RF Channel Sounder for Automatic Acquisition of the Wireless Environment.

Virtual EM Inc seeks to develop an RF channel sounder system that can characterize the wireless environment through rapid measurements and signal processing. Virtual EM is partnering with Florida International University (FIU) on this effort, where FIU, in subcontractor role, will be developing the RF-front end and the digital back-end data collection system while Virtual EM will be responsible for the antenna arrays, the data collection and the signal processing algorithms. The design will build upon existing counter-parts at both Virtual EM and FIU and include innovative methods to extract multipath components (MPC) over the 300MHz-32GHz bandwidth (i.e., a 33GHz instantaneous bandwidth). This bandwidth will be sustained per channel with eight Tx and Rx channels. While Phase I will be limited to demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed system, the fully-functional prototype will be built and tested in Phase II. Particular challenges are sustaining 0.5pice-second or less Tx-Rx synchronization and demonstrating 192GB/s sampling rate. Other challenges include cutting the processing time by half, keeping the average path gain error under 1dB and the delay time under 1ns. Primary beneficiaries are the microelectronics companies and research institutions focused on communication technologies. In particular, the proposed system will enable the engineers to test the chips used in communication systems more rigorously.