3

Front-ends for software-defined radio

Jos Vieira and Daniel Albuquerque

3.1

Introduction
Conventional radios can be seen as analog signal processing systems. The appearance
of digital signal processors (DSPs) has opened up the possibility of digitizing parts of
the signal processing performed in a radio, namely the signals in the final stages having
a narrow bandwidth. With the increase of the processing power of the DSPs and field
programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), it became possible to process in the digital domain
a larger proportion of radio system signals. Most companies have started to implement
more and more radio components in the digital domain and in this way have provided
a higher data rate and excellent voice quality at lower prices. The evolution from 1G
radios to 4G and more recently to the long-term evolution (LTE) standard is a good
example of this transformation from the analog to the digital domain of more and more
components of radios. Due to the increased performance introduced by digitalization,
this evolution presents a huge success in mass-markets all over the world. With this
evolution, radios stopped providing a single waveform with a unique width standard
and started providing several waveforms with multi-standard widths [1]. However, this
approach has some problems because when a radio has several waveforms with several
standard widths it needs to employ multiple chipsets and platforms [2]. A more flexible
system architecture should be developed in order to maintain the hardware complexity and to keep the power consumption low as the radio system gives support to an
increasing number of standards. One attractive solution for this new complex problem
could be the software-defined radio (SDR) [2]. The SDR allows the support of multiple
standards and waveforms, and it can give a specific solution for each radio in the same
hardware platform. Moreover, it allows to have some cognitive behavior for different
operational situations [3]. The SDR has begun to be used in cellular base stations and in
some small devices where the radios standards have a lot of similarities (e.g. the same
spectral band). Although the SDR concept is being adopted in the consumer market, it
is a well known concept in military applications. Since the 1990s, we can find several
military projects to build radios with several military standards, increasing in this way
the interoperability at a lower cost [4].
Despite all the technological progresses since the creation of the SDR concept there
is not a win tech solution to implement it. Until now, only partial solutions have been
proposed and the SDR is more the holy grail to solve the problems of spectrum scarcity
and radio reconfigurability. In this chapter, we will focus on one of the most challenging

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3.2 Software-defined radio

59

components of the ideal SDR: the receiver front-end. Designing such an ADC capable
of converting to the digital domain several GHz of bandwidth, while ensuring high
dynamic ranges, is a formidable challenge. Doing this with low-power consumption
becomes an almost impossible mission. In this chapter, we start by describing the SDR
concept and some of its challenges and theoretical limits. Then we review some of the
solutions presented in the literature to build an SDR front-end. Finally, we end this chapter by presenting one of the most promising solutions for the SDR front-end inspired by
the human cochlea and based by the concept of hybrid filter banks.

3.2

Software-defined radio

3.2.1

The ideal SDR

The concept of the software-defined radio was introduced by Mitola in 1995 [5].
According to this researcher, the radio system could be completely implemented by
software in a DSP except the ADC and the DAC (digital-to-analog converter) as is
shown in Figure 3.1.

D/A
DSP
A/D

Figure 3.1 Original concept of software-defined radio

This kind of system gives to the user a high degree of freedom and reconfigurability,
limited only by the software complexity. The user can change the system architecture,
add a new modulation standard, or even add a personal communication system by just
changing the software running in the DSP. The SDR solves some of the drawbacks
of the traditional radio systems. For instance, in traditional radios it was sometimes
necessary to build different hardware platforms for each standard supported by the radio.
To the user, if it was necessary to use another radio system standard, it was necessary
to buy another piece of hardware. This low flexibility leads to high development and
exploration costs. It is also an obstacle to the adoption of new standards by the user.
The SDR can solve some of those problems because the software is normally cheaper
and faster to develop than the hardware, and from the point of view of the user it only
implies a download of new software into the radio.
This ideal concept of the SDR is impossible to implement with present-day or
even near-future technology, mainly because the state-of-the-art hardware (antenna,
ADC, DAC, DSP, etc.) imposes serious restrictions on the ideal implementation of an
SDR [6]. It can even be said that this ideal is not the main goal of near-future SDR
implementation because digitization of a huge amount of unnecessary bandwidth, where

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several radio signals coexist with the wanted signal could impose insuperable problems
on the system.

3.2.2

ADC concerns
One of the main problems with the original software-defined radio concept front-end
resides in the digital-to-analog and the analog-to-digital conversion. The ADC directly
samples and quantizes the analog signal captured by the antenna. This approach is
extremely flexible because the signal can be processed exclusively by software. However, this approach is not practical with present-day technology. One of the fastest ADCs
on the market is produced by MAXIM1 ; it has a sampling rate of 2.2 Gsps with 8 bits.
With higher resolution, the same company has a 12-bit ADC with a sampling rate of
250 Msps and a 16-bit ADC that works at 100 Msps. State-of-the-art ADCs give a
total bandwidth of 12 Gsps with about 4 bits of resolution [79]. Despite the high sampling rates achieved, low resolution is a big problem due to the PAPR (peak-to-average
power ratio) for wide-band signals with multi-standards [10]. A limited solution can
be found by using photonic ADCs, but once again this technology needs to become
more established in order to be really useful in this kind of application. It still presents
many limitations and it is difficult to find a real and fully operational ADC with this
type of technology [11]. This type of technology has started to be used in oscilloscopes
that can achieve 150 Gsps and digitize a 47 GHz tone at the maximum sampling rate in
continuous time [12]. Another limitation of high-speed ADCs is the power consumption [6], [13], [14]. From Figure 3.2, it can be seen that the minimum theoretical power
consumption for an ADC grows proportionally to the bandwidth and resolution. Usually, the power consumption of these Gsps ADCs can easily achieve several watts. Such
power consumption makes the use of these ADCs impossible in a common handset
which imposes maximum consumption at around a tenth of a watt. Technology evolution offers ADCs with more channels without demanding more power [15]. This is good
news for systems based on signal channelization [16].
In recent years, some new ADC technologies have appeared that combine more than
one ADC to reduce system limitations [17][20].
Due to the above-mentioned problems, it is not possible for the ideal SDR to be
implemented in the near future [6], [13]. So digitalization must be performed with a
traditional radio chain as near as possible to the antenna or with another technique that
allows reduction of the total signal bandwidth at the ADC input to the bandwidth of the
desired signal, with a high level of reconfigurability.

3.2.3

Digital signal processor concerns

The processor is the principal element of the software-defined radio. This component
is responsible for all of the system functionality. The processor needs to process all the
radio signals from the ADC until they become useful to the user. Another important
1 MAXIM design and produce integrated circuits and design, develop, and manufacture analog,

mixed-signal, high-frequency, and digital circuits.

3.2 Software-defined radio

61

106
104

Power consumption (W)

102
100
102
104
106

4bits
8bits
12bits
16bits
20bits
24bits

108
1010
1012
103

102

101

100

101

Sampling rate (Gsps)

Figure 3.2 Minimum theoretical power consumption for an ADC over a range of sampling rates

(Figure 2.12 of [14])

function of the processor is to allow a high level of reconfigurability mainly so that

it is possible to download new software for implementing any other standard in the
receiver. The processor can be a dedicated ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), an FPGA, a DSP, or in some cases a GPP (general-proposed processor). All these
processors have one thing in common, they do not have the capability to achieve the
requirements of an ideal SDR [21]. The radio functions of a communication system
are usually implemented in ASICs and in some cases in FPGAs. In these cases, the
systems present a rigid structure, and are dependent on the hardware which does not
allow reconfigurability. This kind of approach requires the redesign of the system when
another standard is needed. So normally more than one processor is used to increase
system capabilities and to give some reconfigurability freedom. This approach has some
disadvantages and the costs increase with the number of processors [22]. The increase
in performance means that the system is going to consume more power. So the processor must be chosen taking into account reconfigurability versus power consumption.
Because of that some companies have started to develop programmable ASICs with
good performance versus power consumption.

3.2.4

Other concerns for an ideal SDR

It was shown in Figure 3.1 that the ideal SDR directly converts the output signal of the
antenna to digital and vice-versa. But once again this is quite challenging. The input
signal must be amplified to fit the dynamic range of the ADC and the output signal must
also be amplified in order to gain good coverage and to deal with signal attenuation.
The input amplifier must be wide-band and perform amplification of all the desired
frequencies with high linearity; moreover it must have a low noise figure [23]. With
state-of-the-art technology, it is possible to build an approximation to the ideal SDR, but
it will be expensive, heavy, and will consume a lot of power [6], [13], [14]. Because of

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Front-ends for software-defined radio

this, the technology was first adopted for military communications and in base stations,
and later on in handsets for the consumer market [16].

3.2.5

SDR definition
Until now, it has been shown that the ideal software-defined radio is impossible to
achieve with present-day technology. However, a software-defined radio does not need
to be ideal. So what types of radio can be defined as SDRs? To answer this question a
clear definition of the SDR concept is needed. But there is not a unique and consensual
definition. However, in all the different definitions, one main idea can be identified, the
software-defined radio is a radio where part of the physical layer is software defined but
not all the hardware. This kind of SDR allows only some level of reconfigurability. As
stated by the SDR-Forum in [24] the software-defined radio is a Radio in which some
or all of the physical layer functions are Software Defined. This is the most generic
definition that we have found in the literature.
However, we can find in the literature and in some companies white papers a great
diversity of SDR definitions. Another short definition that can be found on Terocelos2
website is: software radio and software-defined radio refer to wireless receivers
and transmitters that can be controlled and reconfigured by software commands, and
that can process radio signals digitally.
From the ATIS3 Telecom Glossary [25] the software-defined radio has a more
restricted definition; for them the SDR is a radio consisting of a receiver and/or a
transmitter, where each has the following properties, respectively:
1.

2.

3.

the received signal is digitized and then processed using software-programmable

digital signal processing techniques (digitization may occur at the RF, IF, or
baseband);
the modulated signal to be transmitted is generated as a digital signal using
software-programmable digital signal processing techniques; the digital signal is
then converted to an analogue signal for transmission (the conversion to analogue
may occur at baseband, IF, or RF);
a key element of these radios is that software programmability allows easy
changes of the radios fundamental characteristics such as modulation types,
operating frequencies, bandwidths, multiple access schemes, source and channel coding/decoding methods, frequency spreading/despreading techniques and
encryption/decryption algorithms.

Gerald Youngblood4 has a more idealist point of view about SDR. He wrote in [26]
this statement: A software-defined radio is characterized by its flexibility: Simply
modifying or replacing software programs can completely change its functionality.
2 Terocelo is in the business of designing, developing, and licensing disruptive technologies for the SDR

marketplace.
3 ATIS prioritizes the industrys most pressing technical and operational issues, and creates interoperable,

implementable, end-to-end solutions standards when the industry needs them and where they need
them.
4 Gerald Youngblood is the CEO of FlexRadio Systems company.

3.2 Software-defined radio

63

This allows easy upgrade to new modes and improved performance without the
need to replace hardware. A SDR can also be easily modified to accommodate the
operating needs of individual applications. There is a distinct difference between a
radio that internally uses software for some of its functions and a radio that can be
completely redefined in the field through modification of software. The latter is a
software-defined radio.
But his company, FlexRadio Systems, has a different perspective on SDR. They
show the benefits of an SDR product. For them, SDR is [27] a radio that is going
to reduce the radio developent costs and get the most profit from the final products:
SDR is a collection of hardware and software technologies that enable reconfigurable system architectures for wireless communications. SDR provides an efficient
and comparatively inexpensive solution to the problem of building multi-mode, multiband, multi-functional communications devices that can be enhanced using software
upgrades. As such, SDR can really be considered an enabling technology that is applicable across a wide range of areas within the wireless industry. A lot of other definitions can be found. But when the question is asked in the future tense, the answers
can be assumed to be unique: The software-defined radio will be very close to the ideal
SDR concept from Mitola. To demonstrate this statement there follow two important
citations:
The first citation is from Frank Ditore:5 The holy grail of SDR is to have a DC
to daylight analogue front-end with digital down-conversion and sampling of the signal at the antenna. While we are not there yet, the next generation of SDR will have
higher dynamic range ADC and DACs operating at GSPS rates for mA of current consumption. These will be incorporated into single chip designs with all of the filtering,
demodulation, decoding, and equalization contained onboard.
And the second citation is from Flemming Christensen6 and can be found in [28]:
Although it has existed for many years, SDR technology continues to evolve through
newly funded ventures. The holy grail of SDR is its promise to solve incompatible
wireless network issues by implementing radio functionalities as software modules running on generic hardware platforms. Future SDR platforms will comprise hardware and
software technologies that enable reconfigurable system architectures for wireless networks and user terminals.

3.2.6

Different types of SDR

According to [29] an SDR can be classified by its operational area and its level of
reconfigurability. The operational area of an SDR can be [29]:
1.
2.
3.

a multi-band system that supports more than one frequency band used by a wireless standard;
a multi-standard system that supports more than one standard;
a multi-service system that provides different services;

5 Frank Ditore is the Product Marketing Manager of Agilent EEsof EDA division.
6 Flemming Christensen is the Managing Director of Sundance.

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Front-ends for software-defined radio

4.
5.

a multi-channel system that supports two or more independent transmission and

reception channels at the same time;
a multi-mode system that is a combination of multi-band and multi-standard
systems.

From the reconfigurability level an SDR can be [29]:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Commissioning: the configuration of the system is done once at the time of product shipping, when the customer has asked for a dedicated mode (standard or
band). This is not a true reconfiguration.
Reconfiguration with downtime: reconfiguration is only done a few times during
a product lifetime, for example when the network infrastructure changes. The
reconfiguration will take some time, where the transceiver is switched off. This
may include exchange of components.
Reconfiguration on a per call basis: reconfiguration is a highly dynamic process
that works on a per call decision. That means no downtime is acceptable. Only
parts of the whole system can be rebooted.
Reconfiguration per timeslot: reconfiguration can even be done during a call.

The front-end of an SDR is all the system components between the antenna and the
digital signal processor as shown in Figure 3.3. The front-end can be seen in a system
that converts the analog signal from the antenna to a digital representation of it.

Digital
Frontend
Analog
Figure 3.3 Front-end for SDR

DSP