Architecting a multi-GHz real-time RF streaming system

Advanced cellular and wireless standards are rapidly expanding their instantaneous RF bandwidth requirements, and with operating frequencies moving into the mmWave spectrum, channels of 1 GHz and wider become increasingly likely. Furthermore, carrier aggregation and MIMO systems require multiple wideband channels, placing even higher demands on the system. No longer satisfied with short bursts of captured data or generation of repetitive waveforms, researchers and design engineers need components and systems that can continuously process data at these wider bandwidths. This paper addresses the various ways in which data can be continuously transferred and processed in real-time, or stored to disk for extended periods. Multiple system configurations are demonstrated that stream Multi-GHz of RF data, in real-time, with flexible bits of resolution and data rates. To our knowledge, this is the first time such wide-bandwidth, real-time, continuous RF streaming systems have been demonstrated.