Electronic Instructional Laboratory Faculty FAQ's
Last Updated: November 10, 2001
What is the EIL?
The ECE department maintains extensive laboratory facilities devoted to instruction in electrical engineering. The Electronic Instructional Laboratories (EIL) are comprised of nine undergraduate laboratories, which support twenty-one ECE courses. In all, the EIL contains approximately 90 lab stations, and over nine hundred pieces of electronic test equipment, with applications over a wide spectrum of electrical engineering. If you're the instructor for any of the following courses, there's an EIL component to your course:
ECE 210 ECE 265ECE 320 ECE 346 ECE 396ECE 431ECE 449
ECE 221ECE 311 ECE 340 ECE 350 ECE 397ECE 442ECE 458
ECE 225ECE 317 ECE 342 ECE 367 ECE 420ECE 445ECE 459
Useful information, and current EIL policy, regarding typical concerns of faculty are described below. Any exceptions to the EIL policy must be approved by the Department Head. Policy information is followed by a brief description of each Electronics Instructional Lab.
Who maintains the EIL?
The EIL staff is responsible for the maintenance and repair of electronic test equipment, safety, and security of the EIL The staff will be happy to answer questions you may have regarding any EIL lab. Staff members are located in the EIL Office at 3260 SEL. The EIL staff is supervised by Harold Sosa (312-996-8543). During the semester, the Lab Office hours of operation are weekdays, from 9AM to 4PM, with internal hours of 7:30AM to 5PM. We are closed on holidays observed by the university. During the semester breaks, the Lab Office may be closed and hours may fluctuate slightly, due to vacation and maintenance schedules.
How do I gain access an EIL lab?
Keys are not issued to the EIL labs. If you would like to view a lab, come to the EIL Office in 3260 SEL during normal hours of operation, and a staff member will let you in. During normal hours, you are welcome to spend time in a lab, familiarizing yourself with present experiments, or designing a new experiment for your course. To avoid a time conflict with a lab session, please contact the EIL Supervisor to schedule a suitable time.
How do I arrange to have lab experiments made available for my students?
Lab manuals for ECE 210, 265, 320, are made available to students in the UIC Bookstore. Faculty members need to make arrangements with Mona Hurt in room 1020 SEO, to have an adequate amount of these manuals ordered, when textbooks are ordered.
Current hard copies of ECE 221, ECE 225, ECE 311, ECE 317, ECE 340, ECE 342, ECE 346, ECE 350, ECE 367, ECE 420, ECE 431, ECE 449, and ECE 458 lab manuals are maintained in the main office (1020 SEO) by Mona Hurt. Please make arrangements with Mona, to have sufficient copies of the lab manual made, at least two weeks before the first lab session. Some lab manuals are posted on the web. Faculty members should inform Mona of any changes they would like to have made to a lab manual.
What is the lab section limit for my lab?
Scheduled EIL lab sections are designed to accommodate a limited number of students. You are not permitted to exceed this limit. Please check with Dr. Roland Priemer (Room 1123 SEO) before adding any students. Refer to the following list to determine the section limit for your EIL lab:
ECE 21028 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 22120 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 22528 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 26520 Students Maximum (No Groups, but seating is limited)
ECE 31120 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 31720 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 32020 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 34020 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 34220 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 34620 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 35020 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 36720 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 42018 Students Maximum (6 stations of three students)
ECE 43120 Students Maximum (10 stations of two students)
ECE 44218 Students Maximum (6 stations of three students)
ECE 44512 Students Maximum (4 stations of three students)
ECE 44912 Students Maximum (4 stations of three students)
ECE 45812 Students Maximum (4 stations of three students)
ECE 45912 Students Maximum (4 stations of three students)
Will my students need to obtain lab kits?
Several of the ECE lab courses require the students to purchase a laboratory kit. The EIL Supervisor makes arrangements with the UIC bookstore to have an adequate supply on hand, and to see that the contents reflect current experiment needs. If you are the instructor for a course shown below, please inform your students of their obligation to purchase a lab kit. Lab courses requiring lab kits are as follows:
ECE 265One lab kit and one breadboard per student
ECE 311One lab kit per group of two students
ECE 340One lab kit per group of two students
ECE 342One lab kit per group of two students
ECE 346One lab kit per group of two students
ECE 367One lab kit per group of two students
ECE 431One lab kit per group of two students
Where do my students purchase their lab kits?
Students in the six courses requiring lab kits may purchase their lab kit at the UIC Bookstore, Electronic Parts Counter, in CCC. All lab kit components are also sold individually at the Parts Counter. The EIL office does not supply semiconductors to the students.
How does my TA gain access to an EIL lab?
The teaching assistants are assigned to your lab by Dr. Rashid Ansari (Room 2241 SEO), and keys are not issued to EIL Labs. This being the case, TA's must go to the EIL Office (Room 3260 SEL) to gain access to their lab. TA's are not permitted to hold office hours in the lab. TA's are expected to perform unfamiliar lab experiments prior to their corresponding lab session. They may request access for this purpose on weekdays from 9AM to 4PM, provided no other lab is in session. If your TA's need assistance in understanding equipment operation, or components for themselves, they are encouraged to consult an EIL staff member.
What if my TA is running late, or is absent?
It is recommended that your TA's have each other's phone number, as well as your own. If TA's are running late, they may call the EIL Office (312-996-8543, 312-996-9696, or 413-1459) to ask that a notice to be posted on the door, for their students to wait. They should speak directly to a staff member, as a voice mail could delay posting. Students will be informed that they may leave if there has been no contact from the TA, thirty minutes after the scheduled start of the lab session.
The EIL staff does not teach lab sessions. If a TA is going to be absent for a lab session, any substitute TA chosen to teach the lab should be from the same course in the same semester. Any other substitute TA must be a current ECE TA, and must be approved by Dr. Ansari and the EIL Supervisor in advance of the lab session. There have also been instances in which ECE faculty members have taught lab sessions when a substitute TA could not be found.
What are the rules regarding student access to an EIL lab?
With the exception of the Senior Design Lab, only students who are registered for a lab session may enter a lab. For safety and security reasons, students are not permitted to accompany TA's into EIL labs for private "tutoring" sessions. Lab instruction may begin in the first week of the semester, but must conclude before finals week. Lab sections cannot meet during semester breaks. Please note that your lab sections may meet only during regularly scheduled times. Your TA's should reserve a lab session at the end of the semester to allow students to make-up missed experiments. On occasion, the EIL Senior Design Lab has been used for "make-ups".
Are there guidelines for my TA, while in the lab?
Guidelines for your teaching assistants are explained in detail at the TA orientation meetings by the EIL Supervisor. In addition, TA lab guidelines are posted in the lab, and you may request a copy from the EIL Supervisor.
How can I change the contents of an EIL lab kit?
All ECE faculty are notified of the current EIL lab kit contents several months prior to the start of each new semester, and faculty members are given several weeks to notify the EIL Supervisor of any changes to a lab kit. If there is no response by the given deadline, the lab kit contents will remain unchanged from the previous semester. It's a good idea to consult with the other faculty members teaching the course, and the EIL Supervisor, before submitting any changes to lab kits.
Can I schedule examinations in an EIL lab?
The Electronics Instructional Labs are not available for scheduling exams. If you need additional classroom space for an exam, you must make arrangements with Student Affairs (Room 900 SEO).
Can I send my RA to make measurements on EIL equipment?
You and your Research Assistants are welcome to come and use the wide variety of test equipment in the Senior Design Lab only during the normal weekday lab hours of 9AM-4PM. Experiments may not be left unattended, or set up overnight. To avoid a time conflict with a lab session, access to other EIL labs during weekday hours of 9AM-4PM may be arranged by contacting the EIL Supervisor.
Can I borrow equipment from the EIL?
Any lab equipment currently used by an EIL course cannot be loaned out to faculty. If there is any test equipment in storage, of a type that is no longer used in an EIL lab, you may contact the EIL Supervisor to see if you may borrow such equipment. Equipment loaned to you is not to be loaned out to any third party. Unauthorized removal of equipment will be considered as theft.
ECE faculty will be notified by e-mail, if there are any plans to dispose of EIL electronic test equipment. At that time, you will be given the opportunity to assume responsibility for such equipment on a "first come - first served" basis in 1020 SEO.
Can I store equipment in the EIL?
The Electronics Instructional Labs does not store equipment for faculty.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE ELECTRONIC INSTRUCTIONAL LABS (EIL)
ECE 210 Lab
The Electrical Circuit Analysis Lab is located in 3250 SEL. Each of the fourteen lab stations is equipped with a DC Power Supply, Multimeter, Function Generator, and a 100MHZ Oscilloscope. Experiments emphasize measurements in voltage, current, resistance, and power. Lecture concepts such as Kirchoff's laws, Thevenin's theorem, theorems of linear networks, R-C circuits, phasors and sinusoidal analysis, I-V Characteristics, and operational amplifiers are explored.
ECE 221 Lab
The Electromagnetics Lab is located in room 4255 SEL. Each of the ten lab stations is equipped with an oscilloscope, digital multimeter, dual DC power supply, and various other components. Experiment topics include generation of static charge, storage and mechanical transfer of electric charge, electrostatics, electric field inside a conductor, magnetostatics, the right-hand rule, DC circuits, and optics principles.
ECE 225 Lab
The Circuit Analysis Lab is located in 3250 SEL Each of the fourteen lab stations is equipped with a DC Power Supply, Multimeter, Function Generator, and a 100MHZ Oscilloscope. Experiments emphasize measurements in voltage, current, resistance, and power. Emphasized concepts includes basic electric circuit variables and elements, Kirchoff’s Laws and circuit topology (nodes, loops); AC steady state, phasors, impedances, frequency characteristics of circuits; Equivalent transformations of circuits (series, parallel), input impedance, voltage and current division rules, superposition principle; Thevenin's and Norton's Theorems and source transformations; Laplace's Transform (simplified), solution of differential equations; Transient analysis of circuits, impulse response; Linear amplifiers and circuits with dependent sources; Magnetically coupled circuits, and transformers and two-port circuit elements.
ECE 265 Lab
Digital Systems Lab sessions are held in 3249A SEL. Students implement circuits to analyze various: logic gates, Boolean functions, and combinational and sequential circuits. This is accomplished by means of battery equipped breadboard enclosures that each student purchases along with their ECE 265 lab kit, at the UIC Bookstore.
ECE 311
The Communications Engineering laboratory in held in room 3263 SEL. Each of the ten lab stations are equipped with a 100MHz digital oscilloscope with FFT capability, two arbitrary waveform generator, AM/FM modulating signal generator, LCZ meter, digital multimeter, triple DC power supply and a 100K-1.8GHz spectrum analyzer. Experiments explore simple filters, generation and detection of an AM Signal, generation of FM signals, detection of a FM signal using PLL’s, Analog Sampling, Analog to Digital conversion, basic ideas of exponential Fourier series and analysis, Time-domain waveform and frequency domain spectra of AM signals, FM signal’s spectra. Each three-member lab group is required to purchase one lab kit at the UIC Bookstore.
ECE 317
The Digital Signal Processing Laboratory is located in room 3268 SEL. There are ten stations, each equipped with: a PC, digital storage oscilloscope, AD/DA conversion board plugged into each PC, signal generator, microphone, amplifier, DSP modules from TI and Analog Devices. A networked printer provides for hard copies of oscilloscope and PC monitor screens. The software students learn to use includes: SystemView, Matlab, Softwire, programs for digital filter design and analysis, and assemblers for the DSP microprocessors. Students do experiments concerned with sampling and the sampling theorem, signal representation with a Fourier series, signal power spectrum, digital filter implementation, design and testing of FIR and IIR digital filters. Through these experiments students become acquainted with a broad range of hardware and software tools for digital signal acquisition, signal analysis and digital filtering.
ECE 320 Lab
The Electromagnetic Fields Lab is located in 4255 SEL. All ten lab stations contain an 800MHz-2400MHz Signal Generator, SWR meter, power meter, pulse generator, 100MHz oscilloscope, and slotted line. Experiments explore measurements of: wavelength, generator loading, VSWR, reflection coefficient, attenuation, insertion loss, power, impedance, time domain reflectometry, and impedance matching. This lab is also equipped with two network analyzer stations.
ECE 340 Lab
The Digital Electronic Circuits Lab is located in 3253 SEL. Each of the ten lab stations are equipped with a 100MHz digital oscilloscope, arbitrary waveform generator, digital multimeter, and triple DC power supply. Experiments reinforce lecture concepts, such as: operational amplifiers, diode characteristics, diode logic gates, BJT characteristics and switching behavior, common emitter, common collector, and common source amplifiers, RTL, TTL inverter, MOSFET inverter, and CMOS. Each three-member lab group is required to purchase one lab kit at the UIC Bookstore.
ECE 342 Lab
The Analog Circuit Design Lab is located in 3253 SEL. All ten lab stations are equipped with a 100MHz digital oscilloscope, arbitrary waveform generator, digital multimeter, and triple DC power supply. Lab experiments emphasize: simple R-C circuits, single supply and non-idealities of operational amplifiers, differential amplifiers, multistage amplifiers, active filter design, sinusoidal oscillators, wave shaping and waveform generators, CMOS applications, TTL logic gates, memory cells, and audio power amplifiers. Each three-member lab group is required to purchase one lab kit at the UIC Bookstore.
ECE 346 Lab
The Semiconductor Devices Lab is located in 3263 SEL. Each of the ten lab stations is equipped with a 100MHz digital oscilloscope, LCZ meter, digital multimeter, arbitrary waveform generator, gaussmeter, and an electromagnet. Experiment topics include: semiconductor conductivity, minority carrier lifetime, hall effect, diode characteristics, temperature effects on semiconductors, light emission and detection of P-N junction diodes, zener I-V characteristics, BJT measurement simulation. Students are also introduced to PC driven source measurement system, for automated analysis of semiconductor characteristics. Each three-member lab group is required to purchase one lab kit at the UIC Bookstore.
ECE 350
The Principles of Automatic Control Laboratory is located in room 3268 SEL. Each of the ten lab stations is equipped with a computer. The course-related applications that are available on the computers are MatLab with the Simulink, and the Control System Toolboxes. All the laboratory experiments are based on Matlab and Simulink. Through experiments the students learn how to model a physical system and analyze it, how to design a controller for the system, how to simulate it and how to evaluate its performance. Both frequency and time-domain techniques are explored.
ECE 367 Lab
The Microprocessor-Based Design Lab is located in 3264 SEL. Each of the ten lab stations contain a 200MHz/48 channel logic analyzer, Motorola M68HC11EVM microcontroller evaluation module, personal computer, 40MHz oscilloscope, digital multimeter, and triple DC power supply. Experiments require students to design code that will utilize the many features of the Motorola MC68HC11 evaluation module. Each station is equipped with a software package that enables students to edit, assemble, and simulate their code prior to implementation. Cycle-by-cycle microcontroller operation is observed with the aid of logic analyzers. Each three-member lab group is required to purchase one lab kit at the UIC Bookstore.