RFSoC platform for Massive MIMO
New hardware platform on the basis of the Xilinx RFSoC product family
FPGA: Xilinx RFSoC (Gen 3)
Application: Broadband radio communications system with >100 antennas
The assembly also contains, in addition to an XCZU47DR or XCZU48DR RFSoC module, a customer-specific RF front-end for filtering, signal amplification and, if required, conversion to frequency ranges above 6 GHz.
In addition to FPGA logic and ARM processors, A/D and D/A converters with sampling rates in the GHz range are integrated into the RFSoC devices. This means that virtually the entire signal processing, including D/A and A/D conversion, takes place in one chip. The components are extremely performant and therefore very suitable for the implementation of very fast and complex signal processing in parallel. In one RFSoC chip, 8 antennas can be implemented, including the complete signal processing with a sampling rate of up to 6 GHz. With this compact and scalable solution, it is possible to build Massive MIMO systems with a large number of antennas (>100) and high bandwidth.
The digital data interfaces must exhibit sufficient capacity in order to transport the data streams of the 8 broadband antennas. Widely used standard interfaces, such as PCIe, USB3 and 10/100 Gbit Ethernet, are supported by the RFSoC family.
The assembly offers a high degree of flexibility, as a result of the extensive, application-oriented programmability of the signal processing and the software-based parameterisation of the A/D and D/A converters. This makes it suitable for a wide range of applications. The economic lifetime of the hardware is extended significantly, as it is also equipped for future projects.
IAF offers customer-specific system solutions on the basis of the RFSoC hardware platform. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
