High-Frequency Integrated Circuits
RF Cafe Quiz #49

1.  Why are S-parameters preferred for high frequency network analysis?

a)  They make matrix manipulation "S"impler

b)  Open and short circuit terminations are not required

c)  There actually is no reason to prefer them

d)  They are a grandfathered de facto standard

2.  To what temperature is noise figure normally referenced?

a)  0 dBT

b)  0 °C

c)  290 °C

d)  290 K

3.  Where does the Quantum Confinement (QC) effect occur in a MOSFET?

a)  At the source

b)  At the gate

c)  At the drain

d)  Throughout the entire device

4.  Why is substrate resistance important?

a)  It makes no difference

b)  It sets the device impedance

c)  It drives up costs

d)  It degrades f_MAX and F_MIN

5.  At what rate has MOSFET gate shrink scaling factor (√2) occurred since the 1970s?

a)  Every year

b)  Every 2-3 years

c)  Every 4-5 years

d)  Every decade

6.  Who developed the first High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT)?

a)  Motorola (USA)

b)  China Global Semiconductor (China)

c)  Fujitsu (Japan)

d)  Thomson Semiconductors (France)

7.  When is coplanar waveguide (CPW) more desirable than microstrip on a semiconductor substrate?

a)  Never

b)  Always

c)  When a ground plane located on the top of the IC is not feasible.

d)  When the frequency is greater than 1 GHz

8.  What is the definition of Power Added Efficiency (PAE) of a power amplifier?

a)  ∑(P_OUT, P_IN, P_DC)

b)  ∏(P_OUT, P_IN, P_DC)

c)  (P_RF - P_IF) * P_DC

d)  (P_OUT - P_IN) / P_DC

9.  What is the best type of biasing for an Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) at high temperature?

a)  Proportional to Absolute Temperature (PTAT) bias

b)  Polynomial Heuristical with Absolute Temperature (PHAT) bias

c)  Synergistic to Absolute Temperature (STAT) bias

d)  Complimentary to Absolute Temperature (CTAT) current mirror bias

10.  How are in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of an RF signal generated?

a)  With a 90° (quadrature) equal amplitude coupler

b)  By converting to digital then delaying the signal by 1/4 of a clock cycle

c)  By adding signal until a 90° phase shift is obtained

d)  By adding signal until a -90° phase shift is obtained

Need some help? Click here for the answers and explanations.

Posted October 17, 2019               (original 5/23/2013)

Quizzes from vintage electronics magazines such as Popular Electronics, Electronics-World, QST, and Radio News were published over the years - some really simple and others not so simple. Robert P. Balin created most of the quizzes for Popular Electronics. This is a listing of all I have posted thus far.