Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), a global semiconductor leader, announced advanced software-defined signal processing solutions for aerospace, defense, instrumentation, and next-generation wireless communications.

ADI announced on the 14th that it is launching the ‘Apollo MxFE’, a cutting-edge software-defined direct RF-sampling wideband mixed-signal front-end platform.

Apollo MxFE enables designers to implement next-generation applications such as phased array radar, electronic control, test and measurement, and 6G communications in the aerospace and defense, instrumentation, and wireless communications industries.

As data-intensive applications grow, the need for greater bandwidth and faster data processing and analytics performance is increasing for 5G and 6G, Wi-Fi 7 and 8, radar, signal intelligence, and a range of other applications at the network edge. This is why you need a solution that supports high-speed data conversion and processing capabilities while reducing electronic test complexity.

Developed to support application diversity and rapid customization, Apollo MxFE directly samples and synthesizes frequencies up to 18 GHz (Ku band) while providing high instantaneous bandwidth of 10 GHz.

These monolithic 16nm CMOS devices utilize state-of-the-art high dynamic range RF analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and RF digital-to-analog converter (DAC) cores with the highest spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) and noise spectral density (NSD) available on the market today.

This enables Apollo MxFE to accelerate design cycles, bring new products to market faster and at lower cost, and design future-proof products.

“The Apollo MxFE platform provides customers with unprecedented flexibility and design simplicity to innovate future engineering designs for intelligent edge devices,” said Bryan Goldstein, vice president, Aerospace and Defense, ADI. “There is a growing need across industries to reduce latency and increase data rates while lowering overall system power. “Apollo MxFE provides the flexibility to design systems to meet these requirements today, while also providing the ability to improve performance in the future through simple software-defined design changes,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Apollo MxFE’s 4T4R product provides four 12-bit RF ADCs supporting sample rates up to 20 GSPS, four 16-bit RF DACs supporting sample rates up to 28 GSPS, an RF input bandwidth of DC to 18 GHz (Ku band), and an instantaneous bandwidth of up to 10 GHz. Apollo MxFE is the industry’s first integrated radio solution that can directly interface to the new 6G frequency bands of 7 GHz to 15 GHz.

The on-chip digital signal processing (DSP) provides a real-time FFT sniffer, full-rate programmable FIR filter, 128-tap complex FIR filter, fast-hopping NCO, DDC/DUC, and fractional sample rate converter. The DSP is dynamically configurable, allowing rapid changes between narrowband and wideband profiles without interrupting the JESD link. The Apollo MxFE supports JESD 204B/C and very short reach (VSR) interfaces.

The 8T8R members of the Apollo MxFE family provide eight RF ADCs capable of sampling at up to 8 GSPS, eight RF DACs capable of sampling at up to 16 GSPS, up to 16 GHz of RF input bandwidth, and up to 3 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth. The on-chip DSP provides similar features and functionality as the 4T4R devices but with twice the number of digital blocks, all of which are dynamically configurable.

Apollo MxFE is at the core of a larger ecosystem of new ADI hardware and software products, each providing complementary capabilities to ensure optimal performance and ease of use. Through this ecosystem, Apollo MxFE is supported by embedded digital and software technologies including high-performance variable gain amplifiers (VGAs), ultra-low-noise LDOs and Silent Switcher® regulators, clocking, multi-chip synchronization, and various algorithms and security features.