Rapid prototyping for RF-transmitters and receivers

This paper describes a concept of an RFDP (Radio Frequency Development Platform) for RF-transmitters and RF-receivers. With this platform the time effort for the development process can be reduced and prototypes for different communications standards which are defined at different frequencies can be built faster. Also modifications, e.g. if new analog components are available, can be implemented in short time. A first realization of a transmitter built with off-the-shelf components is shown. The concept for transmitter and receiver uses a double heterodyne principle for the frequency conversion and the therefore essentially double LO (Local Oscillator) is also part of the RFDP and described in concept. The transmitter, receiver and oscillator modules are cascadeable for MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) applications and can be used for closed circuits or via air transmission experiments. The RFDP concept was developed and optimized for a dedicated baseband hardware from ARC Seibersdorf research GmbH [1].