Development of a single chip digital beamforming network

Describes the development of the ERA DBF1108 single ASIC digital beamforming network, aimed at satellite communications applications. A brief introduction to the principles of digital beamforming is followed by an outline of the design and an explanation as to how the architecture was developed from the overall system requirements. Key design considerations were, minimum part count and power consumption, together with maximum flexibility in terms of the number of antenna array elements that may be accommodated. A data capture store is also integrated within the device for calibration and adaptive signal processing by means of an external processor. Issues relating to the design, development, manufacture and testing of this device are discussed along with test results obtained from performance testing of the ASIC. Areas for future development of this technology are also highlighted