NeTS: EAGER: Development of a Millimeter Wave Software Defined Radio

由于传统蜂窝频段的频谱严重短缺，30至300 GHz之间的毫米波（mmWave）频率作为下一代微蜂窝和微蜂窝无线网络的可能候选者越来越受到关注。毫米波频段提供了比当前蜂窝分配大几个数量级的频谱，并使非常高维的天线阵列能够通过波束成形和空间复用获得进一步的增益。然而，毫米波蜂窝通信仍处于起步阶段，迫切需要完全可编程的研究平台，以实现将这些系统变为现实所需的研究和开发。该项目旨在开发一个完全可编程的研究平台，允许对频率高于25 GHz的毫米波系统进行灵活的实验。该平台的硬件组件将以极低的折扣率提供给美国各地的研究人员。这种硬件的可用性，加上免费和开源的实现，将使更大的无线网络研究社区从这个平台中受益匪浅。该平台包括将SiBeam的Sil6342相控阵天线系统与美国国家仪器公司强大的PXI系统集成在一起，以创建一个完全可编程的模块化SDR。该平台将支持1ghz带宽，并允许以亚微秒精度对相控阵进行锁存和定时数字控制。整个实现将是开源的，并向公众免费提供。该平台将启用许多项目：a)动态通道探测；B)波束形成技术的研究；c)设计和测试依赖波束形成和间歇性的MAC协议；d)研究新的物理层调制和编码技术；等。

With the severe spectrum shortage in conventional cellular bands, millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies between 30 and 300 GHz have been attracting growing attention as a possible candidate for next-generation micro- and pico-cellular wireless networks. The mmWave bands offer orders of magnitude greater spectrum than current cellular allocations and enables very high-dimensional antenna arrays for further gains via beamforming and spatial multiplexing. However, mmWave cellular communication is still very much in its infancy, and there is an urgent need for fully-programmable research platforms to enable the research and development needed to bring these systems to reality. The project aims to develop a fully-programmable research platform that allows for flexible experimentation with millimeter-wave systems dealing with frequencies above 25 GHz. The hardware components of the platform will be made available to researchers across the United States at deeply discounted rates. The availability of this hardware, combined with the free and open-source implementation will enable the larger wireless networking research community to greatly benefit from this platform.The platform involves integrating SiBeam's Sil6342 phased array antenna system with National Instruments' powerful PXI system, to create a fully programmable and modular SDR. This platform will support 1 GHz bandwidth, and allow a latched and timed digital control of the phased array with sub-microsecond accuracy. The entire implementation will be open-source, and made publically available for free. There are many projects that will be enabled by this platform: a) dynamic channel sounding; b) study of beam-forming techniques; c) design and testing of MAC protocols that rely on beam-forming and intermittency; d) study of new PHY layer modulation and coding techniques; etc.