MIN MMW RFSoC Tech

OUSD (R&E) CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Integrated Sensing and Cyber; Microelectronics OBJECTIVE: Provide a miniaturized Radio Frequency System on Chip (RFSoC) solution that: 1) Supports C, X, Ku, Ka, and W military radar bands at min. 4 GHz signal bandwidth. 2) Performs arbitrary waveform generation and processing of received signals over a min. of 8 transmit and 8 receive channels. 3) Supports multi-channel synchronization of transmit and receive channels. 4) Supports multi-radar (i.e. multi-chip) synchronization. 5) Use-case targets instrumentation radar at outdoor range. DESCRIPTION: Recent advancements in Radio Frequency System on Chip (RFSoC) technology has allowed the commercial industry to develop and mass produce low-cost automotive radar sensor RFSoC packages that come complete with integrated antennas (e.g. multiple transmit and receive antennas per chip), digital signal processing, and microcontrollers. However, these integrated sensor packages are limited to commercial radio frequency bands (RF) and are tailored to meet the needs of the automotive industry, not the Department of Defense (DoD). An integrated sensor package that incorporates RFSoC technology and is tailored to support common military radar RF bands meanwhile featuring arbitrary waveform generation and digital signal processing capabilities could be used in a variety of military radar applications. The primary application of this RFSoC-based solution(s) will target integration with outdoor range instrumentation radars for the purpose of making RCS measurements. However, other potential applications include software defined radio, arbitrary waveform generator, digital RF memory, radar simulator, HITL simulator, threat simulator, frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar, linear frequency modulated (LFM) pulsed radar, and bi-static radar. Also, the application of the technologies involved in this effort could be easily adapted to benefit commercial applications in nearby frequency bands. Work on this effort will include the advancement and integration of RFSoC technologies into prototype hardware designed to operate in RF bands allocated for the DoD. Activities will involve research, design, development, modeling, fabrication, and evaluation culminating in a demonstration of modeled and measured performance. The solution(s) must support C, X, Ku, Ka, and W military radar bands. The minimum RF signal bandwidth of the solution(s) should be 4 GHz or more. The solution(s) must support arbitrary waveform generation on transmit channels and digital signal processing (e.g. Fast Fourier Transform) of received signals. The solution(s) should support signal samples that are a minimum of 14 bits of resolution for waveform generation and digital signal processing. The effective radiated power should be +10 dBm or greater. The solution(s) should support a minimum of eight transmit and eight receive channels. The solution(s) should support multi-channel synchronization of transmit and receive channels. Multi-radar (i.e. multi-chip) synchronization should also be supported. The solution(s) must be capable of Ethernet based communications for uploading waveform samples to be generated and for real-time streaming of received signal samples. The goal is for the solution(s) to: 1) limit the overall size of the prototype hardware to 4 inch width x 8 inch depth x 10 inch height, and 2) weigh 10 pounds or less. PHASE I: Provide an analysis of current technology. Conduct a feasibility study to achieve the stated objectives. Present Preliminary Design and Models. Provide source code of developed software and/or hardware description language used to produce preliminary design. PHASE II: Present Final Design and Models. Develop prototype hardware. Provide source code of developed software and/or FPGA hardware description language. Demonstrate modeled and measured performance. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Building from the Phase 2 effort, field prototype hardware/software and collect data in demonstration of modeled and measured performance. The application of the technologies involved in this effort could be easily adapted to benefit commercial applications in nearby frequency bands. REFERENCES: 1. Texas Instruments. "mmWave radar sensors". https://www.ti.com/sensors/mmwave-radar/overview.html. Accessed 8/10/22.; 2. AMD Xilinx. "Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC". https://www.xilinx.com/products/silicon-devices/soc/rfsoc.html. Accessed 8/11/22.; 3. AMD Xilinx. "Defense-Grade Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoCs". https://www.xilinx.com/products/silicon-devices/soc/xq-zynq-ultrascale-rfsoc.html. Accessed 8/11/22. KEYWORDS: RF System on Chip (RFSoC); Milli-meter Wave (MMW); Arbitrary Waveform Generator; RADAR; FPGA;