Implementation of a Directional Modulation Testbed for Reconfigurable Transmitters for Spatially Agile MIMO Systems

TL;DR

This paper presents a microwave testbed for directionally modulated transmission using a reconfigurable phased array, enabling simultaneous multi-directional communication and radar signals to improve spectral efficiency.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates the implementation of a reconfigurable microwave testbed for directional modulation using a phased array and RFSoC, laying groundwork for adaptive MU-MIMO systems.

Findings

Successful demonstration of directional modulation with a two-element array

Validation of reconfigurable transmission techniques for spectral coexistence

Foundation for future adaptive MU-MIMO radar and communication systems

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the implementation and validation of a microwave testbed for directionally modulated transmission. Directional modulation enables multiple communication and/or radar signals to be transmitted in multiple directions simultaneously using a single phased array aperture, helping to relieve spectral congestion. A two-element transmitter array is driven by a Xilinx ZCU208 Radio Frequency System on a Chip (RFSoC). Our testbed provides a foundation for developing a fully reconfigurable array transmitter for multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) radar and communications, which will incorporate in-situ measurement, reconfigurable matching circuitry, and fast tuning algorithms for frequency and directional selectivity. This testbed enables development and validation of reconfigurable techniques for adaptive spectral and spatial coexistence.