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SATCOM X-band Digital Beamforming Network

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Air Force
Contract: FA8750-12-C-0036
Agency Tracking Number: F112-038-2443
Amount: $149,963.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: AF112-038
Solicitation Number: 2011.2
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2011
Award Year: 2012
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2011-11-01
Award End Date (Contract End Date): N/A
Small Business Information
2071 Lemoine Avenue Suite 302
Fort Lee, NJ -
United States
DUNS: 145051095
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Brian Woods
 Design Engineer
 (201) 242-9800
 bwoods@maxentric.com
Business Contact
 Houman Ghajari
Title: Director
Phone: (858) 272-8800
Email: houman@maxentric.com
Research Institution
 Stub
Abstract

ABSTRACT: As the size, cost, and power consumption of digital signal processing platforms continue to drop and their performance improves, incorporating digital beamformer (DBF) designs into future SATCOM satellite payloads has become an increasingly attractive approach. The advantages offered by digital beamforming stem from its ability to simultaneously synthesize multiple independent narrow beams that can be used to improve the efficiency of frequency re-use while also nulling interfering signals. In response to the US Air Force solicitation, MaXentric is proposing an X-band SATCOM digital beamforming development platform codenamed X-BEAST (X-band Beamforming Array and System Topology). X-BEAST is composed of X-band downconverters, high speed digitizers, FPGAs, and Manycore processors that enable the system to beamform while also monitoring and rapidly adapting to changes in operating conditions (such as number of users, jammers, etc). BENEFIT: With the X-BEAST platform supporting two-way digital communication across multiple, independent channels which may be separated in frequency, space, code, and time MaXentric introduces a scalable, low-cost technology to the satellite communication market. The applications for such a digital beamforming system are far-reaching in both the commercial and DoD markets. A large potential commercial market is the next generation base stations for broadband IP and mobile data services. Digital beamforming at the transmitter and receiver of the wireless base station can be used to provide higher data throughputs to increased number of subscribers. On the DoD side, X-BEAST provides an architecture for next generation satellite communication payloads. By using digital beamforming, payloads will provide better performance to meet the growing demand of SATCOM users.f

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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