Wireless Communications as a Catalyst for Curriculum Integration: A New Microwave Measurement and Design Laboratory

正在为本科生建立一个创新的微波设计和测量实验室。该实验室设施及其相关的实验室课程是一个高度多学科的项目，借鉴了半导体器件物理，电磁场理论，电子电路设计和通信系统设计的基础知识。通过将这四个主要领域整合到一个实验室课程中，该项目直接解决了工程教育中最紧迫的问题之一，即学生将课程视为狭窄专业的集合而不是综合整体的趋势。本课程，学生将设计，制造，测试和分析无线通信系统的微波电路，将跨越专业的这些传统领域，并提供广泛的教育机会。国家的最先进的计算机辅助设计和仿真软件，再加上现代计算机控制的微波测量设备，将使学生学习微波电路设计和测试的复杂性，同时加强他们的半导体器件操作，电磁场理论和电路设计的基础知识的掌握。该课程将在全日制实验室环境中教授，每次上课都会有学生测量和演示，以激发学生对这一令人兴奋的工作领域的热情。

An innovative microwave design and measurements laboratory for undergraduates is being developed. This laboratory facility and its associated laboratory course is a highly multidisciplinary project that draws upon the fundamentals of semiconductor device physics, electromagnetic field theory, electronic circuit design, and communication system design. By integrating these four major areas into one laboratory course, this project directly addresses one of the most pressing problems in engineering education, the tendency of students to view their coursework as a collection of narrow specialties rather than an integrated whole. This course, in which the students will design, fabricate, test, and analyze microwave circuitry for wireless communication systems, will cut across these traditional areas of specialty and provide a broad based educational opportunity. State-of-the-art computer aided design and simulation software, coupled with modern computer-controlled microwave measurement equipment, will enable the students to learn the intricacies of microwave circuit design and testing while at the same time strengthening their grasp of the fundamentals of semiconductor device operation, electromagnetic field theory, and circuit design. The course will be taught in a full-time laboratory setting, with student measurements and demonstrations in every class meeting to infuse the students with enthusiasm for this exciting area of work.