ESL Short Courses
Small group learning experience with renowned experts
The ElectroScience Laboratory offers short courses each summer on key topics of interest in antennas, RF and radar technology. Instruction for the courses is provided by renowned faculty from The Ohio State University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the ElectroScience Laboratory.
The courses are designed for engineers, technicians, graduate students and others interested in learning about these specialized topics.
Select special topics of interest to you
Choose from this year's courses that cover state-of-the-art in antenna design and measurement, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), classical and quantum photonics, digital integrated circuit design, mmWave communications with orbital angular momentum, nyquist-rate data converters, dynamic power supplies, fundamentals of electromagnetics, transceivers for short reach applications and wide-bandgap RF and power electronics.
The 2023 ESL Short Courses will take place virtually August 2-4, 2023. Please contact eng-esl_shortcourses@osu.edu with any questions.
Affiliate registration details coming soon.
2023 Short Courses Schedule
Wednesday, August 2
Low Complexity Wireline Transceivers for Short Reach Applications
Wednesday, August 2 | 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Tawfiq Musah, PhD
Research Areas: Innovative analog/mixed signal design for high speed electrical and optical I/O links, alternative computing circuit architectures and low power biomedical and automotive sensing systems.
Abstract: The need to meet high data rates over legacy channels has pushed the industry to adopt digital equalization, which comes at a high area and power costs given the use of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) followed by digital signal processing (DSP) blocks. This trade-off may not be optimal for all applications. This short course reviews alternative low complexity mixed-signal transceiver architectures that can be used for short-reach applications (examples chip-to-optical modules and retimers) where the high data rate does not necessarily imply high loss. We will discuss high order modulation, equalization and clock-and-data recovery with a focus on enabling 100Gbps+ per lane data rates.
Fundamentals of Semiconductor Infrared Detectors: Physics, Technology and Recent Advances
Wednesday, August 2 | 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Sanjay Krishna, PhD
Research Areas: Antimonide based narrow gap semiconductor materials, infrared detectors and focal plane arrays
Abstract: There has been a significant interest in the development of semiconductor based photonic detectors in the short wave infrared (1.5-3 microns). The applications range from long-range eye-safe LiDAR to remote sensing for a variety of defense, aerospace and commercial applications. There has been a dramatic progress in the development of antimonide based detectors in the past decade with new materials like Type II strained layer superlattices (SLS) demonstrating very good performance. This tutorial will discuss the basics of infrared detectors, mention the phenomenology in the infrared that drive applications and recent advances in antimonide based infrared detectors including avalanche photodiodes. Some of the topics that we will cover in this course include figures of merit of infrared detectors, photonic detector architectures, semiconductor heterostructure engineering including bandstructure engineering of quantum confined structures and band diagram engineering using unipolar barrier architectures.
Classical and Quantum Integrated Photonics
Wednesday, August 2 | 1:30 - 5 p.m.
Instructor: Ronald M. Reano, PhD
Research Areas: Waveguide integrated photonics, electro-optics, and hybrid RF/optical devices
Switching Noise Mitigation Techniques for DC-DC Power Converters in RF/Mixed-Signal System-on-Chip (SoCs)
Wednesday, August 2 | 1:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Instructor: Ayman Fayed, PhD
Research Areas: Power Management Integrated Circuits, Analog, Mixed-Signal and RF SoCs
Abstract: Due to their high power conversion efficiency, DC-DC power converters are very attractive for realizing power supplies within RF, Analog and Mixed-Signal System-on-Chip (SoCs). However, the large switching noise they produce can significantly degrade the performance of the noise-sensitive analog and RF functions within the SoC. This short course will discuss the different mechanisms by which power supply switching noise can couple into analog/RF circuit loads, along with the various mitigations techniques adopted in the industry.
Thursday, August 3
Fundamentals of Digital IC Design
Thursday, August 3
This is a full-day course - 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., 1:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Instructor: Eslam Tawfik, PhD
Research Areas: Digital SoC Design, Hardware Security & Assurance Secure Hardware Accelerators and CAD methods
Abstract: The digital design flow is a complex and lengthy process that involves numerous steps to take a design from Register Transfer Level (RTL) to the final phase. The objective of this training is to demystify this field and provide a thorough understanding of the transformations involved in each design step. Specifically, this training will focus on fundamental elements in the design process such as event-driven simulation, synthesis, timing analysis, technology files, standard cell views, physical design, and sign-off checks. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the differences in these elements when using FPGA and ASIC platforms.
Introduction to Data Converters
Thursday, August 3
This is a full-day course - 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., 1:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Instructor: Ayman Fayed, PhD
Research Areas: Power Management Integrated Circuits, Analog, Mixed-Signal and RF SoCs
Abstract: Analog to digital converters (ADCs) and digital to analog converters (DACs) are essential building blocks in many electronic systems. They serve as an interface between the real world, which is mostly analog in nature, and our most powerful tool of data manipulation, which is Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). This short course will discuss the fundamentals of data converters, including basic ADC architectures (Nyquist-rate and Delta-Sigma), basic DAC architectures, performance metrics and characterization, and practical implementations and design considerations.
Friday, August 4
CubeSats: Revolutionizing Access to Space-Based Research
Friday, August 4 | 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Chris Ball, PhD
Research Areas: Spectroscopy, sensor technology development, millimeter wave, terahertz, infrared, optical, spectral libraries, detection algorithms
Abstract: In recent years, the proliferation of small satellites known as "CubeSats" has introduced a new paradigm for access to space for research purposes. This course will examine the underlying technology of CubeSats and provide examples of how they are used. In addition, the process of developing, testing, launching, and operating a CubeSat will be described, drawing upon recent CubeSats missions. Unique aspects of CubeSat systems, such as size/power constraints, mission duration, payloads, and constellations will be discussed, along with a view toward the future of CubeSat technology and missions.
Introduction to Si RFIC: A Device Perspective
Friday, August 4 | 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Waleed Khalil, PhD
Research Areas: High performance Analog/Mixed Signal, digital and RF circuits and systems, analog domain security
Abstract: Silicon Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs) are the dominant technology for wireless transceivers and sensors due to their low cost, ease of integration with digital functions, and excellent RF performance. This course is intended for semiconductor professionals of all technical backgrounds who wish to learn or refresh their understanding of the fundamentals of Silicon device technology. The course will provide an overview of nanoscale RF CMOS transistors from a device/technology perspective, analyzing key concepts in device modeling. This will include reviewing key operation and noise aspects in short channel CMOS devices, while also providing some background on emerging technologies, such as SOI and FinFET, as well as RF passives. In so doing, the intent is to provide guidance on how the design processes differ and to enlighten attendees on subjects such as transistor sizing and biasing practices.
Nonlinear Microwave Devices and Circuits
Friday, August 4 | 1:30 - 5 p.m.
Instructor: Patrick Roblin, PhD
Research Areas: Systems (Control, Signal Processing and Computer Vision) Circuits, Solid State Electronics and Photonics
Abstract: The advent of nonlinear vector network analyzers (NVNA) has stimulated the introduction of new paradigms in microwave engineering for the (1) measurement, (2) modeling, (3) design and (4) linearization of nonlinear microwave circuits such as microwave power transistors and amplifiers. In this course, first the various types of NVNA architecture available, the procedure used to calibrate them and the calibration traceability will be presented. Then the various behavioral models used for the data representation will be reviewed. Circuit-based nonlinear microwave models of transistors can also be directly extracted from both high-frequency and low-frequency large-signal measurements. NVNA’s can further be used to verify the nonlinear embedding device model which predicts from the desired internal PA mode of operation, the required amplitude and phase of the multi-harmonic incident waves at the transistor measurement reference planes. Example of design, characterization and linearization of broadband power amplifiers (PA) such as Class-J, Doherty and Chireix power amplifiers designed using VSNA (joint VSA and VNA) will then be presented.