SATCOM X-band Digital Beamforming Network

ABSTRACT: As the size, cost, and power consumption of digital signal processing platforms continue to drop and their performance improves, incorporating digital beamformer (DBF) designs into future SATCOM satellite payloads has become an increasingly attractive approach. The advantages offered by digital beamforming stem from its ability to simultaneously synthesize multiple independent narrow beams that can be used to improve the efficiency of frequency re-use while also nulling interfering signals. In response to the US Air Force solicitation, MaXentric is proposing an X-band SATCOM digital beamforming development platform codenamed X-BEAST (X-band Beamforming Array and System Topology). X-BEAST is composed of X-band downconverters, high speed digitizers, FPGAs, and Manycore processors that enable the system to beamform while also monitoring and rapidly adapting to changes in operating conditions (such as number of users, jammers, etc). BENEFIT: With the X-BEAST platform supporting two-way digital communication across multiple, independent channels which may be separated in frequency, space, code, and time MaXentric introduces a scalable, low-cost technology to the satellite communication market. The applications for such a digital beamforming system are far-reaching in both the commercial and DoD markets. A large potential commercial market is the next generation base stations for broadband IP and mobile data services. Digital beamforming at the transmitter and receiver of the wireless base station can be used to provide higher data throughputs to increased number of subscribers. On the DoD side, X-BEAST provides an architecture for next generation satellite communication payloads. By using digital beamforming, payloads will provide better performance to meet the growing demand of SATCOM users.f