Combining Simulation and Test to Accelerate SDR Development
應用說明
Reviewing SDR characteristics and Their implications
As context, let’s define an SDR as follows: It’s a radio in which the baseband processing—the physical or PHY layer—is implemented in re-configurable hardware and software. The PHY layer includes field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), as well as RF hardware such as mixers, filters, modulators, demodulators, and amplifiers. The software that emulates these devices may be a C program running in a digital signal processing (DSP) or general-purpose processor (GPP) chip, or could be VHDL code for an FPGA design.
To the outside world, the result is a receiver/transmitter that can handle multiple types of formats and modulation schemes. This has two key benefits: flexibility and portability. An SDR offers greater flexibility through interoperation, which comes from the ability to support multiple waveforms, legacy formats, and new or future formats. Said another way, an SDR can be a backward-compatible and future-ready device. The technology provides portability by ensuring the ability to use an SDR waveform across platforms from a single vendor, or across platforms from multiple vendors. From a design perspective, portability also includes the ability to reuse waveform components across multiple devices or platforms.