“How Does a Radio Work and Why Do We Need All That Stuff?” 2/26/19
February 26, 2019 at 1:00 pm
319 DeBartolo Hall
Dr. Jonathan Chisum
Assistant Professor
University of Notre Dame
Abstract:
This talk will provide an overview of microwave radio architectures along with key performance metrics and limitations which affect wireless communications. The content is targeted at non-hardware engineers and designed to provide intuition and concrete examples. Throughout, the direct-conversion and super-heterodyne architectures will be used to clarify various issues encountered in radio hardware and their standard solutions. Ideal models will be contrasted with realistic models of key components in a radio (e.g., low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters, mixers, oscillators). We will conclude with current trends including the push to higher frequencies (millimeter-wave) and non-traditional architectures (e.g., nonlinear transceivers).
Biography:
Professor Chisum received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2011. After receiving his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Seattle Pacific University in 2003 he spent several years as a design engineer in the aerospace industry before returning for graduate studies.
Before joining the faculty of Notre Dame, he was a staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory where he worked on wideband millimeter-wave electronics for wireless communications and electronic warfare. Professor Chisum’s main research interest is in millimeter-wave circuits and antennas for wideband wireless communications systems. He is interested in maximizing RF performance metrics of efficiency and linearity in amplifiers, beamforming arrays, and overall transceivers. Professor Chisum is also interested in high fidelity instrumentation design in the pursuit of high-frequency circuits.