Facilities

The DART lab has access to a variety of state-of-the-art modeling, fabrication, and characterization tools. Below is a glimpse of what are available.

Software Tools

Through the generous donations and discounts from various vendors, we have access to the latest versions of the following software tools for device, circuit, and system design / analysis.

Cadence Analog Design Environment (IC) and Allegro (PCB)
Keysight Advanced Design Systems (ADS), EM Pro, Genesys, and SystemVue
ANSYS Electronics Desktop
CST Mcirowave Studio
AWR Microwave and Virtual System Simulator (VSS)
Coventorware and MEMS+
COMSOL Multiphysics
Tanner L-Edit

Device Fabrication

Microfabrication

For semiconductor device fabrication, we have access to the UC Davis Center for Nano-MicroManufacturing (CNM2) . CNM2 is the home for the prototype and fabrication of thin-film, micro- and nano-structures. CNM2 is housed in a 10,000 ft² Class-1000 and -100 clean room that provides capabilities for fabricating integrated circuits, microdevices, and assembling hybrid modules. To support these activities, CNM2 is fully equipped with mask-making, photolithography, thin-film deposition, etching, furnaces, and assembly tools. The complete list of equipment can be found here. Notable examples include:

EVG620 semi-automated double-side mask aligner, EVG501 wafer bonder, and EVG810LT LowTemp plasma activation system bundle
PlasmaTherm Versaline High Density Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (HD PECVD) system
PlasmaTherm Versaline DSE-III deep silicon etch (DRIE) system
Kurt J. Lesker automated sputtering system

In addition, we have full access to the UC Berkeley Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory (~1 hour away from Davis) with additional fabrication and characterization equipment to complement the capabilities at UC Davis.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

Although the fabrication of most standard PCBs are outsourced, we do maintain a set of PCB prototyping equipment in-house for designs that require special processing. A critical piece of equipment is the T-Tech QCJ-5 60,000-rpm milling machine (shown to the right). We also have a wet-processing hood for metal (Cu, Au, Ag, and solder) electroless-/electro-plating and etching.

Machining

Through the UC Davis BME TEAM facility and the Engineering Fabrication Lab , we have access to various prototyping capability, such as CNC machining, 3D printing, injection modeling, and water-jet cutting at low cost.

Characterization

In our own lab (Kemper Hall 3182), we maintain a basic set of high frequency characterization equipment for connectorized and on-wafer measurement below 40 GHz.

Agilent 8722D 40-GHz Vector Network Analyzer (VNA)
Agilent 5071A 8-GHz 4-port VNA
Agilent E4422B and E4433B (option 1E5 & UND) 4-GHz vector signal generator
LeCroy WavePro7300A 3-GHz (20 Gsps) oscilloscope
Tektronix RTSA3308B 8-GHz real-time spectrum analyzer
Multiple DC power supplies, funtion generators, and digital multimeters

The DART lab is associated with the Davis Millimeter-Wave Research Center (DMRC) which has a shared high-frequency characterization lab in Ghausi Hall on the UC Davis campus. Through collaboration with Agilent Technologies (now Keysight Technologies), we are equipped with full vector signal generation and characterization equipment up to 500 GHz. Notable examples include:

Agilent N5247A 67-GHz non-linear Performance Network Analyzer (PNA-X) with dual sources and 4 test ports
Agilent E8364A 50-GHz PNA
Agilent N9030A 50-GHz PXA signal analyzer with pre-amplifier
OML and VDI waveguide frequency extenders up to 500 GHz
Waveguide power meter (50 GHz - 110 GHz)
VDI-Erickson PM4 power meter (75 GHz - 3 THz)
Harmonic mixers up to 325 GHz

Davis Advanced RF Technologies Lab