HCDC LABORATORY

Located on the fourth floor of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Facility (ECERF) at the University of Alberta, the iCore HCDC Laboratory features all the infrastructure necessary to research and protoype enabling, digital communications technology. HCDC is one of only a few elite laboratories whose activities span from fundamental mathematical sciences to ASIC chip implementation.

A network of SUN stations and high-end desktop computers, multimedia projectors, high-speed internet and fast printers are standard equipment available to faculty members and students to conduct their research. Specialized test and measurement equipment, like digital oscilloscopes, high-bandwidth spectrum analyzers, a vector signal analyzer, arbitrary waveform generators, and AC/DC power sources are also available, as well as all the necessary equipment to implement and test communications algorithms and systems in ASIC and FPGA technology.

The HCDC Laboratory has an "open door" policy where students from department are welcome to visit and work. There is also strong collaboration with the VLSI laboratory, which is adjacent and connected to HCDC by an open door. This allows faculty members and graduate students to freely move between "theory" and "practice" from one laboratory to the other. This has resulted in a large number of jointly authored journal and conference papers published as result of collaborative work by members of both laboratories. Among some of most important achievements of the HCDC are:

• A multiple antenna (MIMO) testbed with real-time date capture, data fast enough to conduct high-speed measurements.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Facility (ECERF) at the University of Alberta

High Capacity Digital Communications Laboratory. Presenter in photography: Dr. Christian Schlegel

Graduate students testing hardware