Featured Book Archive - 13

Each week, I select a new book that is relevant to engineers, scientists, students, hobbyists or managers. Most of the time they are sold through Amazon (I earn a few pennies on each sale), but when possible, I present books that are available in an e-book format that can be downloaded for free. The latter are much less available. After all, most people like to be paid for their work, as I'm certain that you do, too.

Note: I just began archiving these picks in May of 2009, but they have been going on since about 2003.

Archive Page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Reflectarray Antennas:
Analysis, Design, Fabrication and Measurement, by Jafar Shaker
Mohammad, Reza Chaharmir, and Jonathan Ethier. Reflect array antennas refer to the class of radiating structures that are comprised of an array of radiating elements, re-radiating the energy that is impinged on them from one or more radiating feeds that are located in free space. The constituent radiators that build a reflect array can be shaped to bring about some flexibility in the way that antenna operates such as multi band/polarization operation. The printed nature of these elements allow integration of active elements that can further enhance the functionality of the reflect array. This allows for capabilities such as power amplification, adaptive beam shaping, and beam switching.
2/11/2014

History of Semiconductor Engineering - RF Cafe Featured Book

History of Semiconductor Engineering, by Bo Lojek. This book provides a unique account of the history of integrated circuit, the microelectronics industry and the people involved in the development of transistor and integrated circuit. In this richly illustrated account the author argues that the group of inventors was much larger than originally thought. This is a personal recollection providing the first comprehensive behind-the-scenes account of the history of the integrated circuit.
1/7/2014

Your New Job Title Is "Accomplice," by Scott Adams. If you are looking for a gift for your engineer spouse, friend, son, or daughter, then what could be better than the latest collection of Dilbert comics?

Both traditional paperback and newfangled Kindle versions are available. Not the reading type? How about a Dilbert 2014 Calendar? Seriously, if you are buying the calendar because your engineer is not a reader, then

he/she would be better served with Learn to Read, by Zac the Rat (the name doesn't really rhyme, BTW).
12/3/2013

Bayesian Multiple Target Tracking, by Lawrence D. Stone, Roy L. Streit, Thomas L. Corwin, Kristine L. Bell. This book views multiple target tracking as a Bayesian inference problem. Within this framework it develops the theory of single target tracking, multiple target tracking, and likelihood ratio detection and tracking. In addition to providing a detailed description of a basic particle filter that implements the Bayesian single target recursion, this resource provides numerous examples that involve the use of particle filters. With these examples illustrating the developed concepts, algorithms, and approaches -- the book helps radar engineers track when observations are nonlinear functions of target site, when the target state distributions or measurement error distributions are not Gaussian...
2/4/2014

Radio Receiver Technology: Principles, Architectures and Applications - RF Cafe

Radio Receiver Technology: Principles, Architectures and Applications, by Ralf Rudersdorfer. Basic principles and theories of present-day communications receiver technology presenting realization concepts at the system level, taking into consideration the various types of users. Details of the circuitry are described providing the reader with an understanding of fully digitized radio receivers, offering an insight into the state-of-the-art. The author outlines fields of applications and their features and considers the specialty of high-quality radio receivers. They are typically used for radio surveillance, signal intelligence, modern radio bearing and at the classical radio services and describes the entire range of parameters that are useful for the characterization of these receivers.
1/14/2014

Digital Waveform Generation, by Dr. Pete Symons. This overview introduces powerful, flexible and practical digital waveform generation techniques, enabling the design of bespoke digital waveform generation systems from scratch. Including detailed hardware design examples and downloadable Mathcad models created for 'what if?' design scenarios, this is essential reading for professional members of the digital signal processing community. Peter Symons is a professional engineer with over 30 years of experience in the design of digital and analogue signal processing systems and is Chief Engineer at Avalon Sciences Ltd.
12/17/2013

Microwave De-Embedding: From Theory to Applications, by Giovanni Crupi and Dominique Schreurs. This groundbreaking book is the first to give an introduction to microwave de-embedding, showing how it is the cornerstone for waveform engineering. The authors of each chapter clearly explain the theoretical concepts, providing a foundation that supports linear and non-linear measurements, modeling and circuit design. Recent developments and future trends in the field are covered throughout, including successful strategies for low-noise and power amplifier design. This book is a must-have for those wishing to understand the full potential of the microwave de-embedding concept to achieve successful results in the areas of measurements, modeling, and design at high frequencies.
2/11/2014

nergy Suckers: How to Deal With Bullies in the Workplace - RF Cafe Featured Book

Energy Suckers: How to Deal With Bullies in the Workplace, by Barbara Bartlein. The work world is full of bullies who criticize, blame, intimidate, and humiliate others. In a study of U.S. workers, 41% reported experiencing psychological aggression at work in the last year. Bullying occurs in every industry and every profession. It is estimates that more than two million professionals and managers are pushed out of their jobs each year by bullying. This comes at a cost to employers of $64 billion a year. Decreased productivity, absenteeism, low morale and teamwork are all outcomes of a toxic work culture.
1/21/2014

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, by Denise Kiernan. Sometimes when deciding which book to use for this feature I look at what other RF Cafe visitors have purchased other than ones I recommend. Most items are electronics related, either books or devices, but occasionally titles like this appear and are relevant enough to use for the Featured Book (lots of great photos). "At the height of WWII, Oak Ridge, TN, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work..."
12/24/2013

Designing the Internet of Things, by Adrian McEwen and Hakim Cassimally. Whether it's called physical computing, ubiquitous computing, or the Internet of Things, it's a hot topic in technology: how to channel your inner Steve Jobs and successfully combine hardware, embedded software, web services, electronics, and cool design to create cutting-edge devices that are fun, interactive, and practical. If you'd like to create the next must-have product, this unique book is the perfect place to start. Both a creative and practical primer, it explores the platforms you can use to develop hardware or software, discusses design concepts that will make your products eye-catching and appealing, and shows you ways to scale up from a single prototype to mass production.
2/18/2014

Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Electronic Packaging - RF Cafe

Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Electronic Packaging, by Rick Sturdivant. Packaging of electronic components at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies requires the same level of engineering effort for lower frequency electronics plus a set of additional activities which are unique due to the higher frequency of operation. Without careful attention to these additional issues, it is not possible to successfully engineer electronic packaging at these frequencies. This resource presents the packaging issues which are unique to microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies and reviews lower frequency packaging techniques and how they can be tailored or analyzed for higher frequency designs.
1/28/2014

Starting a Tech Business: A Practical Guide for Anyone Creating or Designing Applications or Software - RF Cafe

Starting a Tech Business: A Practical Guide for Anyone Creating or Designing Applications or Software, by Alex Cowan. Why not make 2014 the year you finally launch the business you have been thinking about and/or working on seemingly forever? "Starting a Tech Business offers practical checklists and frameworks that business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals can apply to any tech-based business idea, whether you're developing software and products or beginning a technology-enabled business. You'll learn: 1. How to apply today's leading management frameworks to a tech business 2. How to package your product idea in a way that's highly actionable for your technical team 3. How to ask..."
12/31/2013

Webmaster:

Kirt Blattenberger,

BSEE - KB3UON

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a nice lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...

All trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other rights of ownership to images and text used on the RF Cafe website are hereby acknowledged.

My Hobby Website: AirplanesAndRockets.com

My Daughter's Website: EquineKingdom