Signal Intelligence and Software Defined Signal Intelligence and Software-Defined Radio with COTS Technologies g

Sacha Emery Sacha Emery ATE Systems Engineer

1

AgendaAgenda• Introduction• Introduction

• Optimised signal processing with multicore and FPGAsp g p g

• Timing and synchronisation

• Hardware platform for Signal Intelligence

• User Solutions

2

Introduction

3

What is EW?What is EW?Electronic Warfare

S ill• Surveillance• Threat targeting• Jamming• Deception• Active Cancellation• EMP• ….“Electronic Warfare (EW) is the struggle for control of the Electronic Warfare (EW) is the struggle for control of the

electromagnetic spectrum” - AOC

4

Signal IntelligenceSignal IntelligenceSIGINT = COMINT + ELINT + MASINTSIGINT COMINT ELINT MASINT

COMINT (COMmunications INTelligence)( g )• Interception of communications between people or machines

ELINT (ELectronics INTelligence)( g )• Detection and analysis of non-communications electronic transmissions• Electronic Warfare: radiation from electronic systems; jamming radiation

MASINT (Measurement And Signatures INTelligence)• Scientific and technical intelligence obtained by quantitative and qualitative analysis of

data (metric angle spatial wavelength time dependence modulation plasma and data (metric, angle, spatial, wavelength, time dependence, modulation, plasma and hydromagnetic)

5

Overview of a SIGINT System

AntennaRF Front-End IF Digitising Baseband

Signal Processing

Disk Storage

Signal Processing

Vector Signal AnalyzerAmplifier Bandpass Filter

(optional)

FPGA In-line Processing

Transceiver

LNAOR

User Interface

Host CPU Processing

6

SIGINT System Requirementsy q• Performance

• Fast Spectrum Sweep• Real‐time demodulation• High System Bandwidth

Wid B d idth & Hi h D i R di iti• Wide Bandwidth & High Dynamic Range digitizers• Ability to Stream to Disk for Long Periods of Time

• FlexibilityFlexibility• Programmable User Interface• Ability to Add User‐defined Demodulation• Alarming, Trending & Reporting

• System• COTS• COTS• Derived from Industry Standards• Small Size & Low Power

7

Small Size & Low Power

Benefiting from COTS Technologyg gy

Application Areas

SIGINT Receiver SIGINT Payload Generation for Test

Application Areas

GPS SynchronisationNavigation Data

Signal Processing

Data Bus, Timing, Synchronisation

Navigation Data

RF front-end, Digitising

Multifunctional Radar Systems for Fighter Aircraft

8

Comparing Build and COTS Virtual p gInstrumentation

Build COTS Virtual InstrumentationBuild COTS Virtual InstrumentationIs the required knowledge to implement design available?

Is modular hardware available?

Fixed solution design Increased test system flexibility

Rigid state of the art architecture today

Higher-performance architectures

Burden to verify the behaviour of the built system

Lower test system investments

S i f l t I d t t t l itSourcing of replacement components requires managing

Increased test system longevity

Modular design requires high investment

Easier to manage obsolescenceinvestment

9

Overview of a SIGINT System

AntennaRF Front-End IF Digitising Baseband

Signal Processing

Disk Storage

Signal Processing

Vector Signal AnalyzerAmplifier Bandpass Filter

(optional)

FPGA In-line Processing

Transceiver

LNAOR

User Interface

Host CPU Processing

10

RF Signal Path for RF Signal Path for Signal Intelligence

www.ni.com/modularinstruments/

11

NI RF Hardware ProductsRF Hardware• 1.3 to 6.6 GHz Vector Signal Analyzer

RF and Communications Software• Spectrum Measurements Toolkit

Modulation Toolkit• 1.3 to 6.6 GHz Vector Signal Generator• 6.6 GHz CW Generator• 8.0 GHz Amplifier 0.5 dB gain resolution

• Modulation Toolkit• GPS Toolkit for LabVIEW

• 8.0 GHz Attenuator 0.5 dB att. resolution• 3.0 GHz Pre-Amp• 6 GHz True-RMS Power Meter• Up to 26.5 GHz, mux, GP relays

12

6.6 GHz RF SuitePXIe-5663E VSA• 10 MHz to 6.6 GHz

PXIe-5673E VSG• 85 MHz to 6.6 GHz

• Bandwidth 50 MHz (3dB)• <-158 dBm/Hz typical noise floor at 1 GHz• Single stage heterodyne downconverter

• Modulation bandwidth (3dB) >100 MHz• -112 dBc/Hz phase noise at 10 kHz (1 GHz)• Direct (homodyne) RF upconversiong g y ( y ) p

• RF List ModeRF List ModeFrequency Settling Time:

450us (PXIe-5663E)400us (PXIe-5673E)

Amplitude Settling Time 50us (PXIe-5663E)

• MIMO system up to 4 RF coherent channels• Record and Playback

http://www.ni.com/automatedtest/mimo.htm

• capabilities

13

NI PXIe-5665: 3.6 GHz Signal/Spectrum AnalyzerS k d k i i i RF fSurpasses rack-and-stack instrumentation in RF performance

• SpecificationsSpecifications– Freq Range: 20 Hz to 3.6 GHz– Analysis BW: 25/50 MHz with DDC– Noise Floor : < -154 dBm/Hz (<-165 dBm/Hz)– IP3: > +24 dBm (700 MHz to 3.6 GHz)

– Phase Noise: -129 dBc/Hz (800 MHz at 10 kHz offset)( )

– Form Factor: PXI Express (x4), 5 slots

• FeaturesFeatures– RF List Mode– Multichannel receiver architecture– High-speed data streaming and P2P

14

Four-Channel Phase-Coherent AcquisitionLocal Oscillator Downconverters

q

Sh d LOShared LO

Shared ADC Shared ADC Clock

Digitisers

15

Digitisers

Direction Finding with Phase-Coherenceg

• Three or more receive antennasThree or more receive antennas• Unique propagation delay to each receiver• Direction can be calculated through phase difference• Direction can be calculated through phase difference

Rx0

Tx

Rx1

Rx2Tx Rx2

16

Triangulation – NI User Solution g

PXI 6682 S h i ti M d l• PXI-6682 Synchronization ModuleGPS synchronization (accuracy of 15 ns to signal) ns to signal) Future time events, clocks, and timestampingtimestamping

• PXI-5661 Vector Signal Analyzer20 MH V t Si l A l 20 MHz Vector Signal Analyzer

• PXI chassis and controller• PXI-8250 System Monitor

17

Overview of a SIGINT System

AntennaRF Front-End IF Digitising Baseband

Signal Processing

Disk Storage

Signal Processing

Vector Signal AnalyzerAmplifier Bandpass Filter

(optional)

FPGA In-line Processing

Transceiver

LNAOR

User Interface

Host CPU Processing

18

Data Processing forData Processing forSignal Intelligence

zone.ni.com/wv/app/doc/p/id/wv-2512 /

19

Traditional Data Transfer ModelTraditional Data Transfer Model(device to/from memory & CPU)

In Oput (e.g. Digit

StreamStor

Host ProcessHost Process

utput (e.g. Arbtizer or RAID)

singsing

bor RAID)

20

FPGA + Multicore Processingg

LabVIEW for LabVIEW for Windows/Linux/RTOS LabVIEW FPGA

•User Interface•In-line processing•Real-time response

•Host DSP on Multicore processor

•Real-time response

Stimulus/Generation Modules

21

Modules

FPGA Processing with NI FlexRIO

• Xilinx Virtex 5 SXT series FPGAs• Xilinx Virtex-5 SXT-series FPGAs• Direct access to FPGA GPIO• Use with adapter module for I/O• Peer-to-peer streaming

800 MB/ PXI E b k l• 800 MB/s across PXI Express backplane• 16 simultaneous streams

• Onboard DRAM• 2x 256 MB banks

1 6 GB/ b k• 1.6 GB/s per bank• Enhanced Synchronisation

• Share PXI 10 MHz reference clock or DSTAR_A with adapter modulehttp://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/4799

http://sine ni com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/it/nid/208164

22

http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/it/nid/208164

Peer-to-Peer Example:Peer to Peer Example:Process Input Data, fetch results

InpLV put (e.g. Digit

V FPGA Data

Host Control izer)

Processing

& Results

Low to medium BW High BW

23

Peer-to-Peer Example:Peer to Peer Example:Daisy-chained processing

Input

Processing

Processing

Processing

Processing

Host Computter

24

A Hi hl P d i D l E i f E iA Highly Productive Development Environment for Engineers

Analysis LibrariesHardware APIs Custom User Interfaces

Programming ApproachesDeployment Targets Technology Abstractions

25

Programming ApproachesDeployment Targets Technology Abstractions

SIGINT Processing with LabVIEWg• In-band power, adjacent-channel power, burst timing, BER,

EVM, MER, ρ, and more• Advanced RF, spectral measurement, and modulation softwareAdvanced RF, spectral measurement, and modulation software• Custom modulation formats and channel coding and

impairments• Wavelet and filter-bank design for short-duration signal

characterisation, noise reduction, and detrendingTi f l i l ti l hi l t l f i l • Time-frequency analysis -- analytical, graphical tools for signals with evolving frequency content

• Digital Filter Design• Time-series analysis -- statistical analysis for description,

explanation, prediction, and control• Sound and Vibration

26

Communications System in LabVIEWCommunications System in LabVIEWTransmitter

Communications Channel

Receiver

27

SIGINT Systems with Virtual InstrumentationSIGINT Systems with Virtual InstrumentationSIGINT Receiver

GPSRF

GPS Synchronization Navigation

LabVIEW FPGA

GPS Synchronization Navigation Data

• 10 MHz to 6.6 GHz• RF list mode

Data Bus Timing & Synchronization

Signal Processing

• RF list mode• GPS synchronisation• In-line signal processing (SDR)• Data streaming up to 600MB/s• Customer defined HMI

RF front-end, Digitizing

HMIRecord & Playback

28

High-Speed Data Streaming g Speed ata St ea gSpectrum Monitoring - Huari Telecom

• Identification of interference signals within a particular signals within a particular bandwidth of interest

• Continuously acquire y qwaveforms for long periods of time

• 20 MHz of RF bandwidth for 5+ hours

29

Test & Measurement System for SIGINT Payload wa

reSo

ftw

are

RF In RF OutIF In RF Multiplexer

Hard

w

Record & Playback

31

RF Data Streaming & PlaybackRF Data Streaming & Playback

NTS Technology• PXI & LabVIEW based• Uses Conduant Streamstore• Real-time recording (20MHz Bandwidth)• Post processed in the lab• Real-time playback capability

32

SummarySummary• Commercial Off The Shelf platforms are a viable Commercial Off The Shelf platforms are a viable

solution in an ever increasingly complex arena of signal intelligencesignal intelligence.

• The embedded use of FPGAs into the signal stream to allow real-time processing and response is a key factor.response is a key factor.

• The tool chain needs to be maintainable and t l hil t b i d bl f th easy to learn whilst being expandable for the

future.

33

Digital Radar Timing Generator for the Advanced Hawkeye Program – LMCO

Challenge: Produce a digital radar timing Challenge: Produce a digital radar timing generator having multiple synchronisedpulse outputs of various pulse widths and delays, having 25 ns accuracy, and to be adj stable on the fladjustable on the fly.

Result: “We chose to use the configurable FPGA module Using LabVIEW code for FPGA module. Using LabVIEW code for the I/O and control combined with our own VHDL code we were able to achieve long repetition cycles of complex pulse groups. The timing generator is used in conjunction The timing generator is used in conjunction with a rack full of RF test equipmentcontrolled by LabVIEW for testing radar systems. In addition we use the FPGA to make simulators and emulators for various

Products: LabVIEW, LabVIEW FPGA, RF hardwaremake simulators and emulators for various

serial protocols including standard UARTS, packet communications, I2C and SPI.

hardware

34

Thank You!Thank You!For more information please visitFor more information, please visitwww.ni.com/aerospace-defense

35