STTR Phase I: RF-System and Integrated Electronics for Low-Cost Smart Antenna Arrays

这个小型企业技术转让第一阶段项目探索了使用低成本手机质量电子设备设计波束转向基站质量智能天线的可能性。该团队正在提出一种独特的系统方法，利用射频集成电路和信号同步技术的最新进展。如果得到验证，所提出的方法将能够将以前只有昂贵的军事系统才能获得的性能水平引入成本敏感的商业无线网络。这包括增加几乎所有标准的容量、更长的通信范围、更低的功耗和更好的可靠性。该方案适用于具有大量单元的天线阵列，适用于空分复用中所需的低成本高质量波束转向系统。另一个先进的应用是共形天线阵列，用于隐藏不断增长的无线基础设施。本提案的第一阶段工作将回答基本的可行性问题，如系统划分和关键集成电路功能。此外，它将使用未来的实验集成电路进行构建低成本波束转向天线演示的准备计算和设计。如果这项工作成功的话，一种低成本无所不在的波束控制天线阵列的平台技术将会出现。这将为服务于这种新应用的专用集成电路开辟一个新的大市场。除了通信和军事系统外，有源阵列在医疗和工业成像方面也很有用。低成本波束转向系统解决方案的可用性将对这些领域产生重大影响。例如，便携式扫描设备可能变得更便宜和更普遍。相控阵技术在很大程度上是一小部分专家以外的人所理解的话题，但这一古老的概念在现代应用中具有巨大的潜力。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project explores the possibility of designing beam steering base-station quality smart antennas using low-cost cell-phone quality electronics. The team is proposing a unique system approach leveraging the latest advances in radio-frequency integrated circuits and signal synchronization technology. If validated, the proposed method will enable the introduction of performance levels previously available only to expensive military systems to cost sensitive commercial wireless networks. This includes increased capacity for almost any standard, longer communication range, lower power dissipation, and better reliability. Applied to antenna arrays with a large number of elements, the proposed solution is suitable for low-cost high-quality beam-steering systems required in space-division multiplexing. Another advanced application is in conformal antenna arrays, useful in concealing the ever-growing wireless infrastructure. The phase I work of this proposal will answer essential feasibility questions such as system partitioning and key integrated circuit functionality. In addition, it will carry out the preparatory calculations and design for building a low-cost beam-steering antenna demonstration using a future experimental integrated circuit. If proposed effort is successful a de facto platform technology for low cost ubiquitous beam-steering antenna arrays will emerge. This will open a new large market for specialized integrated circuits serving this new application. In addition to communication and military systems, active arrays are useful in medical and industrial imaging. The availability of a low-cost beam steering system solution will affect these areas significantly. For example, portable scanning equipment may become affordable and more prevalent. Phased array technology is largely an understood topic outside a small group of specialists, yet this old concept has a great potential in modern applications.