Monday, September 16, 2013

University of Waterloo to explore fringes of electromagnetic spectrum with new wireless facility


http://www.itbusiness.ca/news/university-of-waterloo-to-explore-fringes-of-electromagnetic-spectrum-with-new-wireless-facility/43181


The University of Waterloo opened a new wireless technologies facility today, one that will be used to test electromagnetic devices.
The Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) cost about $15 million to build and was in the works for about five years. Spanning about 5,000 square feet, it’s slated as a centre for academic and industry researchers working on new technologies for smartphones, cars, healthcare, satellite communications, and futuristic nano-sensors. The centre has four interconnected labs, one outdoor lab, and an advanced computational facility.
 

CIARS’ anechoic chamber.
What the centre does is measure objects’ electromagnetic fields. The fields can be anywhere from as small as a human hair to as big as a two-ton truck, and it’s supposed to be the most precise over the widest range of frequency, compared to any other academic facility in the world.
Researchers are also excited about the centre’s ability to measure terahertz. It features multi-configuration electromagnetic radiation lab, where it keeps an anechoic chamber and a place for terahertz measurement. Since researchers don’t fully understand terahertz, a part of the electromagnetic spectrum between radar and fibre optics, they’re hoping that measuring it will uncover new information about it. That might lead to new technologies that could disrupt bio-technology, genetics, pharmaceutics, and targeted drug delivery.

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