Agilent and University of Texas collaborate on mm and sub-mm wave characterization

Agilent Technologies and the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) today announced they are partnering to establish a leading millimeter- and sub-millimeter-wave electronics characterization facility at the Texas Analog Center of Excellence (TxACE). The facility will be available to industrial and government institutions in U.S. using an open, collaborative framework.

Millimeter-wave semiconductors operate in the frequency range of above 50GHz to find use in applications such as scanning people for weapons and monitoring air quality to enabling aircraft to operate more safely in dense fog and other poor weather conditions.

The first phase of the new facility will involve network and spectrum analyses, as well as two-tone linearity and noise measurement capabilities up to 325 GHz. The facility will initially support research to make 77 to 81 GHz short-range radar integrated circuits affordable and study the feasibility for 180 to 300 GHz spectrometry in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology for security and health care applications. Later they plan to extend the facility into the 500-GHz region and above.

"One of TxACE's key goals is to help enable the emergence of silicon millimeter-wave and sub-millimeter-wave integrated circuits for the industry," said Ken O, director of TxACE and holder of the Texas Instruments Distinguished Chair at UT Dallas. "With a facility of this type in a university environment, critical barriers will be removed for research in this challenging measurement area."

"We are delighted to help establish the facility at TxACE for research in millimeter and THz analog circuit design," said Bill Wallace, Americas region director of university development, Agilent. "The research conducted by some of the most distinguished faculty in their field should lead to new disruptive technologies and positively impact our industry."