AWR Corp. announces the addition of two new stories to its roster of university student and professor design successes using AWR software. These new stories include contributions from Okinawa National College of Technology in Japan and Macquarie University in Australia.

Okinawa National College of Technology

Dr. Koyu Chinen, professor at Okinawa National College of Technology (ONCT), is an expert in designing transmitter/receiver modules for optical communications systems (including 25 years at Toshiba). Dr. Chinen not only uses AWR design tools for his courses at ONCT, he also uses both Microwave Office® circuit design software and Visual System Simulator™ (VSS) systems design software for his research projects, the most recent of which is the design of a large, complex climatology communication system using WiMAX, optical communications, and a climate satellite from the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“I began using AWR software in teaching not just because it was easy to learn but because it combines component-level circuit design with system-level and EM tools in a single environment,” said Dr. Chinen. “This is a great advantage to students learning microwave and RF concepts.  In addition, the combination of AWR’s Microwave Office and VSS software has proven to be the best match for my research. The tools are very efficient, which was essential in one

Macquarie University

Dr. Michael Heimlich, Concentration of Research Excellence (CoRE) professor in wireless communication at Macquarie University, uses AWR software for both his undergraduate classes in electronic devices and systems and his advanced digital and RFIC design classes. Students in his third year classes use Microwave Office software throughout the semester to do laboratory assignments in basic amplifier, mixer, and oscillator design. His advanced students in the digital design and analog RFIC design classes joined forces to design a wireless DSP chip for use as a “smart microphone” for the Sydney Opera House. The students used Silanna’s 0.25um silicon-on-insulator (SOI) complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process, partitioning the design into a binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) wireless front end and digital backend, and designing the various parts.   Students were required to not only design their particular piece all the way through to layout and verification; they also had to partition the design between the two classes as well as down to each individual student.

“One of the hallmarks of AWR software is its unique ability to make the complex task of circuit design far more comprehensible and straightforward for users with varying levels of experience,” said Dr. Heimlich. “I use AWR software for both my beginning and advanced undergraduate engineering classes thanks to these unique features that enable less experienced students to achieve design success.”

Read the full story on these two new university design successes online at: http://www.awrcorp.com/customer-stories.