Pentek is introducing two beamformer PCIe modules to its expansive product line. Each is a high-speed software radio board for processing baseband RF or IF signals and incorporates powerful beamforming functions. Created to accelerate system level design and lower system cost, the boards bring high-performance built-in features and connectivity to PC platforms.
The Pentek Models 7753 and 7853 differ in the number of channels and PCIe lanes; eight channels and x16 wide PCIe interface in the former, four channels and x8 wide PCIe interface in the latter. Each module houses up to four or eight 200 MHz, 16-bit A/Ds, each equipped with its own wideband digital down converter (DDC).
By daisy chaining two or more boards through a pair of high-speed connectors mounted on the edge of each module, the beamforming chain can extend beyond the four or eight channels on each board. Xilinx's Aurora protocol provides an efficient x4 point-to-point data path between boards at 1.25 GB/sec. This connectivity supports large systems with numerous antennas.
In addition to the high speed x4 daisy chain, intermediate or final summation results are also available through the PCIe interface of each board for monitoring, recording, or further analysis.
These boards include power meters for each of the DDC channels that calculate the signal strength for each antenna. These measured values are useful in calibrating the gain matching from channel to channel to optimize the beamforming result.
In addition, power threshold detectors for each channel can be set to generate an interrupt to the host processor if the energy level exceeds or falls below a programmed level. This offloads the processor for the signal monitoring and scanning requirements that are often part of beamforming systems.
Pentek, www.pentek.com
