Electromagnetics Division

The Electromagnetics Division develops and promotes electromagnetic measurements, standards, and technology to support a broad range of technical needs. The Division’s programs focus on accurate and reliable measurements throughout the radio spectrum, in particular at radio and microwave frequencies. Key program directions include: (1) the development of advanced measurement technologies required by both research-and-development and manufacturing communities; (2) the development and characterization of standard reference artifacts, measurement methods, and services that provide the basis for international recognition of measurements; and (3) the provision of expert technical support for national and international standards activities. We carry out our programs in close coordination with appropriate colleagues in industry, academia, and other government agencies to ensure that we are responsive to their most pressing measurement needs. Examples that indicate the breadth of areas influenced by our programs include high-speed microelectronics for computation and telecommunications, advanced antenna systems for applications in military radars and deep space communications, remote observation of the Earth’s biosphere, acquisition and quantitative characterization of high-speed waveforms, medical diagnostic imaging, and reliable communications for our nation’s emergency first responders.

The Electromagnetics Division’s technical activities are organized into three research groups. The Radio-Frequency Electronics Group provides a broad range of state-of-the-art calibration services for fundamental radio-frequency and microwave quantities, which ensures that the U.S. scientific and industrial base has access to a measurement system that is reliable, accurate, and internationally accepted. In addition, this group extends new measurement tools and theories to higher operating frequencies, wider signal bandwidth, and smaller length scales. These are required for next-generation applications in microelectronics, high-speed communications, computing, and data storage. This group also develops new methods to measure the electromagnetic properties of materials and understand the interactions of electromagnetic waves with advanced materials.

The Radio-Frequency Fields Group develops theory and measurement techniques for the characterization of fundamental properties of advanced antenna systems and for the accurate measurement of electromagnetic fields. These capabilities are applied to the measurement of emissions and susceptibilities of electronic systems and devices. Of growing interest is the development of advanced measurement methods to characterize complex modulated telecommunication signals and the study of challenges faced by advanced communications when operated in complex real-world environments.

The Magnetics Group performs advanced research on fundamental aspects of magnetism and magnetodynamics, with particular focus on the behavior of nanoscale devices and systems for applications to magnetic sensors, magnetic information storage, and spintronics. This group also develops measurement technologies, methods and systems for quantitative biomagnetic imaging and “smart” magnetic contrast agents. In addition, this program maintains unique capabilities for the electromechanical characterization of superconductors, which enables large-scale applications of superconducting technologies.

The Electromagnetics Division, located at the NIST laboratories in Boulder, Colorado, has approximately 45 permanent staff members and a comparable number of associates, including guest researchers, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate and undergraduate students.