The National Millimeter Waves Laboratory, approved by the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC) in 1991, was constructed based on the discipline of “electromagnetic field and microwave technology”, one of the first national key disciplines selected by the Ministry of Education and one with a center for post-doctoral research. It was completed in 1993 and successfully passed the acceptance inspection, and has been open ever since then. Professor Sun Zhongliang, expert on the millimeter waves (MMW) system, held the post of director of the Laboratory; Professor Lin Weigan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Chief Scientist Chen Dingchang assumed in succession director of the academic committee of the Laboratory. At present, the Laboratory, with Dr. Hong Wei, “Cheung Kong Scholar” Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education, acting as its director, boasts 42 full-time staff members, including 16 professors and 10 doctoral supervisors, 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 3 “Cheung Kong Scholar” Distinguished Professors of the Ministry of Education, 1 member of the expert panel with the General Armament Department, 1 member of the expert panel for Program 863, and 2 winners of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (NSFDYS).
In effort to develop the MMW spectrum resources, the Laboratory, with the research on basic theories and technologies as its core, attaches great importance to the cutting-edge and cross-disciplinary research subjects concerning MMW, as well as to the research on key technologies in the new –type MMW system, thus establishing the four major research orientations as follows: MMW circuit and network, MMW propagation and radiation, MMW application system and measuring technique, as well as MMW-related cross-disciplinary theories and technologies. Ever since 1997, the Laboratory assumed altogether 114 scientific research projects, including 33 national projects. The research funds in place over the past five years in total have exceeded 50 million RMB, averaging over 10 million RMB annually. A total of 436 academic papers have been published, including 100 in foreign core journals, 154 in domestic core journals and 204 published in academic conferences both at home and abroad; of those papers, 58 can be indexed in SCI, 95 in EI and 32 in ISTP; and 18 papers have been quoted by SCI for 43 times altogether, and dozens have been quoted in manuals and monographs published by foreign scholars. Also one monograph has come out. In addition, the Laboratory has won 2 prizes for scientific and technological progress, 2 other prizes and 2 awards for authenticated achievements. It has applied for over 20 patents, including 8 patents for invention; and it has transferred 1 scientific research achievement. Annually, the Laboratory admits 20 PhD candidates, 40 master’s degree candidates as well as 4 to 8 post-doctors.
In recent years, the Laboratory has reached or reached the internationally advanced level in its research on the development of MMW frequency spectrum, MMW quasi-optics technology, minor-caliber satellite communication terminals, electromagnetic wave propagation and radiation, computational electromagnetic, mobile communication technology, new MMW propagation lines and microwave chemistry, as well as the design of integrated circuit chips. Some of them, with proprietary intellectual property rights, have helped replaced imported products; and some have helped bring about huge economic benefit of hundreds of millions of RMB.
