​​Cardiff AIG has a range of facilities to support its space research activities.

Clean Rooms

Several fully-equipped cleanrooms from ISO-8 to ISO-5 (Class 100,000 to Class 100) available for device manufacture, component assembly, metrology, and instrument integration.

Antenna Test Range

Antenna test range and Vector Network Analyzers available. Test range is suitable for frequency range 20 GHz – >1 THz; VNA coverage 0 GHz – 330 GHz.​

Optic Metrology and Testing

Numerous optical tables and a full range of metrology equipment are available.

Spectroscopy Suite

Spectroscopy covering the visible to millimetre wavelength range, and sample temperatures down to ~ 2K.

Cryogenic Test Facilities

Large range of test beds available, with and without optical ports, for characterisation down to ~8mK.

Thermal Vacuum Facilities

There are a variety of vacuum ovens and thermal control chambers available. The large thermal chamber has internal dimensions 3m x 3m x 3m, and an operating temperature range of -40°C to +60°C.

Detector characterisation and calibration:

Full suite of facilities for testing and calibrating detector arrays. Existing facilities for characterising arrays in the wavelength range from visible to ~3mm, and in the temperature range from 8mK up to room temperature. These facilities have been used for calibration of satellite-borne detectors and arrays.​