RF Basics I & II

TL;DR

This lecture provides an overview of radio frequency fundamentals, including Maxwell's equations, cavity types, and their circuit models, essential for understanding RF components and systems.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive introduction to RF basics, deriving key formulas and explaining cavity characterization methods for the first time.

Findings

Derived key RF formulas and characteristics.

Explained cavity figures of merit.

Introduced cavity lumped circuit models.

Abstract

This lecture starts with a brief historical introduction and an explanation how to get from Maxwell's Equations to a simple cavity. After simplifying and adapting the equations for their application to Radio Frequency problems, the most important formulae and characteristics for cavities and wave-guides are derived. The most common figures of merit are explained and some of the different cavity types are introduced. The alternative description of cavities as a lumped circuit model is then introduced, which is often used to characterise the cavity-coupler-generator interplay.