Avnet Inc. is collaborating with Fujikura to develop a 5G FR2 phased array antenna development platform for millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands.
The platform will allow engineers to develop and prototype 5G mmWave systems using AMD-Xilinx’s Zynq UltraScale+ RF system-on-chip (SoC) Gen3 and Fujikura’s phased array antenna module (PAAM). Avnet’s RFSoC explorer MATLAB application, which can be extended to control the system from antenna to digital, enables engineers to implement and test mmWave beamforming applications quickly without HDL or software encoding.
“We’re seeing an acceleration of the 5G market as higher bandwidth applications are driving the need for mmWave technology, especially in the industrial and telecom segments,” said Jim Beneke, vice president of products and emerging technologies at Avnet. “Through our work with Fujikura, AMD-Xilinx and Mathworks, we’re bringing together the key building blocks of mmWave radio solutions allowing designers to quickly prototype communications algorithms, reduce engineering time, and get into the 5G market even faster.”
PAAM details
Fujikura’s PAAM operates in the 3GPP FR2 frequency bands n257, n258 and n261 at 28-, 26- and 27 GHz, respectively. This allows it to be used for both indoor and outdoor applications.
The module includes an integrated 8x8 antenna element, RF ICs, filter and optimal TCO that allows for compact product design and quick time to market. PAAM-based systems can obtain leading performance through power efficiency and fast beam switching.
