FPGA-based all-digital transmitters – pushing the bits closer to the antenna

Abstract

The Software Defined Radio (SDR) idea, originally proposed by Mitola, envisioned a novel architecture for radio systems in which waveforms are completely synthesized in the digital domain, achieving greater flexibility, reconfigurability, and efficiency. The opportunities arising from this paradigm are unimaginable. The idea of having a single radio transceiver front-end completely independent of the standard, with the number of frequency bands and complete agility, together with the capability of being real-time reconfigurable and upgradeable, is so ambitious that it has sparked significant interest among the research community. In pursuit of this idea, researchers proposed the concept of All-Digital Transmitters (ADTs). By leveraging highly integrated digital systems, this concept would bring the RF digital domain closer to the antenna. Moreover, due to their small footprint and potential for higher energy efficiency, ADTs are a candidate for the next generation of mobile communications, where energy efficiency and a large number of antennas are among the main requirements. 
This talk will provide an overview of contributions on this topic over the last decade, as well as a discussion of the challenges and open issues.

About the Speaker

Arnaldo S. R. Oliveira received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering in 2007 from the University of Aveiro, Portugal. He is currently a Senior Researcher at the Telecommunications Institute. Since 2001, he has taught computer architecture, digital systems design, software-defined radio, and embedded systems at the University of Aveiro, where he is currently an Associate Professor. He participates in several nationally and internationally funded research projects. He is the author or co-author of 170 journal and international conference papers. His research interests include reconfigurable digital systems, software-defined radio, and next-generation radio access networks.