Facilities and Equipment

Picture of the EM shielded room in the lab. This facility is used for testing of the low noise receivers and sensors from Ultra low frequencies to RF frequencies.

Digital Microwave Laboratory

The Digital Microwave Laboratory houses RF testing equipment such as network analyzers up to 26.5GHz, broadband RF signal generators, oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers and power amplifiers up to 44GHz, a 10’x10’ EMC chamber and an Electromagnet that can generate up to 2 Tesla magnetic field. The lab is also equipped with state-of-the-art real-time DSP and FPGA development tools, high data rate multi-channel signal processing boards and a number of work stations with various antenna and RF circuit design and communication software.

UCLA Center for High Frequency Electronics (CHFE)

  • The UCLA Center for High Frequency Electronics (CHFE) facility (http://www.chfe.ee.ucla.edu/) is also available to faculty, researchers and industry for research that requires state-of-the-art design, fabrication and use of microwave/millimeter wave instrumentation. The equipment in CHFE has the ability to measure a variety of devices and circuit parameters such as: power, noise, frequency, phase, stability, current, voltage, S-parameters, insertion loss, gain, etc. The frequency source range covers DC to 220 GHz with a number of high power millimeter wave sources at specific frequencies, such as extended interaction oscillator at 60 GHz and 94 GHz producing 40 Watts CW power.

  • Vector network analysis can be performed from 45Mhz to 110 GHz using HP8510C’s with millimeter wave extensions. Scalar analysis can be performed to 220 GHz. Unpackaged device S-parameters are obtained through the use of pico probes and a HP8510C with a frequency range of 45 to 50 GHz. Waveguide components such as isolators, harmonic mixers, couplers, frequency meters and attenuators are also available to 220 GHz. A number of instruments are calibrated to NIST specifications.

  • The Center provides support in the semiconductor area. Various characteristics of semiconductors can be tested using the Center’s automated probe station, which has the ability to carry out step and repeat measurements. Measurements such as IV and CV are easily performed on very small devices. The Center's fabrication facilities include a plotter for mask fabrication and a chemical etching station designed for a number of different substrates such as duroid, PTFE, alumina, and chrome. Positive photoresist and an UV lamp are available for photolithography. In addition, the Center has a LPKF ProtoMat circuit cutter. A near field antenna chamber with NSI OEWG probes ranging from 1GHz to 26.5 GHz are available to all trained users of the Center. Software provided by NSI can translate near-field measurements into far-field patterns, provide magnitude and phase plots for horizontal and vertical cuts, grayscale, contour, and 3D plots. The Center's second room houses the RF and DC probe stations, as well as a wafer dicing machine and two ultrasonic wire bonding stations. The RF probe station consists of an 8510C that can measure from 45MHz to 50GHz with a Cascade probe setup. Device parameters can be then imported into ADS or IC-CAP at the local computer. A micromanipulator video probe system is available for low frequency measurements and characterization.

  • The latest addition of the CHFE equipment include a 4-port Agilent N5247A PNA-X with both linear and nonlinear measurement capabilities up to 67 GHz, an Ando AQ63178 Optical Spectrum Analyzer for light source evaluation and waveform evaluations of WDM systems, and a spherical near field anechoic chamber which can measure 3-D radiation patterns of the antenna from 1GHz to 20GHz.