A large quantity of antennas increases the capacity of the radio channel
Massive MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) stands for the simultaneous use of a large quantity of antennas within one frequency range. The procedure is regarded as an important component of future 5G mobile telecommunication systems. By exploiting the spatial component of the radio field, this procedure can be used to significantly increase data transmission capacity. Furthermore, beamforming can be used to bundle output, thereby achieving a targeted orientation towards individual participants.
The procedure enables an adaptive and demand-oriented use of the limited radio frequencies. However, it requires complex signal processing at high speed - an ideal task for powerful FPGA or SoC components.
IAF has developed a hardware platform for this application on the basis of the Xilinx RFSoC production series. In addition to FPGA logic and ARM processors, these components contain integrated A/D and D/A converters with sampling rates in the GHz range. Virtually the entire signal processing, including analogue signal conditioning, is performed in a single chip. As a result, systems with a large quantity of antennas (more than 100 antennas) and high bandwidth can be realised.