Facilities and Equipment

UMass Dartmouth's RF Photonics Lab has full capability to design, model, and characterize advanced passive and active RF devices, photonic devices, and complete microwave photonic systems.

The RF Photonics Lab has extensive, state-of-the-art test equipment and software tools. Its facilities consist of:

• 2 probe-stations
• 2 microwave/millimeter wave spectrum analyzers (100kHz – 40GHz)
• vector network analyzer (40MHz – 20GHz)
• vector signal analyzer (up to 3GHz)
• high speed sampling scope (8Gsps)
• 4 low phase noise frequency synthesizer sources (1MHz – 20GHz)
• dynamic signal analyzer for phase noise analysis  
• high resolution optical spectrum analyzer
• automatic optical fiber splicer
• 2 four-channel laser diode controllers
• 2 narrow linewidth low RIN fiber laser sources
• several high speed optical receivers (up to 60GHz)

The lab has additional advanced test equipment including the latest software tools for designing and simulating photonic and RF circuits.

The lab recently procured an additional 60GHz vector network analyzer and a 40GHz vector signal generator. The lab uses the Center for Nanoscale Systems fabrication facilities at Harvard University for photonic device fabrication.

Lab equipment