80 / 84
new products
radios necessary in next generation networks. The new
offering allows customers to quickly evaluate and develop
radio designs for 4G small cell and Pre-5G massive MIMO
systems, key building blocks in the transition to 5G, enabling
faster data rates while improving connectivity and data
throughput in densely populated, high-traffic areas such as
office buildings, sport stadiums and public transit systems.
Addressing radio design at the circuit, architecture, system
and software levels, the updated RadioVerse release
includes the AD9375 RF transceiver, the newest addition
to ADI’s highly integrated wideband RF transceiver series.
The AD9375 is the first RF transceiver to incorporate the
digital pre-distortion (DPD) algorithm on-chip – a design
breakthrough that reduces DPD power consumption by 90
percent compared to competing solutions.
The re-partitioning of the DPD system from the FPGA to
the transceiver cuts the number of JESD204B serial data
interface lanes in half, resulting in a dramatic power savings
particularly as the number of antennas per base station
increases from two to 128 in support of Pre-5G massive
MIMO radio-channel density requirements. Other benefits
include a more compact radio circuit layout, which simplifies
routing and system design, reduces base station size, and
allows designers to use a lower-cost, less complex FGPA.
In small cells these benefits allow more frequency bands
per cell for increased network capacity, while minimizing the
impact to system power consumption and size.
The AD9375 transceiver enables a common radio platform
design that is tunable over a range of 300 MHz to 6 GHz,
operates on a 6-Gbps JESD204B interface and consumes
less than 5 Watts. Similar to the award-winning AD9371,
the AD9375 has two 100-MHz receivers, two 250-MHz
transmitters, a two-input observation receiver and a
three-input sniffer receiver. The transceiver’s integrated
DPD solution supports 3G and 4G waveforms with an
instantaneous signal bandwidth of up to 40 MHz.
In addition to the AD9375, the RadioVerse transceiver
hardware portfolio features wideband devices for base
station architectures ranging from macro- to pico- and femto-
cell form factors, in addition to ultra-low power, narrowband
transceivers for industrial Internet of Things applications that
require long range, network robustness, and long battery life.
RadioVerse Design and Technology Ecosystem Accelerates
Wireless Development
Developed to help customers reduce radio size, weight
and power (SWaP) while maintaining the highest possible
radio performance, the RadioVerse technology and design
ecosystem includes a new small-cell radio reference design
with a full AD9375-enabled JESD204B-to-antenna radio
signal chain. This helps customers further simplify design
and accelerate time to market, while minimizing engineering
costs. Developed in partnership with Benetel Ltd., a radio
solutions provider, the reference design supports 2×2 20-
MHz LTE with 250-mW output-power-per-antenna and
consumes less than 10 Watts, all in a small form factor
measuring 88 mm x 83 mm.
ADI’s RadioVerse prototyping platforms also provide
advanced simulation and analysis of the transceiver using
MATLAB® and Simulink® modeling software, device drivers
and full evaluation systems that directly connect to FPGA
development platforms, and third-party hardware for moving
quickly from concept to market. The design environment
accelerates customer time-to-market through access to
ADI’s EngineerZone® online technical support community,
which hosts customer support forums, quick-start videos,
technical articles, webcasts and product highlights.
Analog Devices will continue to expand its RadioVerse
design environment through partnerships with leading power
amplifier (PA) suppliers, including NXP Semiconductors
N.V., and Skyworks Solutions, Inc., providing customers with
test reports for AD9375 DPD with PA products of various
output power and frequencies. Visit the RadioVerse alliance
network site which has rapidly expanded to 20 companies in
the past 12 months, including seven new reference designs
targeting drone, wireless surveillance and software-defined
radio markets.
80 l New-Tech Magazine Europe