mmWave SDR with RFSoC2x2 & PYNQ

I would like to share our mmWave SDR project that hosts RFSoC2x2 at the link below.

The repository includes the source codes for the mmWave SDR developed at the University of South Carolina (USC) for the Aerial Experimentation and Research Platform for Advanced Wireless (AERPAW) platform at North Carolina State University (NCSU) for experimentation in millimeter-wave bands, e.g., 28 GHz and 60 GHz. The SDR functionality relies on the Python codes running in PYNQ and custom programmable logic in the FPGA. We also use the MTS feature for generating in-phase and quadrature signals.

We use these radios to generate a dataset based on a beam-sweeping experiment:

Comments/questions are very welcome.

Best regards,

Alphan
My info: Alphan Sahin

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Nice, very interesting work!

Thank you pynqzen!

Good work, neat setup!

Thank you, Abhijeet.

1 Like

Still one of my favorite posts on this forum!

Thank you, Pynqzen :slight_smile: We upgraded the design with the 28 GHz array and added the support for M-QAM. We couldn’t find time to upgrade it to RFSoC4x2, but I think it could be a nice project if someone is interested.

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Thank you, Alphan, for sharing your mm-wave SDR project.
Are the source codes compatible with the RFSOC4x2 as well?
BR,
Navid

Hi Navid, unfortunately, they are only compatible with RFSoC2x2.

Best regards,

Alphan

Hi Alphan,

Thank you for your reply.
Could you please explain what makes it exclusive to the RFSoC 2x2? If we want to develop it for the RFSoC 4x2, in what ways would it be different?

BR,
Navid

Hi Navid,

RFSoC 4x2 uses a different FPGA that hosts third-generation RF converters. The clock network is also different in RFSoC 4x2. I don’t think it is hard to translate the design if you have some experience with FPGAs.

In my research group, we have the boards, but we don’t have relevant funding to extend the design. If we have some funding, we can extend it and make it available for the community.

Best regards,
Alphan

Hi Alphan,

Aha, got it! Thanks for the clear explanation.
I appreciate your approach of sharing the SDR with the community, definitely valuable!

BR,
Navid