Facilities

Anechoic Chamber (600 MHz to 40 GHz)

  • Dual-axis motorized assembly for automated characterization of elevation and azimuth planes.
  • Measurement processing software for radiation pattern and antenna parameters analysis.
  • Optional broadband (0.05-40 GHz) low-noise high-gain (40 dB) amplifiers for low-gain antenna characterization.
  • Wide variety of standard gain horn reference antennas up to 40 GHz.

    • Microwave Devices Characterization Up to 170 GHz (Noise Lab)
    • PNA network Analyzer N5227A - Agilent (10 MHz - 67GHz).
    • Vector Network Analyzer HP 8510C (50 GHz).
    • ENA 100 kHz - 18 GHz Network Analyzer E5063A (18 GHz).
    • VNA - Agilent E5071B 4-Port (8.5 GHz).
    • Millimeter Wave VNA Extender V06VNA2-T/R-A (optimized for Agilent N5263A) (110-170 GHz) T/R.
    • Spectrum Analyzer Agilent 8565E (30 Hz to 50 GHz).
    • Active Device Test Set 3623A (40 MHz - 65 GHz).
    • Precision stage-controlled probe stations for microwave integrated circuit characterization (Cascade, Suss, Alessi, Jmicro Technology).
    • Maury Microwave source/load-pull system (covering 800 MHz - 94 GHz).
    • Precision Impedance Analyzer 4294A - Agilent (40 Hz - 110 MHz).
    • Noise Figure Test Set HP 8971B.
    • Noise Figure Test Set HP 8971C.
    • Noise Cage Measurement System - Lindgren Enclosures
    • Noise Generator Quan-Tech 420.

    Environmental Testing and Performance Characterization of Devices
    • Environmental Test Chambers (-500°C to 2500°C, with humidity control).
    • Agilent U5855A TrueIR Thermal Imager.
    Additive Manufacturing with Laser Micromachining and Rapid Prototyping
    • nScrypt 3Dn 450HP System. Combines 2nd generation of thermal extrusion with a Smart Pump system (20 pl dispensing accuracy) for micro-dispensing of inks/pastes with a total of 5 print heads.
    • nScrypt 3Dn table-top system that combines thermal extrusion with a Smart Pump system (20 pl dispensing accuracy) for micro-dispensing of inks/pastes.
    • Picosecond pulsed laser (10 W) that can be used for ablating and cutting the printed materials to create local high resolution features.
    • ExOne Innovent Binder Jetting System.
    • Dimension SST 768 Fused Deposition Modeling System.
    • Makerbot and CubEx 3D Printers.
    • RepRap Open Source 3D Printer.

    Printed Circuit Board Prototyping

    • PCB Milling Machine LPKF Protomat S62.
    • PCB Milling Machine LPKF Prototype S63.
    • Press for multilayered PCB manufacturing/bonding (3500Psi, Water Cooled, 250°C).
    • NREC facilities utilized for photolithography/etching of PCBs.
    • Soldering stations, Hot air soldering.
    • Hot plates.
    • Via plating accessories and Vacuum oven for curing.
    Terahertz Spectroscopy and Dielectric Characterization
    • Thin Sheet Dielectric Cavity 125HC - Damaskos, Inc.
    • Microtech Instruments TScan-1000C System for 0.1 - 1THz spectroscopy.
    • RF Impedance/Material Analyzer Agilent E4991A (1 MHz - 3 GHz).
    Signal Analysis and CAD Modeling/Simulation

    • x5 Keysight PXIe units providing Vector Network Analyzer (300 kHz - 9 GHz) and Spectrum Analyzer (10 Hz - 26.5 GHz) options with Signal Analysis capabilities.
    • x1 Keysight PXIe units providing Vector Network Analyzer (300 kHz - 20 GHz) and Spectrum Analyzer (10 Hz - 26.5 GHz) options with Signal Analysis capabilities.
    • Spectrum Analyzer 8594E - HP (9 kHz - 2.9 GHz).
    • Dynamic Signal Analyzer HP - 3562A.
    • Signal Analyzer EXA N9010A - Agilent (9 KHz - 26.5 GHz).
    • Signal Generator 8648C - HP (9 kHz - 3.2 GHz).
    • High-Performance Computing Cluster (approximately 467 nodes with over 7100 processor cores).
    • Access to a wide variety of simulation/modeling and CAD software:

      • Keysight ADS
      • Ansys Workbench
      • Ansys EDT (HFSS)
      • Comsol Multiphysics
      • MATLAB
      • Mathematica
      • Microwave Office

    Department of Electrical Engineering
    University of South Florida
    4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Mail-Stop: ENG-030
    Tampa, FL 33620, USA