Leverage COTS Approach For SDR Designs

Feb. 19, 2010
SOFTWARE-DEFINED-RADIO (SDR) technology has emerged as a way to help the communications industry easily modify radio devices to support new and emerging technologies. Compared to traditional radios, SDRs offer an efficient and less expensive ...

SOFTWARE-DEFINED-RADIO (SDR) technology has emerged as a way to help the communications industry easily modify radio devices to support new and emerging technologies. Compared to traditional radios, SDRs offer an efficient and less expensive way to enable multimode, multiband, and/or multifunctional wireless devices that can be configured via software upgrades. Despite these obvious benefits, many obstacles must be overcome in the design and test of SDRs. In "Addressing SDR Design and Measurement Challenges," Agilent Technologies describes how commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology and an integrated design-to-test flow can aid the rapid development of SDRs.

To develop an SDR while maximizing resources and minimizing risk and time to market, the five-page document advocates the use of a solution that incorporates COTS physicallayer (PHY) orthogonal-frequency-divisionmultiple- access (OFDMA) algorithm modeling with an integrated design-to-test flow. That flow should be able to support both baseband and RF methodologies. Using the commercial algorithm models as a baseline starting point, engineers can customize algorithms to create proprietary SDR implementations. Although this application note serves to educate readers about the firm's SystemVue system-design software solution, it offers good basic information on SDR design with a WiMAX in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) modulator design example.

Agilent Technologies, Inc., 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95051; (408) 345-8886, FAX: (408) 345-8474, Internet: www.agilent.com.

About the Author

Nancy Friedrich | RF Product Marketing Manager for Aerospace Defense, Keysight Technologies

Nancy Friedrich is RF Product Marketing Manager for Aerospace Defense at Keysight Technologies. Nancy Friedrich started a career in engineering media about two decades ago with a stint editing copy and writing news for Electronic Design. A few years later, she began writing full time as technology editor at Wireless Systems Design. In 2005, Nancy was named editor-in-chief of Microwaves & RF, a position she held (along with other positions as group content head) until 2018. Nancy then moved to a position at UBM, where she was editor-in-chief of Design News and content director for tradeshows including DesignCon, ESC, and the Smart Manufacturing shows.

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