Addressing the Design and Verification Challenges of Long Term Evolution

(LTE) present a number of design and verification challenges for system engineers. Some examples include determining design requirements and specifications for new hardware designs, evaluating hardware re-use, and testing RF/mixed-signal designs and hardware independently of baseband hardware. Electronic Design Automation (EDA) simulation tools can help address these challenges by enabling system engineers to perform system-level trade-offs early in the design cycle to determine design requirements and specifications. Simulating RF and baseband designs together in one simulation environment enables evaluation of the system’s RF/mixed-signal performance. Combining EDA simulation with test equipment provides flexibility in addressing testing needs for an emerging standard such as LTE. This article investigates 3GPP LTE system design and verification challenges, and shows new design simulation capabilities to help address these challenges. Several case studies highlight how design simulation can be applied to address these LTE design and verification challenges. Addressing the Design and Verification Challenges of Long Term Evolution