FPGA-Based Bit Error Rate Performance Measurement of Wireless Systems

This paper presents the bit error rate (BER) performance validation of digital baseband communication systems on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The proposed BER tester (BERT) integrates fundamental baseband signal processing modules of a typical wireless communication system along with a realistic fading channel simulator and an accurate Gaussian noise generator onto a single FPGA to provide an accelerated and repeatable test environment in a laboratory setting. Using a developed graphical user interface, the error rate performance of single- and multiple-antenna systems over a wide range of parameters can be rapidly evaluated. The FPGA-based BERT should reduce the need for time-consuming software-based simulations, hence increasing the productivity. This FPGA-based solution is significantly more cost effective than conventional performance measurements made using expensive commercially available test equipment and channel simulators.