Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

RF/Microwave Circuits and Systems Laboratory

Overview

Students and faculty work in this laboratory to design, fabricate, and test new microwave circuits including printed circuit versions (PCB), Silicon Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (Si-MMIC), Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC), and RF-MEMS.  New antenna designs are also designed and integrated with MMICs and RFICs.

Faculty

  • Robert J Weber (Laboratory Supervisor)
  • Tom Daniels
  • Julie Dickerson
  • Mani Mina
  • Steve Russell
  • Jiming Song

CAD support

  • LINUX and Windows Workstations for Cadence
  • Agilent’s ADS
  • Ansoft’s HFSS

Network Analysis

Starting in the millihertz range - Schlumberger 1260 Impedance/Gain-Phase (25 mHz-25 MHz) 300 kHz-6 GHz - HP 8753C with HP 85047A
45 MHz – 65 GHz - Anritsu 37397C 40 MHz – 65 GHz.  

Spectrum Analysis

  • Phase noise analyzers for 0 – 40 kHz
  • RF/microwave analyzers through 20 GHz
  • Agilent 89640 modulation analyzer for carrier frequencies through 2.7 GHz and modulation bandwidths of 36 MHz
  • Automated Maury load-pull system - high power (10’s of watts) from 800 MHz to 8 GHz. 
  • Harmonic and sub-harmonic load-pull and pulse load-pull using the Anritsu 37397C analyzer

Chip Level Probing Systems

  • Probe Station
  • Stand Alone micromanipulator microwave probes

Other Equipment

Other supporting equipment such as power supplies and pulse generators.

Recent and Current Work

  • NSF-CRCD,  “Wireless Multimedia Communications for Virtual Environments” – Multi-Sensors
  • NSF-CISE, “High Speed System Engineering”
  • NASA/Pratt & Whitney, "Support for the Development and Integration of Inspection Technology for Damage Detection in On-wing Engine Configurations - Task 4 - Wireless Probe Development and Prototype Demonstration," Si-RFIC
  • Honeywell, “LDMOS Transistor Modeling, Power Amplifier Matching Network Development,” Load Pull Tests
  • Metalcraft, “Investigation of Materials for Enhanced Readability of Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID),” New Antennas
  • Phase Array Systems, RFIC/MMIC control versions
  • Iowa Livestock TraceabilityProject (ILTP), RFID investigations.

Recent Papers

1. F. Chen, R. Weber, “Three-port Noise Analysis for the Investigation of Feedback onTwo-port Noise Parameters,” 2004 International Symposium on Signals, Systems, and Electronics, IS-0475: ISSSE'04 Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria, August 10-13, 2004.

2. Jo-Yi Foo and Robert J. Weber, Low Power 5GHz Quadrature Phase CMOS LC Oscillator with Active Inductor,” 29PM1A-03. (0077), International Symposium on Communications and Information Technologies 2004 (ISCIT 2004), October 26-29, 2004, Sapporo Convention Center, Sapporo, Japan

3. Xuezhen Wang and Robert Weber "Low Voltage Low Power SiGe BiCMOS X-band LNA Design and its Comparison Study with IEEE 802.11a LNA Design," for the 2005 IEEE International Radar Conference (RADAR 2005).

4. King-Sang Chan, Robert J Weber, and Robert C Brown,  “Characterization of unburned carbon content in coal fly ash with dielectric constant measurement,” REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN QUANTITATIVE NDE, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, July 25-30, 2004, CP760, Review of Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation Vol. 24, ed. By D.O. Thompson and D.E.Chimenti, 2005, American Institute of Physics, p1523-15305.    

5. Robert J Weber, “Characterization of Dielectric and Magnetic Properties of Powdered materials Such as Powdered Coal, ”REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN QUANTITATIVE NDE, American Institute of Physics, Vol. 25, ed. By D.O. Thompson and D.E.Chimenti, 2006, p431-8

6. M. S. Reid, B. Graubard, #B. Reed, R. J. Weber, J. A. Dickerson, “Wireless Eddy Current Probe for Engine Health Monitoring (Phase II),”REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN QUANTITATIVE NDE, American Institute of Physics, Vol. 25, ed. By D.O. Thompson and D.E.Chimenti, 2006, p461-8.

7. Robert J. Weber, “RF/microwave Sensed Cantilevers, Diaphragms, and Tactile Sensors for Passive and Active Sensor Systems,” S-II-3, IEEE/NLM Life Science Systems and Application Workshop 2006, 13 July 2006 - 14 July 2006, National Library of Medicine, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.