Modular Hardware Design for High-Performance MIMO-Capable SDR Systems to Accelerate 6G Development

Karle C, Neu M, Nuss B, Chen J, Witte L, Scheder A, Harbaum T, Becker J (2024)

Publication Type: Conference contribution

Publication year: 2024

Publisher: IEEE Computer Society

Conference Proceedings Title: 2024 IEEE 37th International System-on-Chip Conference (SOCC)

Event location: Dresden DE

ISBN: 9798350377569

DOI: 10.1109/SOCC62300.2024.10737765

Abstract

Compared to 5th generation (5G), 6G is expected to offer latencies below 1 ms, higher data rates in the range of multiple Gbit/s, and enable the use of new frequency bands and application fields such as joint-communication and sensing (JCAS). For the development of the new mobile standard, research, and industry are increasingly relying on the use of high-performance multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)-capable software-defined radio (SDR) systems. However, existing systems are often limited in their applicability due to bandwidth, frequency, and performance limitations by manufacturer-specific hardware. To overcome these limitations, we present a modular hardware design for a high-performance MIMO-capable SDR system. We enable the exchange of the digital processing unit, the replacement, or configuration of the analog IF front ends, and the configurability of the clock distribution network. Therefore, our system achieves high adaptability compared to manufacture-specific systems. To match the changing requirements in 6G, our modular SDR system bypasses the time-consuming and costly hardware design process and accelerates the overall development. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of our modular SDR system by implementing a high-performance orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) radar, which requires high sampling and data rates processed in real-time. Based on our high-performance example application, our modular SDR system matches the performance of fixed-structure SDR systems, required for 6G.

Authors with CRIS profile

Lukas Witte Lehrstuhl für Hochfrequenztechnik (LHFT) André Scheder Lehrstuhl für Hochfrequenztechnik (LHFT)

Involved external institutions

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Karle, C., Neu, M., Nuss, B., Chen, J., Witte, L., Scheder, A.,... Becker, J. (2024). Modular Hardware Design for High-Performance MIMO-Capable SDR Systems to Accelerate 6G Development. In Diana Gohringer, Uwe Gabler, Tanja Harbaum, Klaus Hofmann (Eds.), 2024 IEEE 37th International System-on-Chip Conference (SOCC). Dresden, DE: IEEE Computer Society.

MLA:

Karle, Christian, et al. "Modular Hardware Design for High-Performance MIMO-Capable SDR Systems to Accelerate 6G Development." Proceedings of the 37th IEEE International System-on-Chip Conference, SOCC 2024, Dresden Ed. Diana Gohringer, Uwe Gabler, Tanja Harbaum, Klaus Hofmann, IEEE Computer Society, 2024.

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