I read about Software Defined radio (SDR), and I found it quite interesting. I think it will revolutionize radio.
I'm interested in FPGA-based applications for Software Defined Radio.
I read that software radio functions such as DDCs (Digital Down Converters) are implemented by FPGA, and over the past few years, the functions associated with DDCs have seen a shift from being delivered in ASICs (Application-Specific ICs) to operating as IP (Intellectual Property) in FPGAs.
So, is this implementation shift applicable for other radio functions which are being delivered in ASICs? also, Is it possible to implement the physical layer of the mobile networks completely in FPGAs?
What are the latest emerging FPGA-based applications for Software Defined Radio (SDR)?
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Spectrum Sensing and efficient utilization of bandwidth using SDR in FPGA ... is a good application.
Dear Ramy,
almost all base band functions of the advanced wireless communication standards are implemented on FPGA chips. The advancements on FPGA is appreciable such that a complete base band processing blocks for the transmitters and receivers can be implemented on one FPGA chip such FPGA Vertex 6 from Xilinix. Specifically the functions are the modems and the channel codecs. If one chip could not accommodate
the system functions one can use multiple chips.
please see the paper in the LINK:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255962293_Software_Defined_Radio_Implementation_of_LTE_Transmitter_Physical_Layer
wish you success.
Article Software Defined Radio Implementation of LTE Transmitter Phy...
Hi: faraway of FPGA, I advice you to turn to embedded system like NOROC appliance where the project is more easy building by using C or C++ and Linux environment.
Hi
One of the most commonly application in this regard is the FPGA implementation of receiver synchronization(Frequency and Timing synchronization). Many articles have been written on this subject and for more information you can refer to them.
Dear Ramy,
Any implementation on SDRs will eventually be a mix of FPGA and embedded programming. Embedded programming is much more attractive because you can write your code in C/C++/Python, which is much more user-friendly and easy-to-debug than Verilog/VHDL. But of course, certain functions are too time-critical (especially at high sample rates) to be done in an embedded processor, hence the requirement for FPGA. For example, if you take a 3G system, you would do the filtering and primary synchronization (slot synch) in the FPGA, but you can afford to do the secondary synchronziation on a host processor, as these operations are at much lower rate.
FYI, my team is about to release an open-source implementation of a 3G scanner for the USRP-N210 SDR (we're currently writing the documentation), please contact me in private for more info.
Dear Francois Quitin
Can you give detail of Features/ need of FPGA over Embedded processor?
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