RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

What are the Common Considerations and Applications of RF Designs?

The designers of digital systems are usually familiar with some of the RF

components as well as routing styles. However, there is usually more that

occurs in the RF circuit designs. The RF circuit could include

some integrated circuits (ICs), discrete semiconductors, as well as printed

radio frequency elements, which function altogether to deliver the

functionality required. Also, RF circuit designs deals with the combination

of all these elements to create the whole system as well as the PCB layout.

The layouts for an RF circuit seem to violate the basic rules for electrical

designs. Therefore, if you don’t know much about RF designs, then it might

seem like the printed circuit boards have to be discarded. For the RF

circuits, these signals are both conducted and radiated.

Also, their nature for propagation makes the RF circuits look and function

in a different manner from the ordinary DC and AC circuits. As the

majority of electronics used today work with wireless communications and

mixed-signals technologies, it is very important that you understand what

RF designs are.

Request RF PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Quote Now

Table of Contents

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Understanding What RF Circuit Designs are

The design of RF circuits are done to look like the usual circuit elements as

well as several simple ICs through the construction of structures with the

use of printed elements on the circuit board designs. In addition, these RF

circuits could seem a little foreign because they don’t usually make use of

the off-the-shelf components. Rather, the RF circuits utilize printed traces

present on the PCB as well as several other components. This is to offer

better functionality to the circuit boards.

What is a Printed RF Circuit?

The printed sections of the RF circuit board designs would make use of

copper traces in building the circuit elements. Also, the arrangement of

the inductor, capacitor, or traces elements, as well as semiconductors In

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

the RF circuit might seem un-intuitive. However, they make use of the

propagation behavior present in electromagnetic fields in producing the

proper electrical behavior.

What is an Active RF Circuit Design?

The active RF circuits could include driven amplifiers, oscillators,

transceivers, and ADCs. You can make use of these components with the

printed traces. This delivers better functionality. Majority of wireless

systems, radar modules, telecom components, and amplifiers make use of

the active components. They work with passive circuits in routing RF

signals, as well as offer the necessary behavior for signal propagation.

Signal manipulation, sampling, as well as processing are usually done

using active components. This could also offer an interface into the digital

systems.

The radio circuit designs have an objective. This is to receive and transmit

signal between a source and its destination with great quality and without

resulting in high costs. You can achieve this through circuit design making

use of design methods that are proven. RFICs are typically made up of

filters, amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, as well as demodulators/modulators

on one chip.

What are the Components of the RF Circuit Designs?

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

RF circuit designs are discrete technologies which make use of both

the analog low-frequency design techniques, as well as methods utilized in

designing microwave circuits. The RF circuit functions at high frequencies.

The main components of RFIC designs include:

Antennas: These are used in transmitting as well as receiving the radio

frequency signals.

Low-noise amplifiers: This amplifies weak signals and then filters noise

response, as received signals aren’t strong enough to be able to pass

through a mixer directly.

Impedance matching: This helps in matching the load and source

impedance to reduce signal reflection as well as maximize

the power transfer.

Filter: It restricts a specific frequency band’s signal. This could be

bandpass filters which permit a specific range of frequency to pass

through. It can also be low pass filters that permits frequencies less than a

particular level to pass through. Also, it might be high pass filters which

permit frequencies higher than a particular level to pass through.

Modulator: This is useful for modulation of signals. This helps in the

encoding of signals in a particular way to help in meeting the

requirements for communication channels. This serves as up-converters

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

in transmitters, where it combines with analog signals of low-frequency

with local oscillator signals for generating RF signals.

Demodulator: Demodulators decode signals on a receiver. This takes out

the initial information-carrying signals from modulated carrier waves.

Power amplifiers: They are useful for the amplification of the mixer’s

output onto higher powers for transmissions. This coverage range usually

increases with transmission efficiency.

RF switch: This helps in the routing of high-frequency signals via

transmission paths.

What are the Common Considerations for RF Circuit Designs?

As discussed above, the behavior of RF circuits differs from the digital or

analog circuits. The RF circuits’ high frequency for operation needs the

designers to consider a few things when designing. These include the

following.

The selection of a PCB material must be of great importance. This is

because it has an influence on a circuit’s performance. When at high

frequencies, the thermoset of PTFE polymer materials are usually

preferred compared to the FR4 material.

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Also, the design of the PCB stackup must be that it delivers the required

impedance features to your RF components.

Take a look at parasitic influence and high-frequency behaviors whenever

you are designing an RF circuit that involves passive components. For RF

circuits, you have to make use of stable and accurate signals compared to

crystals utilized for digital circuits.

When you are designing the antennas, the requirements and features of

an RF system under the design has to be looked into. Also, you can give

extra functionalities to the RF active components like oscillators, and

low-noise amplifiers, by making use of the printed traces.

How to Plan the Board Construction

Similar to the high speed digital PCBs, the successful RF circuit design

usually relies on building PCB stackups, which could support the RF

circuits. You have to design the stackup so RF elements feature the

needed characteristic impedance, though the system’s impedance

function would be more complex for the RF circuit routing and layout.

Furthermore, the frequency where this board will function would help in

determining the way stackups are built, what printed circuit design types

you may need, as well as the RF components that you could make use of.

The RFIC design works with a similar idea for the design of RF PCBs.

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Mastering these concepts would assist you in succeeding in all RF design

areas.

Materials for RF PCB

You can work with FR4 materials for the RF interconnects and

transmission lines that operate to a Wi-Fi frequency that can reach 6GHz.

Above these frequencies, the RF engineers advise making use of

alternative materials in supporting the propagation of RF signals as well as

the RF circuit design. The FR4 laminates make use of fiberglass weaves

that are resin filled to hold the components. However, the fiber weave

effects in some materials can create power and signal integrity issues if

the procedures for fabrication aren’t properly specified.

Other material systems make use of bondply materials and PTFE-based

laminates for bonding the PTFE layers with the following layers inside the

PCB stackup.

RF Material PCB Stackups

Immediately you have chosen the bondply materials and laminates for the

RF design, then you can now add them onto the stackup. While a

full multilayer PCB stackup can be built with the RF materials, generally, it

isn’t needed and could be too expensive.

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

An option is to create one hybrid stackup, whereby you can place your RF

laminate on the top layer. This will offer support to the RF transmission

circuits and lines. Also, the internal layer would be used in supporting the

ground planes, as well as routing for the digital power and signals.

Request RF PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Quote Now

What are the Common RF Circuit Designs?

Designing the PCB stackup even before the RF circuit design is very

important, most especially the passive RF circuit. This is because some

impedance targets have to be reached in order to work effectively.

Furthermore, RF circuit designs work with the propagation of

electromagnetic fields on the transmission lines, and this propagation

behavior would be dependent on the substrate material’s dielectric

function. After working out the details, you may start the design of the RF

circuit and then choose more components for the system.

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Furthermore, the design for the printed RF circuits is done through the

calculation of sections of a transmission line for utilization in some

structures of the printed circuit board. The designs of your transmission

line will guide the propagation waves into components. It will also provide

behaviors like amplification, attenuation, resonance, filtering, as well as

emission (as antennas).

The internet transformation present at stubs usually interfaces with the

components, and the antennas are usually required for overcoming an

impedance mismatch that is seen by the RF signals as it propagates.

What are the Differences Between Microwave Design and RF

Circuit Designs?

Microwave design circuits and RF circuits are some of the well-known PCB

designs in the electronics industry. These are recognized for their

capability to capture the higher frequencies more than the normal circuits

do.

Initially, it was too expensive to work for anything other than the

aerospace and military industries, the microwave and RF circuits are now

very important components of different professional and commercial

products, most especially devices for wireless communications such as

wireless networks, satellite broadcasters, and cell phones.

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

The RF circuit designs forms a discrete technology that makes use of

both analog design techniques of low-frequency as well as methods

utilized in designing microwave circuits. One major difference between the

low frequency analog designs and microwave designs has to do with the

importance of the principles of the transmission lines. The microwave

design works with the transmission line concept, whereby the other

doesn’t. This is why choosing impedance levels and describing the noise,

signal size, distortion, and nose are all affected.

While the radio frequency signals usually cover a wide signal frequency

range, the circuit designers usually make use of this term in narrower

scopes. In this field, the frequency for RF signals falls between 50 MHZ and

1 GHz. These signal frequencies are the same utilized in the FM/AM

transmission.

Furthermore, the microwave signals work with frequencies higher than 1

GHz. These signals’ upper limit stands at 30 GHz. These microwaves are

the same used in cooking our foods inside microwave ovens. Also, they

are used in communicating extremely high bandwidth signals.

Applications of the RF Circuit Design

Automotive Radar System: RF circuit designs are useful for automotive

radar systems to work in applications such as adaptive cruise control,

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

collision avoidance, as well as parking assistance. As a result of the

compact nature, you can easily mount it in vehicles to offer enhanced

safety.

Wireless Connectivity and Communication: The RF designs used widely for

any wireless communications in IoT devices, mobile phones, home

appliances, etc. Devices that are RFID-enabled are now an important

aspect of our daily lives. Power management, compact integration, as well

as high-speed transfer of data are some great benefits.

Satellite communication: The RF circuits are useful in a satellite

communication system. This works for tasks like frequency conversion,

signal amplification, and modulation. Some of its benefits include high

rates of data transfer, wide coverage, as well as better signal processing.

Wireless sensor networks: The RF circuits are used in different wireless

sensor networks for applications such as industrial automation, smart

agriculture, and environmental monitoring. The wireless connectivity

present between the sensor nodes gets rid of the extensive infrastructure

and cabling. Making use of RF circuit applications offers scalability and

flexibility, since reconfiguring or expanding RF circuit networks is easy.

Conclusion

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Microwave design and RF PCB designers have to comprehend the

sensitive nature of the high-frequency signals to noise. Most designers

usually work with this sensitivity in the high speed digital signals; however,

they need to be very cautious when working with the microwave and RF

signals, because they are much more sensitive. Also, they are susceptible

to different noise types. This high sensitivity means that you have to

mitigate any signal noise, ringing, or reflection.

Related Posts:

1. Designs Considerations and Applications of PCB Sensors

2. What are the Applications and Design Considerations of the Robot

PCB?

3. Most Common IoT Applications and How They Impact Our World

4. What are the High Power PCB Design Considerations and

Applications?

https://www.raypcb.com/rf-design/

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/