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An Introduction to RF Theory,
Practices, and Components
A wide range of technologies
used for wireless communication,
power transfer, navigation, and
sensing have become vital to
virtually all human activities, from
daily life to space exploration.
Many of these devices and
systems operate within the radio
frequency (RF) spectrum, which
ranges from approximately 3kHz
up to the infrared light spectrum,
near 30THz. RF technology is
responsible for the vast number
of communication services we
use daily (and, in some cases,
nearly constantly). It is responsible
for the sensing and navigation
technologies that keep planes in
the air and ships on course; it is
even behind the microwave energy
generators that cook, sanitize,
and seal much of the world's food
and personal products. Due to
the diversity of applications and
markets, RF technology knowledge
is also very diverse. While this
diversity has led to various naming
conventions across the different
applications, which can sometimes
be confusing to those new to the
field, this chapter will help decipher
some of these colloquialisms.
This chapter explains high-level
concepts associated with RF and
provides a basic overview of the
key principles of RF phenomena
and technology. In that light, the
chapter is meant to provide a
primer on RF technology concepts
to help initiate readers into the
field or offer a shallow review for
those familiar with the topic.
What Is RF?
Within the RF frequency range,
there exists an extremely diverse
range of natural and artificial
electromagnetic radiation sources
and systems. RF generators
include celestial objects like the
sun, which generates broad-
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The Ins and Outs of RF
