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June 8th, 2016

Phased-Array Beamforming Software Arrives From Keysight Technologies


New from Keysight Technologies is their W1720EP Phased Array Beamforming Kit.


Figure 1: The W1720 adds a unique array analysis personality to SystemVue, which can be used to evaluate Digital beamforming, Analog/RF beamforming, and Hybrid beamforming architectures with thousands of elements.

This kit provides system architects in SATCOM, 5G and Radar/EW with the essential tools to evaluate phased array and beamforming subsystems, including RF, Digital, and Hybrid beamforming architectures. Consider RF nonlinear and noise effects, Gain/Phase quantization, and Monte Carlo variations effects on total beam quality, sidelobe levels, and effective radiated power. The kit also supports dynamic system-level scenarios with algorithms for adaptive beamforming.

As SystemVue includes MATLAB Script and supports baseband algorithm modeling in C++, SystemC, and VHDL/Verilog, SystemVue is an ideal platform to cross-validate phased array design information from RF, Baseband, as well as test and measurement teams. The W1720 beamforming kit is also compatible with SystemVue’s many reference libraries for satellite, 4G/5G, Rada and other modulation formats.


Figure 2: The W1720 enables Phased Array/Beamforming architectures to be modeled at used at the RF, Dataflow, and Scenario levels. This unified approach can eliminate the need for specialized tools, and unify dispersed teams across multiple disciplines.

The kit would be of definite use to RF system architects, system-level PHY architects and baseband beamforming algorithm designers. The application that can benefit from the W1720 include:

  • Satellite/NewSpace communications terminals and payloads
  • 5G beamforming and high order MIMO
  • Radar/EW and Automotive beamforming
     

Included in the kit...

  • RF array analysis personality that adds on top of the W1719 RF System Design Kit
  • Dataflow simulation support, including Beamforming synthesis, analysis, and dynamic visualization
  • Dataflow “Timed Envelope Matrix” datatype for working easily with highly-parallel signal structures
  • RFLINK support, which allows RF arrays to be leveraged at the Dataflow level, and with 5G/Radar scenarios

 

keysight.com/