A class for computer-aided design and measurement of microstrip circuits

We are developing an innovative microwave-integrated-circuits class at Caltech that uses personal computers to design and analyze microstrip circuits, and to make the artwork and measurements. We have written an interactive microwave computer-aided-design program, Puff, that is quite fast at laying out and analyzing microstrip circuits. The students fabricate a different circuit each week and test them on a network analyzer controlled by a personal computer. The fabrication and measurement process is streamlined so that it all can be done in a single three-hour lab period.