Communications Engineer 

About: Communications Engineer is an academic journal published by Institution of Electrical Engineers. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Computer science & Engineering. It has an ISSN identifier of 1479-8352. Over the lifetime, 250 publications have been published receiving 5356 citations. The journal is also known as: IET communications engineer.

The design of CMOS radio-frequency integrated circuits, 2nd edition

Abstract: 53 ■ IEEE CIRCUITS & DEVICES MAGAZINE ■ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 THE DESIGN OF CMOS RADIOFREQUENCY INTEGRATED CIRCUITS, 2ND ED By Thomas Lee, Cambridge University Press, 2003. All-CMOS radio transceivers and system-on-a-chip are rapidly making inroads into a wireless market that, for years, was dominated by bipolar solutions. On wireless LAN and Bluethooth, RF CMOS is especially dominant, and it is becoming also in GSM cellular and GPS receivers. Hence, books that cover this widespread domain respond to a real need. The first edition of this book, published on 1998, was a pioneering textbook on the field of RF CMOS design. This second edition is a very interesting and upgraded version that includes new material and revised topics. In particular, it now includes a chapter on the fundamentals of wireless systems. The chapter on IC components is greatly expanded and now follows that on passive RLC components. The chapter on MOS devices has been updated since it includes the understanding of the model for the shorth-channel MOS and considers and discusses the scaling trends and its impact on the next several years. It has also expanded the topic of power amplifiers; indeed, it now also covers techniques for linearization and efficiency enhancement. Low-noise amplifiers, oscillators, and phase noise are now expanded and treated with more detail. Moreover, the chapter on transceiver architectures now includes much more detail, especially on direct-conversion architecture. Finally, additional commentary on practical details on simulations, floorplanning, and packaging has been added. The first edition of this book widely covered all the main arguments needed in the CMOS design context and provided a bridge between system and circuit issues. This second edition, which is upgraded and improved, is really useful, both in the industry and academia, for the new generation of RF engineers. Indeed, it is suited for students taking courses on RF design and is a valuable reference for practicing engineers. Of course, the arguments treated in the textbook lead up to low-frequency analog design IC topics. Hence, readers have to be intimately familiar with that subject. The book is divided into 20 chapters: 1) A Nonlinear History of Radio 2) Overview of Wireless Principles 3) Passive RLC Networks 4) Characteristics of Passive IC Components 5) A Review of MOS Device Physics; 6) Distributed Systems 7) The Smith Chart and S-Parameters 8) Bandwidth Estimation Techniques 9) High-Frequency Amplifier Design 10) Voltage References and Biasing 11) Noise 12) LNA Design 13) Mixers 14) Feedback Amplifiers 15) RF Power Amplifiers 16) Phase Locked Loop 17) Oscillators and Synthesizers 18) Phase Noise 19) Architectures 20) RF Circuits Through the Ages. Moreover, it contains over 100 circuit diagrams and many homework problems. Gaetano Palumbo

Advanced video coding

Abstract: Advanced video coding techniques will allow broadcasters to improve the efficiency offered by MPEG-2 digital TV systems by up to 75%. The opportunity for significant improvements in MPEG-2 performance is now very limited. MPEG-2 solutions are likely to become more dense, lower power and inexpensive, but they are not going to produce much lower bit rates. It is fortunate that, also during the last ten years, Moore's Law - which states that semiconductor/computer processing power increases by a factor of two every eighteen months - has also progressed relentlessly. More processing power at a lower price has enabled a whole new generation of compression technology. Both set-top boxes and headend equipment are now capable of much more complex calculations at commercially acceptable prices than were possible at the time of MPEG-2 standardisation. The two most significant algorithms/systems proposed currently are Windows Media 9 Series, from Microsoft, and MPEG-4 part 10, an open standards algorithm from the ITU/MPEG Joint Video Team. Both these systems draw heavily on the experience of MPEG-2, but add extra tools to improve the coding efficiency - particularly at low bit rates.