Telecommunication Electronics

Project

In addition to taught work and practical assignments you will also complete a joint research project in one of the state-of-the-art laboratories in the schools. The independent project is mainly undertaken during the summer at the end of the academic year, although students are encouraged to begin work and planning during the teaching period.

Examples of past projects undertaken for the Telecommunication Electronics MSc include:

A single chip wireless to optical interface design

The aim of this project is to investigate a single chip wireless to optical interface. With wireless access to the internet becoming increasingly widespread, the next development of wireless access will be to high bandwidth short range cells. Specific aspects to this project include a survey of current wireless access technology, design of a single chip interface based on resonant tunnelling diode optoelectronic integrated circuits and the characterisation of the completed design.

Bit Error Rate Test measurements of an optically preamplifier receiver

This project involves using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and an erbium doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) to amplify a 10Gbit/s signal prior to its reception. Both types of amplifier and their use in optical communications systems are to be compared via Bit Error Rate Tests (BERTs).

Watch a video clip about this topic.

Microwave frequency phased array for beam steering applications

The purpose of this project is to build a phased array for beam steering for potential use in a microwave scanner. A two-by-two array of microstrip antenna elements is to be designed and manufactured and then combined with feeding circuitry which allows for a switchable phase at the input ports of the antenna array. The performance of the array and feeding circuitry will then be measured using a state-of-the-art RF near-field anechoic chamber and vector network analysers.