Fall 2026:
Radio-Frequency / Microwave IC design
(this web page is at http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/Faculty/rodwell/Classes/ECE218A/ECE218A.htm)
Co: listed as
ECE145a (undergrad) and ECE218a
(graduate)
Last updated: 9/28/2026: Please hit the
"Refresh" button to see recent updates to assignments, etc.
Changes and announcements:
1) Prof. Luke Theogarajan will be teaching a new 3-quarter course sequence in digital ICs, mixed-signal ICs (ADCs, DACs PLLs,), and communications ICs (signaling protocols, LVDS driver/receiver, etc.), Long term. the sequence will be ECE 122A/224A, , ECE 122B/256C and ECE 122C/224B, though, to my present understanding, the ECE 122C/224B course number has not yet been officially approved, and so I believe that the 3rd course in the sequence, at least for this academic year, will be called 194B. If interested, please contact Prof. Theogarajan. Also please check with the student office as to whether these courses can be used to satisfy your various degree requirements. It may be that, until the proper paperwork has been approved by the university, that special permission is required for these to count toward various degree requirements.
2) Prof. James Buckwalter will be teaching ECE145B/218B and ECE145C/218C. Given the present high industry activity in wireline and optical communications, these courses will have an increased content focused on those applications, together with the existing content addressing wireless communications.
For students wishing to enroll in ece145A or ece218A for Fall 2027,
please
note the following:
1)
Apparently to make sure that there are sufficient enrollment slots set aside
for soon-to-graduate seniors, the department and the university-wide admissions
office will often at least initially deny registration to the class by students
other than graduating seniors. For the past several years I have found that a
very large number of students find themselves initially put on the wait
list. Please do not assume that this
means that you will be unable to take the class. The initial enrollment caps
placed by the university on this class are far far below the number of students
the class can accommodate. In the past 10 years, for students who have taken
the necessary prerequisites, I have never had a case of a student denied
registration to this class because of the class being full. So, please be
patient, and work with me and the student office to get you enrolled in this
class.
The
lecture room that is normally assigned to this class can accommodate as many as
50 students. With regard to the lab sessions, the lab can accommodate up to
about 50 students, and the hours of the
lab sessions are meaningless: you work in the lab independently at
whatever hours suit your schedule. So,
it makes no sense to restrict enrollment to 10 or 20 students. So,
if you are being told you cannot register because either the lecture or the lab
sessions are "full up", please contact me by email. Please
also fill out this link to apply to add the class.
2) If
you have not taken all the necessary prerequisites, it is very important that
you fill in this link to apply to add the class. After you complete the form, the student
office will refer your application to me for me to review your background.
DO NOT GO TO THE SCHEDULED LAB HOURS during the first week of classes.
The laboratory/design content of the class is run on an independent basis.
Design projects are assigned and a due date is given. Students work in the lab constructing
and testing their designs, working in the lab at whatever time they find most
suitable to work.
Lectures
& Discussion Sections
Extra
evening sessions (makeup for travel, lab preparation, exam review):
Teaching
assistant hours in lab
Homework,
Lab, and Exam Solutions (this year):
Transistor
Data sheets, cal. kit coeffients
Exam
Solutions and Example Exams (Past Years)
Prof. Mark Rodwell
Office hours: Tuesdays 4-5 PM, Thursdays 4-5 PM, ESB2205F (Let's discuss in class; I may move to make more convenient with your class schedules)
Main Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1230-145 PM, Phelps 1437.
Discussion session with the TAs
On some weeks, review sessions or lab preparation seesions with the TAs
will be scheduled.
There will be dates during the term which I must travel. There will often be a substitute lecturer on those days, but I will also schedule make-up lectures to re-cover the material to ensure consistent coverage.
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The class design content will be in the form of a design project (circuit simulation and mask layout) and of a series of circuits you must design, construct on a PC board, and test. You do not need to attend the lab hours posted in the Schedule of Classes.
Overall lab grade is 12.5% Lab 1A, 12.5% Lab 1B, 25% Lab 2, 50% Lab 3
Overall class grade is 10% problem sets, 30% lab score (from above), 20% mid-term, 40% final exam
Mid-term Exam: Tuesday,
October 27, 1230-145PM(same room as lecture)
Dead week: Nov. 30- Dec. 4
Last Lecture: Dec. 3.
Final Exam: Monday, December 7, 12 - 3
p.m.(same room as lecture)
(from https://registrar.sa.ucsb.edu/calendars/calendars-deadlines/final-examinations/fall-final-examination-schedule and
https://registrar.sa.ucsb.edu/calendars/academic-calendars )
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Name |
Email
address |
Office Hours and location |
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Josh Wolfgram (TA1) |
lab: Monday, 1-2 PM |
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TBA (reader) * |
N/A |
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The
office hours are for the TA to give you guidance with your projects and
assignments. On weeks when lab projects are due, the regular office hour
times will not held, and the TA will instead be in the lab to guide you.. The
tenatitive time for these are in the table below, but please check directly
with the TAs. |
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*As of 9/23/2026, the ECE department is still working to determine what level of class additional support, beyond the 1 TA, to be be provided. Until this is know, lab staffing hours are tentative.
Please contact the TAs regarding HW solutions or grading.
On weeks when students are working on lab projects, the hours below, in the lab, supersede the TA offic hours above.
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Oct 5 |
Oct 6 |
Oct 7 |
Oct 8 |
Oct 9 |
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TA1 4-7 PM Lab1a training |
TA2 2-5PM |
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Oct 12 |
Oct 13 |
Oct 14 |
Oct 15 |
Oct 16 |
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TA#1 4-7 PM |
TA#2 2-5PM |
checkoffs 1a |
checkoffs 1a |
checkoffs 1a |
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Oct 19 |
Oct 20 |
Oct 21 |
Oct 22 |
Oct 23 |
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TA#1 4-5 PM |
TA#2 2:30-3:30PM |
checkoffs 1b |
checkoffs 1b |
checkoffs 1b |
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Oct 26 |
Oct 27 |
Oct. 28 |
Oct. 29 |
Oct. 30 |
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TA#1 4-7 PM |
TA#2 5-8PM |
TA#1 5-7 PM |
TA#2 6-8PM |
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Nov 2 |
Nov 3 |
Nov 4 |
Nov 6 |
Nov 7 |
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checkoffs 2 |
checkoffs 2 |
checkoffs 2 |
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Nov 9 |
Nov 10 |
Nov 11 |
Nov 12 |
Nov 13 |
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TA#1 4-5 PM |
TA#2 5-6PM |
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Nov 16 |
Nov 17 |
Nov 18 |
Nov 19 |
Nov. 20 |
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TA1 5-6 PM |
TA2 5-6 PM |
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Nov 23 |
Nov 24 |
Nov 25 |
Nov 26 |
Nov. 27 |
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TA1 5-6 PM |
TA2 5-6 PM |
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Nov 30 |
Dec 1 |
Dec 2 |
Dec 3 |
Dec 4 |
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TA2 5-6 PM |
TA2 5-6 PM |
checkoffs 3 |
checkoffs 3 |
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The primary course reference material is the online lecture note set.
*Optional* texts for this class are
….please first see the excellent free online textbook(s) by Michael Steer. Though Prof. Steer is from NCSU, his text is part of the University of Michigan free textbook project.
…optional for 145ABC: : Hooman Darabi, Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits and Systems
Either 1st or 2nd edition would be fine.
…optional for 145ABC: Stephen I Long, Communication Electronics: RF Design with Practical Applications using Pathwave/ADS Software
…optional for 218ABC: Sorin Voinigescu, High-Frequency
Integrated Circuits
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/highfrequency-integrated-circuits/4BF00791FE2320D7FE4368E8F2424E4D
Please feel free to purchase any of these texts, or none of them.
Please learn to access / search IEEE Explore (accessible without charge from UCSB IP addresses or with a UCSB Web account with proxy settings). The technical literature is an excellent learning tool.
Wikipedia 's material on radios is often useful, though it can vary greatly in technical depth. Any information obtained from the internet should be verified against a primary technical publication.
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9 |
145C/218C covers in detail |
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10 |
145B/218B covers in detail |
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material |
class |
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Baseband analog transistor circuit design |
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High-frequency analog transistor circuit design |
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Analog and mixed-signal IC design (senior/graduate level) |
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# |
week |
what |
due** |
files |
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1 |
2 |
Basic Transmission-line theory |
10/9/26 |
assignment: |
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updates: |
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2 |
3 |
Device models, 2-port parameters, cutoff frequencies. |
10/30/26 |
assignment: please work the tutorial as well. tutorial: ads_tutorial_for_ps2.pdf project file (zapped): ADS_for_218a_wrk.7zads |
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updates: |
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3 |
5 |
impedance-matching exercises |
11/9/26 |
assignment: |
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updates: |
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4 |
5 |
unilateral amplifier design |
11/16/26 |
assignment: |
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updates: |
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5 |
7 |
bilateral amplifier design |
11/23/26 |
assignment: |
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updates: |
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6 |
9 |
power amplifier design, low-noise design |
not due; for final exam pre-paration. |
assignment: |
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updates: |
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Problem set solutions, graded labs, graded exams, and exam solutions for this year will be posted on canvas.
Please see the notes below, in the CAD resources section, on interfacing to the network analyzer.
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what |
due |
files |
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1a |
Transmission-lines Passive components |
checkoff: Oct. 14-16 report: Oct. 19 |
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updates: |
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1b |
Transistor measurements |
checkoff: Oct. 21-23 report: Oct. 30 |
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updates: |
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2 |
impedance-matching networks |
checkoff: Nov 2-4 report: Nov. 6 |
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updates: |
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3 |
Reactively tuned amplifier |
design report: report: Dec. 3 |
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updates: |
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content |
file |
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zapped and zipped ADS design directories (RF/microwave emphasis) |
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zapped ADS design directory (mixed-signal emphasis) |
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Tutorial on running ADS (RF/microwave emphasis) |
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interfacing ADS2015 with the NEWER network analyzer. |
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interfacing ADS*2013* with the OLDER network analyzer. |
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interfacing ADS*2013* with the OLDER network analyzer. |
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correct file formats for .s2p files |
Problem sets and design projects in the class use the Agilent ADS microwave IC design environment. Access to ADS can be either through accounts in the ECI lab, or via the microwave teaching lab on the 5th Floor of Harold Frank Hall. If you are member of a research group in the ECE dept, you may well also have access to ADS via your group's PCs or Workstations---ask your Professor.
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what |
files |
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Transistor datasheet: MRF901 |
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Transistor datasheet: MRF951 |
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Transistor datasheet: Infineon-BFP181 |
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Adding ADS model for BFP181 |
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Adding ADS models for MRF951, MRF901 |
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calibration coefficients: D5535E cal set |
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info and calibration coefficients: D5535D cal set |
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regarding the meaning of cal coefficients |
Comment about solutions: these may occasionally have mistakes (which will have been corrected when exams were graded): if in doubt, please ask the instructor or the TAs.
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year |
exam |
file |
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2009 (winter) |
mid-term |
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2009 (winter) |
final |
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2011 |
mid-term |
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2012 |
mid-term |
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2013 |
mid-term |
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2013 |
final |
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2014 |
mid-term |
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2014 |
final |
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2015 |
mid-term |
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2015 |
final |
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2016 |
mid term |
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2016 |
final |
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2017 |
mid term |
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2017 |
final |
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2018 |
mid term |
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2018 |
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2019 |
mid term |
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2019 |
final |
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2021 |
mid term |
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2021 |
final |
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2022 |
mid term |
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2022 |
final |
impedance_admittance_smithchart.pdf