Design of experiments for the characterization of microwave circuits and antennas

This paper presents a unique culminating laboratory experience following a sequence of theoretically rigorous undergraduate and graduate EM courses. The junior level undergraduate course is accompanied by a laboratory component where wave propagation, reflection, and transmission in the frequency and time domains, wave interference and impedance matching are studied with the primary intent of relating theoretical concepts to measurable quantities and to learn to use and understand the vector network analyzer and its capabilities. In the graduate program, following courses on microwave circuit theory and antenna theory, is the course described in this paper which involves the design of experiments to characterize or measure specific quantities, working with the constraints of measurable quantities using the vector network analyzer, in conjunction with the development of closed form analytical expressions. In addition, the students design microstrip circuitry and antennas using analytical models and software tools and verify the performance through measurements