Electrical Engineering Laboratories

This lower division laboratory is dedicated to teaching basic electrical circuits, and electronics. The primary utilization of this laboratory is for teaching all sections of two of the required laboratory courses in the BSEE curriculum, EE 201L, Linear Circuit Analysis I Lab, and EE 203L, Analog Circuit Design and Analysis I Lab. The laboratory has multiple student experiment stations, each equipped with basic instruments required to perform experiments and carry out measurements related to fundamental principles of electrical circuits and electronic concepts. Laboratory equipment includes protoboards, oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, signal generators, spectrum analyzers, and other teaching tools. In EE 201L students conduct experiments and perform measurements demonstrating basic principles of circuit theory, including Ohm's law, Kirchhoff’s laws of current and voltage, superposition, Thevenin and Norton models, etc., and gain familiarity with simple transient and AC circuits as well as basic instrumentation and measurement techniques. In EE 203L students conduct experiments and perform measurements involving diode and transistor circuits.

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This laboratory has 20 student workstations. Each station consists of a computer (12 - HP i5 ProDesk and 12 – Lenovo X2 PCs) and associated system mock-up hardware (Freescale project boards with multiple MCU devices HCS12 and HCS08 with variety of sensors). The lab is networked and each station has software tools for creating files, assembling code, and downloading code into the micro-controllers. The primary utilization of this laboratory is for teaching all sections of the required three credit hour course, EE 330 Microprocessors, in which one half of the semester hours are spent in the classroom and one half of the semester is spent in the laboratory. The students in EE 330 have taken the computer architecture course EE 320 and digital systems lab EE320L, but have had limited exposure to a real processor. In this course, students are taught the structure of the Freescale processor. This structure is linked to the material taught in EE 320, Computer Architecture. Students are exposed to machine language and assembly language through the use of a simulator so that they can see how the resources change as each instruction is executed. Students learn to use a text editor, an assembler, and the micro-controller monitor to download and execute programs. Students are given interface assignments as they learn the problems associated with human-machine interface starting with a simple switch and a single light emitting diode (LED) followed by 7-segment LEDs and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and perform analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. Assignments progress to the point where students are able to write the necessary assembly language and corresponding C language.

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This laboratory is primarily used for teaching the one credit hour course, EE 360L Communications Laboratory, which is one of two laboratory classes EE 360L and EE 340L, one of which must be taken by every student in the BSEE program. The laboratory has six student workstations, each equipped with a TIMS (Telecommunication Instructional Modeling System) system unit, including the lower-rack fixed modules, and all the basic, and various advanced plug-in circuit modules. Each station is also equipped with the virtual instrumentation set consisting of A/D converter, computer and associated software modules. Students in this laboratory are exposed to building blocks necessary for hardware realization of many analog and digital communication systems. They use hardware blocks to implement and observe operation of simple communication sub-systems to complete communication links including channel realization. Students taking the one-credit-hour Communications Laboratory course divide their time between this laboratory and the Simulation Laboratory in Room 272. Students conduct experiments and gain hands-on experience with telecommunication principles such as modulation, demodulation, and coding. In addition to the EE 360L, the laboratory is used occasionally for demonstration of concepts taught in two required courses of the BSEE degree program, EE 301, Signals and Systems, and EE 40, Communication Theory.

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This laboratory is primarily used for teaching the one credit hour course, EE 340L, Energy Conversion Lab, which is one of two laboratory classes EE 360L and EE 340L, one of which must be taken by every student in the BSEE program. The laboratory has multiple experiment stations, each equipped with transformers, generators, machines, and various measurement instruments. The laboratory is utilized for teaching basic principles of power systems and rotating machines. Students perform experiments using transformers and AC / DC rotating devices. In addition to EE 340L, the laboratory is used occasionally for demonstration of concepts taught in the required three credit hour course, EE 403, Feedback Systems Analysis and Design.

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This is a dedicated teaching laboratory.  The laboratory contains 30 – HP i5 ProDesk desktop computers.  The 30 HP computers are used as general-purpose teaching tools with access to the EE server software suite.  This laboratory with concomitant software, MATLAB/Simulink, Freescale Code Warrior, Microsoft Visual Studio, NI Multisim, Xilinx ISE and Vivado, Digilent Adept among others are used for teaching a variety of classes: EE109, Engineering Computing, EE320L, Digital Systems Lab, EE 405L, Simulation Techniques Lab, EE 410L, Microwaves Lab, the Simulation components of EE 201L, EE 203L, and various other courses including EE 350, VLSI Design and Testing, and EE 441, Digital Signal Processing.

In addition to the desktop computers, the laboratory consists of approximately 40 FPGA project boards (30 Digilent Nexys4 + 10 Digilent Nexys3 boards) which feature Xilinx FPGA devices.  The boards are introduced in the digital circuit design and analysis course EE 204, and are utilized in depth in the laboratory course, EE 320L, Digital Systems Lab. The students are required to develop a number of standard combinational circuits and a few sequential circuits illustrating state machines and small memory devices.  The FPGA boards provide valuable experience in design and implementation of digital devices. 

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The primary utilization of this laboratory is for research and senior design projects, EE 470 and EE 471. The laboratory is used by students working on computational and imaging related projects. This laboratory is an integrated research and teaching resource dedicated to imaging, tracking, and other ATR related activities including FPGA based hardware implementation of complex algorithms. The 850-ft2 laboratory is utilized by EE students working on senior design projects related to areas of hardware implementation of complex algorithms, imaging, target recognition and tracking. The laboratory has several workstations, all of which are equipped with the latest 64 bit multi-core processors. The machines feature the Windows environment, and recent releases of the Linux operating systems. The machines are loaded with the latest versions of engineering simulation and analysis software packages including Matlab, Multisim, Labview, Zemax, FEKO, Xilinx ISE, etc. Laboratory instruments include optical bench, Surface Optics SOC716 VNIR sixteen–band high-speed hyperspectral imaging system, 256-band VNIR Surface Optics hyperspectral camera, laser scanner, turntable, dual-axis scanning MEMS mirrors, and various FPGA development systems for training and low density logic implementation, as well as high performance FPGA platforms, including a NI BEE3 equipped with high capacity Xilinx FPGA devices, and an IBM Power9 CAPI system with Altera Stratix device.

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This laboratory is utilized for teaching the basics of microelectronic fabrication process to students in the BSEE degree program. The laboratory is primarily used for teaching EE 451, IC Fabrication, and EE 451L, IC Fabrication Lab, senior design, and research. Both courses EE 451 and EE 451L are required for students in the Microelectronics-VLSI Concentration of the BSEE degree program. Students in the General and Computer Engineering concentrations may take these courses towards fulfillment of the senior elective requirements of the BSEE degree. Students use the laboratory facility to layout, simulate, fabricate and test microelectronic subsystems and gain hands on fabrication process experience. The Clean Room/Fabrication Process Laboratory is a 2500 sq. ft. clean room facility with state of the art environmental control systems and equipment. The clean room is ISO Class 6 rated, with Class 5 and Class 4 workspace. The facility contains the basic process and fabrication tools necessary to instruct in microelectronics and MEMS technology or to develop new technology. The facility is equipped with wet and dry chemical processing and fabrication tools for silicon VLSI and thin film technology including thin film deposition systems, plasma ashing and etching systems, diffusion, oxidation and annealing systems, photolithography processing and mask alignment tools capable of sub-micron dimensions, packaging tools and analysis and testing tools including vector network analyzers, as well as extensive electronic and microwave simulation tools for process and device evaluation. Software and simulation tools are available for design and simulation of 3-D MEMS structures including structures designed to work in the dc to 100 GHz range. Fabrication equipment include a state-of-the-art custom computer controlled six-tube Steed diffusion furnace system with expansion capability for LPCVD polysilicon and silicon nitride, Kurt J. Lesker PVD 75 sputtering deposition system, Kurt J. Lesker PVD 75 e-beam/thermal evaporation system, CEE model 200CBX spin/bake unit, SUSS MA6 Gen4 pro mask aligner system, Tempress dicing saw, Ted Pella XP Precision Sectioning Saw, Westbond die bonder, Rudolph ellipsometer, Technics planer plasma etch system, Technics etcher/stripper, several class-100 laminar flow dry and wet workstations, Signitone/Lucas four-point probe, Nikon and Olympus microscopes, Nanometrics film measurement system, MRK image analysis and dimensional measurement system, MMR hall and Seebeck measurement system, ULVAC advanced laser PIT thermal diffusivity instrument, Blue M softbake and hardbake ovens, particle counter, Tencor Profilometer, Simitool Spin Rinser Dryers, Wentworth wafer prober, K&S wire bonder and David Mann photomask pattern generator and step & repeat cameras. The facility is plumbed with dry nitrogen from external liquid storage tanks and provided with a DI water system operating as a closed loop system to maintain better than 18MΏ water purity.

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The primary utilization of the Characterization Laboratory is for research and senior design projects in EE 470, EE 471. The laboratory is also used to demonstrate principles of electronic material measurements and characterization to students in EE 431, Semiconductor Engineering II. The laboratory contains instruments for analysis, characterization and testing of microelectronics material, devices and circuits. Principal laboratory equipment include JEOL Model JSM-6610LV scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and nanometer pattern generation system (NPGS) for e-beam lithography, Oxford Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS); and a nanometer pattern generation system (NPGS) by the Nabity Company. This equipment is complemented by characterization and testing instruments necessary to accomplish the characterization objectives including semiconductor parametric analyzers for C-V (capacitance-voltage) measurements, and ac small-signal electrical characterization impedance and gain phase analyzers. A Hall Effect system supported by Van der Pauw resistivity measurement system is also available. The laboratory has complete access to the microelectronics process laboratory including its complement of inspection microscopes, wafer probing equipment, plasma etchers and film measurement systems. The characterization laboratory supports research in material characterization, device design and development, performance demonstration under non-nominal conditions and device manufacture. The laboratory is used in training the BSEE students involving processes and techniques of microelectronic device testing and analysis. Students are exposed to the performance realities of the "real" devices under stress, and are trained to analyze the cause of failures in the devices they design. Students are instructed in the requirements, procedures and techniques of qualification, stress and accelerated lifetime testing. They learn the basic process of failure analysis. The lab in Room 280 is work in progress for enhancing the capabilities of the characterization laboratory.

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The primary utilization of this laboratory is for nuclear research and senior design project work. There are five stations for experimentation and characterization: 1) Characterization of electrical properties of semiconductor nuclear radiation detectors station, equipped with Keithley 6487 Picoammeter and Voltage Source, Keithley 169 Multimeter, and Auto Range Digital Multimeter; 2) Measurement of detector responses to high energy radiations (X-rays and gamma-rays) and identification of special nuclear materials station, equipped with REXON Scintillation Detector (Type NAI), ORTEC High Voltage Power Supply (Model 556), ORTEC Preamplifier (Model 575A), ORTEC Amplifier (Model 113), ORTEC Multichannel Analyzer (MCA), ORTEC NIM Bin Power Supply (Model 4001A), GW-INSTEC Oscilloscope with Digital Storage and Visual Persistence (Model GDS-3354), and Spectrum Techniques sealed radioactive materials Model RSS 8 Gamma Source Set (Isotopes: 133Ba, 14C, 109Cd, 60Co, 137Cs, 152Eu, 154Eu, 55Fe, 125I, 129I, 54Mn, 22Na, 210Pb, 210Po, 90Sr, 204Tl and 65Zn); 3) Post-growth semiconductor annealing station, equipped with Three-Zone Furnace (Model 1000C-1.5-4-4-4), Edwards Diaphragm Vacuum Pump XDD1 with T-Station 75, Thermocouples, and Nicety DT 804 Digital Multimeter; 4) Nuclear detectors device fabrication and chemical treatment station, equipped with Air Science Ductless Fume Hood, Fisher Scientific Heater and Stirrer, Fisher Scientific Timer, polishing pads, and reagent chemicals; 5) Infrared transmission microscopy station, equipped with AmScope Optical/Infrared Microscope, MD900E Digital Camera, and Newport Research Corporation optical table.

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This laboratory provides work space for EE students and mentors for work on senior design projects. The laboratory equipment include basic signal sources and measurement instruments, components, and tools for hardware implementation, testing, and troubleshooting of senior design projects.

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