similar accessories. Cases
with metal parts may change the RF performance of the device, including its
compliance with RF exposure guidelines, in a manner that has not been
tested or certified.

• Carry iPhone at least 5mm away

from your body to ensure
exposure levels remain at or
below the as-tested levels.
 WHO: Cell Phone use can increase
Cancer Risk
• International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC), a
part of WHO designates cell
phones as "possible human
carcinogen” [Class 2B].
• Found evidence of increase in
glioma and acoustic neuroma
brain cancer for mobile phone
 Radiation Pattern of a Cell
Tower Antenna

People living within 50 to 300 meter radius are in the

high radiation zone (dark blue) and are more prone to ill-
effects of electromagnetic radiation
People living at < 50m are in extremely high radiation zone

Power varies by 1/R², where R = Distance from tower

Radiation Pattern of a Cell
Tower Antenna

Note: Diagram only for illustration

 Power Density Calculations
• Power density Pd at a distance R is
given by

 Pt  Gt 
Pd   2 
watt/m 2

 4 R 
• Pt = Transmitter power in Watts
• Gt = Gain of transmitting antenna
• R = Distance from the antenna in
meters
Power Density at distance from cell
tower
• For Pt = 20 W, Gt = 17 dB = 50

Above values are for a single carrier and a single operator

 ICNIRP Guidelines – Adopted by
Most African Countries

According to ICNIRP, for general public exposure, safe power density =

f/200 for frequency range of 400-2,000 MHz. So for GSM900, safe
power density is 900/200 = 4.5W/m2, which is for 6 min period as
mentioned in Note no. 3.
 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Most Common Complaints:

 Sleep disruption  Dizziness

 Headache  Palpitations of the Heart
 Concentration  Visual Disorders

 Forgetful memory  Cardiovascular Problems

 Buzzing in the Head
 Depression
 Altered Reflexes
 Fatigue

• Many of these are related to changes in the electrical

activity of the brain.
 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS…
(contd.)

 Immune System
Degradation
 Irreversible Infertility
 Effect on Skin
 DNA Damage

 Increase in Cancer
Risk
 Irreversible Infertility
• Continuous use
over a few years
leads to 30%
sperm decrease in
intensive mobile
users, in addition
to damage of
sperms

Figure 3 - Differences in semen parameters between cell phone users. The

x-axis lists the eight sperm parameters which were studied between the
four groups: 1 = volume; 2 = liquefaction time; 3 = pH; 4 = viscosity; 5 =
sperm count; 6 = motility; 7 = viability; 8 = percent abnormal
morphology. Parameters 1-3 showed not differences, whereas parameters
4-8 showed statistically significant differences between the low usage
groups and the high usage groups. Adapted from Agarwal 2008 (80)
END