U.S. Particle Accelerator School
U.S. Particle Accelerator School
America's National School of Accelerator Science and Technology

RF and Digital Signal Processing course

Sponsoring University:

University of New Mexico

Course:

RF and Digital Signal Processing

Instructors:

Dmitry Teytelman, Dimtel, Inc. and Dan Van Winkle, SLAC

Equipment on loan from Dimtel, Inc and Agilent Technologies

Purpose and Audience
The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to the fundamentals of signal processing in application to particle accelerators. The course is intended for accelerator physicists, engineers, operators, and graduate students interested in understanding RF fundamentals and signal processing techniques commonly used for particle accelerator applications.

Objectives
On completion of this course the students are expected to understand characteristics and limitations of the RF and DSP building blocks. Students will also gain a basic understanding of signal processing chain topologies, trade-offs between analog and digital sections, processing frequency choices. The class will emphasize the practical component of designing and constructing signal processing systems.

Instructional Method
The class will offer a mix of lectures and practical laboratory sessions. Lecture material will be reinforced with daily homework assignments. There will be a final exam on the last day of the class.

Course Content
The class will start from RF engineering fundamentals, continue with detailed descriptions of the RF signal processing building blocks, their functionality, characteristics and limitations. Digital signal processing basics will be then presented. Using this basic understanding of RF and digital signal processing the course will continue with the most common RF
and digital signal processing techniques, including modulation and demodulation, analog and digital filtering, signal detection. Common signal processing topologies will be introduced and illustrated with practical accelerator applications.

Reading Requirements
TBD

Credit Requirements
Students will be evaluated as follows: final exam (30%), homework assignments (30%), lab sessions (40%).