By: Prof.. Suresh P. Ojha
Introduction
The wireless revolution is a powerful phenomenon that is changing the way all
nations view their telecommunication infrastructure needs. The comparatively
low-cost hardware, service, as well as the flexibility in provisioning offered
by wireless communication solutions make it attractive in many cases over cable-based
solutions including fiber. This is particularly true for a country like Nepal
that faces a limited budget and immense logistical challenges due to rough terrain
in providing connectivity through cable-based solutions to the entire country.
All wireless communication occurs at frequencies in the Radio Frequency (RF)
and Microwave range. Thus RF and Microwave engineering will be a critical need
for Nepal into the long-term future. The Institute of Engineering (IOE) at Tribhuvan
University (TU) has recently developed an RF and Microwave design course that
seeks to serve this need.
The convergence of mobile communications, computing power, & the Internet
has given rise to the new products, applications, and global economic benefits
collectively known as the Wireless Revolution. Wireless systems in general are
less expensive to implement, maintain and expand. Novel and new services can
be offered to customers in the most remote locations including long-distance
learning and long-distance medical services. These benefits are unique not only
to Nepal but the entire world. Due to the low-cost, scalability and mobility
advantages of wireless systems, there will soon be more communications globally
through wireless systems than wire-based systems. The scalability of wireless
systems lies in the fact that low-cost wireless tranceivers can be installed
on an as-needed basis in regions of increasing traffic density. Installing fiber
on the other hand requires digging trenches in the regions to be served. It
also requires the infrastructure planners to predict system use in the future
as it is undesirable to periodically re-install fiber as demand patterns change.
This is not to say that cable based systems, in particular fiber, are not important
to Nepal. The principal advantage of fiber systems, namely tremendous bandwidth,
is something that no wireless system can approach. However to provide useful
connectivity to the entire nation, wireless systems, in addition to a fiber-based
backbone will necessarily be a critical need for Nepal.
In addition to providing useful connectivity for the entire nation, wireless
systems can play a vital role in contributing to the Nepali economy. The entire
world has an increasing demand for wireless products. According to respected
Wall Street analysts, wireless businesses today may be only 10% of what they
will be in the next 20 years.
Nepal has one of the lowest costs of labor in the world and is located next
to two of the largest markets in the world, namely China and India. Thus the
manufacturing of wireless products catering to the world’s demands is
a viable industry for Nepal. Only recently a Korean company announced it will
begin manufacturing cell phone handsets in Nepal.
RF and Microwave engineering is the foundation for the physical layer of any
wireless system, from mobile phones to wireless home networking. If one thinks
of automobiles traversing a bridge as wireless signals traveling from a source
to a destination, then one can think of RF and Microwave Engineering as being
the bridge that enables the wireless traffic to cross.
The Institute of Engineering (IOE) at Tribhuvan University (TU) has recently
developed the first RF and Microwave circuits and systems design class in Nepal.
This Masters level course provides students with the rigorous theoretical background
necessary for RF and Microwave design. It also provides the students an opportunity
to design, fabricate and measure numerous RF circuits including:
Binomial and Chebyshev multi-stage impedance transformers,
RF Low Pass Filters
RF Amplifiers
RF Oscillators
And several other circuits.
RF and Microwave engineering is an extremely difficult course to teach due to
several factors. First, it requires the integration of many difficult areas
of electronics engineering including electromagnetics, analog circuit design,
signals and systems, device physics and many other areas simultaneously. But
more importantly, it requires the use of highly sophisticated, highly expensive
measurement instruments. These instruments are of no use unless proper measurement
techniques are used. Unreliable data can frequently be the result using improper
measurement techniques. The IOE at TU has acquired a generous donation of highly
sophisticated measurement instruments from Agilent Technologies, the global
leader in precision electronics measurement systems.
These instruments include but are not limited to:
Ten Seats of Advanced Design System -the most sophisticated RF circuit and system
simulator in the world.
Two 20GHz Vector Network Analyzers
One 14GHz Spectrum Analyzer
Two 100Khz-4GHz signal sources capable of implementing digital vector modulation
of all major digital modulation formats today onto an RF carrier
Numerous other instruments and components essential for a world-class RF
and Microwave teaching laboratory.
Instruction in this design course is offered by the author. The author would
like to extend his personal gratitude to Agilent Technologies for its generous
contribution during very difficult economic times to the development of this
program. Simply put, Agilent Technologies is the single most important component
of this endeavor. The author would also like to thank Dr. Rick Branner of the
University of California at Davis for his generous help in the development of
this program.
Conclusions:
Wireless communication systems must be a critical part of the overall communication
infrastructure of Nepal. The wireless revolution offers Nepal an opportunity
to develop a communication infrastructure that reaches into the most remote
parts of the nation, as well as an opportunity to benefit economically as a
manufacturer of wireless products catering to the world’s demand for wireless
systems. RF and Microwave engineering is the foundation of all wireless systems.
An RF and microwave program has been developed at the IOE of TU through the
generous donation of a world-class teaching laboratory by Agilent Technologies.
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