5G Development

with MATLAB
5G Development with MATLAB

1. Technology and Design

2. New Architectures and Algorithms

3. Accelerating Prototypes and Field Trials

4. System Veriication and Testing

1. Technology and Design
What is 5G?

5G (5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems)

is the next major phase of mobile telecommunications standards beyond
the current 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) standards. 5G technology
needs to be speciied, developed, and deployed by a variety of industry
players including network equipment vendors, network operators,
semiconductor vendors, and device manufacturers. The scope of 5G will
range from mobile phones to next-generation automobiles.

If you are already familiar with 5G, feel free to skip ahead to sections
2–4, which discuss strategies for doing 5G design and development
with MATLAB®: new algorithm design (Section 2), accelerating
prototyping and ield trials (Section 3), and system veriication
(Section 4).

5G Development with MATLAB 4

What’s driving 5G?

Two major trends are behind the race to 5G: the explosive growth in
demand for wireless broadband that can carry video and other content-
rich services, and the Internet of Things (IoT), where large numbers of
smart devices communicate over the Internet. To achieve these objectives,
5G will provide extreme broadband speed, ultralow latency, and
ultrareliable web connectivity.

5G networks and devices will require substantially different architectures,

radio access technology, and physical layer algorithms. Dense networks
of small cells will complement macro base stations, operating at
millimeter wave technologies and employing massive MIMO antenna
arrays. And the processing components within network equipment and
user devices will become more integrated and adaptive.

Innovations like hybrid beamforming are stretching the old ways of

developing wireless systems. These highly integrated technologies require
a corresponding integration of engineering domain expertise and tools.

5G Development with MATLAB 5

5G Terminology and Expected Applications

By providing higher bandwidth capacity than current 4G–supporting eMBB—Enhanced Mobile Broadband
broadband, 5G will enable a higher density of mobile broadband
• For high-capacity and ultrafast mobile communications for phones
users and support ultrareliable device-to-device and massive
and infrastructure, virtual and augmented reality, 3D and ultra-HD
machine-type communications.
video, and haptic feedback

URLLC—Ultrareliable and Low Latency

Key 5G Parameters
• For vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)
communications, autonomous driving
Latency in the air link <1 ms
mMTC—Massive Machine-Type Communications
Latency end-to-end
<10 ms • For consumer and industrial IoT, Industry 4.0 mission-critical
(device to core)
machine-to-machine (MC-M2M)
Connection density 100x vs. current 4G LTE

Area capacity density 1 (Tbit/s)/km2

System spectral eficiency 10 (bit/s)/Hz/cell

Peak throughput
10 Gbit/s
(downlink) per connection

Energy eficiency >90% improvement over LTE

5G Development with MATLAB 6

5G Standard: Timeline

The 3GPP standardization group deines the wireless 5G standard, with Current research and development focuses on enabling technologies
help from many participants and contributors around the globe. Release such as hybrid beamforming, millimeter wave and massive MIMO
15 of the 3GPP standard, expected by March 2018, will introduce the systems, 5G channel modeling and waveforms, and rapid ield trials of
5G standard. Modulation schemes, beamforming techniques, millimeter 5G design concepts.
wave technology, and massive MIMO architectures are expected to be
signiicantly different from the current 4G technologies.

FIRST RELEASE OF 5G SECOND RELEASE OF 5G

SPECIFICATION: 03/2018 SPECIFICATION: 03/2020

3GPP STANDARDIZATION TIMELINE

5G RESEARCH, PROTOTYPE, AND TRIAL 5G STANDARD 5G PRODUCT 5G DEPLOYMENT

RELEASE 10 RELEASE 11 RELEASE 12 RELEASE 13 RELEASE 14 RELEASE 15 RELEASE 16

LTE ADVANCED (PHASE A) LTE ADVANCED (PHASE B) LTE ADVANCED (PHASE C)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

5G Development with MATLAB 7

A New Physical Layer for 5G

The 5G physical layer will depart from 4G LTE in a number of ways, Sections 2–4 of this ebook discuss 5G design and development
in order to improve spectral eficiency and data rates. One distinctive strategies in detail: new algorithm design (Section 2), fast prototyping
feature is a signiicant jump in the number of active antennas and (Section 3), and system veriication and ield trials (Section 4).
antenna arrays, and the related issues of beamforming and millimeter
wave RF signal processing. New modulation and coding schemes,
power and low-noise ampliier designs, and channel models all need to
be developed.

DATA SIGNALS

5G Development with MATLAB 8

MATLAB Software for 5G Research

To help researchers and engineers studying and developing the 5G

standard, MathWorks released a 5G library in September 2017.
Built for LTE System Toolbox™, the 5G library provides:

• Channel models, including tapped delay line (TDL) and clustered

delay line (CDL) channel models as speciied in 3GPP TR 38.901

• New radio waveforms to improve spectral eficiency by limiting out-

of-band emissions, including: Filtered OFDM (F-OFDM), Windowed
OFDM (W-OFDM), and Cyclic Preix OFDM (CP-OFDM)

• New coding schemes such as LDPC for data and polar codes for
control information, for error correction and improved data rates

• Link-level simulation reference design, enabling you to measure the

throughput of a 5G link using the provided waveforms and channel
models

You can download the 5G library and application note.

Analyzing 5G new radio waveforms in 5G.

5G Development with MATLAB 9

Millimeter Wave Higher-Frequency Operation

Higher data rates (multi-Gbps) drive the need for greater bandwidth High frequencies will provide larger bandwidth availability and smaller
systems, and the available bandwidth in the spectrum up through antenna dimensions for a ixed gain, or higher gain for a given antenna
6 GHz is not suficient to satisfy these requirements. (For reference, size. However, this increases modem complexity in baseband and RF
current cellular operation is below 3 GHz.) This has moved the target designs. To study the performance, we also need an accurate channel
operating frequency bands up into the millimeter wave range for the model for the new frequencies in 5G.
next generation of wireless communication systems. For example, 5G
equipment developers such as Huawei and Nokia have announced
5G NR trials with AT&T, Verizon, China Mobile, NTT DOCOMO, and
others. Those trials will operate in the midband spectrum from 3.3 GHz
to 5.0 GHz, as well as the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum at
28 GHz and 39 GHz, showcasing the uniied 3GPP-based 5G NR (new
radio) design across diverse spectrum bands.

PEAK RATE PEAK RATE

1 Gbps 50 Gbps

18 28 38 60 GHz

FREQUENCY BAND

LEGACY BANDS NEW BANDS

5G Development with MATLAB 10

Massive MIMO: More Antennas

Another key technology for achieving greater spectral eficiency is

massive MIMO. Massive MIMO, sometimes referred to as large-scale
MIMO, is a form of multiuser MIMO in which the number of antennas at
the base station is much larger than the number of devices per signaling
resource. The large number of base station antennas relative to user
devices results in a channel response that is quasi-orthogonal and has
the potential to yield huge gains in spectral eficiency.

Designers face a challenge when scaling the number of antennas to

hundreds:

• The simulation speed of traditional antenna design tools is slow for

large antenna arrays.

• It is dificult to simulate the antenna coupling.

• Hybrid beamforming is needed to optimize the number of the RF

chains.
A massive MIMO antenna array for a Huawei 5G ield trial.
See Section 2 for details on design architectures and algorithms.

5G Development with MATLAB 11

Fast Prototyping of 5G Systems
with Hardware Testbeds
Engineers working on 5G designs have realized the value of rapid
design iterations and of placing proof-of-concept prototypes in ield trials
quickly. Hardware testbeds employed as lexible and reconigurable
design platforms have proven to be dependable and eficient for the
rapid design and veriication of new concepts, as well as for their
deployment in precommercial ield trials. The tools and worklows that
interface to testbeds must support rapid design iterations and rapid
deployment of new algorithms or design changes.

A fast prototyping worklow is discussed in Section 3.

5G Development with MATLAB 12

Learn More

Ready for a deeper dive? Explore these resources to learn more about 5G
technology developement and design.
Watch
The Road to 5G: Simulating and Prototyping Wireless Systems (26:07)

Download Code
5G Library

Explore
5G Wireless Technology Development
2. New Architectures and Algorithms
New Design Architectures and Algorithms for 5G

The leap in 5G broadband speeds will be enabled by massive MIMO

communication in the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range and
by new radio algorithms that achieve more eficient use of spectrum.
New design architectures and algorithms will affect every aspect of 5G
systems, from antennas to RF electronics to baseband algorithms. The RF Impairments
performance of these subsystems is so tightly coupled that they must be Nonlinearity, noise

designed and evaluated together.

Waveforms ANTENNA Antennas

LTE, WLAN, custom Array elements, configuation
TRANSMITTER

Digital CHANNEL
Baseband DAC PA
Front End

DIGITAL PHY RF FRONT END

Digital
Baseband ADC LNA
Front End

RECEIVER

Measurements
EVM, BER, ACLR

Channel
Algorithms Noise, interference
Mixed-signal
Modulation, beamforming, synchronization Discrete-time and continuous-time

5G Development with MATLAB 15

Massive MIMO Arrays for High-Gain Beamforming

5G mmWave designs require massive MIMO antenna arrays with Having many antenna elements in a small area makes it practical to
hundreds of antenna elements on base stations (eNodeB). Because the achieve a high beamforming gain. The highly directional beams help
area of an antenna array is reduced in proportion to the wavelength, an offset the increased path loss at the higher operating frequencies,
array for mmWave frequencies can be up to 100x smaller than an array because the beams steer power in a speciic direction.
for microwave frequencies.

UEs in a group using beams with same elevation angle (left) and a hybrid beamforming array architecture (right).

5G Development with MATLAB 16

Behavioral Simulation for Massive MIMO

Typical array designs include parameters such as array geometry, architecture and signal processing algorithms. MIMO simulation times
element spacing, the lattice structure of the elements, element tapering, are also typically 10x longer than 3G and 4G simulations.
and the effects of mutual coupling. By adjusting the design parameters,
Behavioral-level simulation of the antenna array system can address
you can achieve tapering of the rows and columns of the array to
these challenges. Simulating at the behavioral level reduces the
reduce side lobe levels.
simulation time. This enables engineers to experiment with different array
Achieving an optimal design thus requires combined models of the architectures and algorithms, simulate the performance of the array and
antenna arrays and beamforming algorithms to simulate their interaction associated algorithms, and iteratively adjust parameters to mitigate the
and impact on system performance. This puts a strain on current 3G and effect of antenna coupling.
4G design tools, which typically separate antenna design from system

Massive MIMO antenna array design, which requires simulating the interactions between antenna, RF, and digital subsystems.

5G Development with MATLAB 17

Optimizing Tradeoffs Between Antenna Gain
and Channel Capacity
As a part of the design process, the larger antenna gains achieved with narrower beams must be balanced with the fact that MIMO systems are
based on scattering environments that also depend on broader beam patterns to maximize channel capacity.

This is one of the key tradeoffs to assess, and it can be done iteratively with behavioral simulation.

The igures below show how you can develop and visualize behavioral simulations with Phased Array System Toolbox™ and Antenna Toolbox™ for
MIMO array design tasks.

Conigure the Initial Array Experiment Interactively with Design Parameters

Use antenna element models, such as omnidirectionalor cosine Vary the array size, array geometry, element spacing, and tapering.
elements, and rapidly move to more accurate analysis using patterns Visualize the resulting geometry, 2D and 3D directivity, and the grating
computed with electromagnetic (EM) tools or measured in the lab. lobe diagrams.
Visualize the array performance characteristics, such as the radiation
This example shows a beam pattern and grating lobe diagram for
pattern shown below.
66 GHz 64x64 element design, designed with Antenna Toolbox.

8x1 ULA subarray and corresponding radiation pattern. Beam pattern and grating lobe diagram for 66 GHz 64x64 element design.

5G Development with MATLAB 18

Designing Antenna Array Elements

Detailed design of antenna elements, with appropriate free space

patterns, can then be added to improve the idelity of an antenna array
model.

The igure at right illustrates an element pattern generated using a full

wave EM solver in Antenna Toolbox. The toolbox uses the method
of moments (MoM) algorithm to compute port properties such as
impedance, surface properties such as current and charge distribution,
and ield properties such as the near-ield and far-ield radiation pattern.

You can use Antenna Toolbox to visualize antenna geometry and

analysis results in 2D and 3D. You can also integrate antennas and array
models into wireless systems, and use impedance analysis to design
matching networks. The toolbox also provides radiation patterns for
simulating beamforming algorithms.

The Antenna Designer app, which provides interactive tools for

antenna selection, design, and analysis.

5G Development with MATLAB 19

Hybrid Beamforming

While smaller wavelengths enable massive MIMO implementation Hybrid beamforming is a technique to partition beamforming between
within small form factors, signal path and propagation challenges the digital and RF domains to reduce the cost associated with the
associated with mmWave frequencies also increase. To achieve number of RF signal chains. Hybrid beamforming combines multiple
better beamforming control and lexibility, it would be ideal to have array elements into subarray modules, with one T/R module dedicated
independent weighting control over each antenna array element, with to a subarray in the array.
a transmit/receive (T/R) module dedicated to each element. But this is
generally not practical due to cost, space, and power limitations.

DAC RF RF ADC

BASEBOARD RF RF BASEBOARD
PRECODING ARRAY ARRAY COMBINING

DAC RF RF ADC

Hybrid beamforming architecture.

5G Development with MATLAB 20

Hybrid Beamforming continued

A key challenge in hybrid beamforming design is

to meet the required performance parameters while
RF Subarrays
meeting the implementation cost constraints. Simulink®
enables uniied, multidomain modeling and simulation
of the RF domain and digital domain components.
Circuit envelope simulation in RF Blockset™ ensures fast
simulation of the hybrid system. Digital Beamformers
In Simulink, you can evaluate the number of elements
and precoding parameter values to ensure system-
level performance is met across a range of steering
angles. The digital and RF beamforming weights can
be calculated in MATLAB® and incorporated into the
Simulink model.

The igure shows a section of a multidomain model Array Pattern

containing digital beamforming weights used to shape
the signals feeding the RF subarrays, where phase shifts
are applied. The resulting hybrid weights produce the
desired array pattern.

Hybrid beamforming design in MATLAB.

For a detailed discussion, see the white paper Hybrid Beamforming for Massive MIMO Phased Array Systems. The white paper uses a 64x64 element, 66 GHz millimeter wave example and demonstrates antenna array
modeling and partitioning of beamforming between the digital and RF domains.

5G Development with MATLAB 21

 Modeling and Linearizing
Power Amplifiers
The linearity of power ampliiers (PAs) is the critical speciication of are nonlinear and are affected by inite memory, the characterization of
every transmitter. Backing off power ampliiers to operate in the highly power ampliiers strongly depends on the type of signal used to drive it.
linear region is simply not a viable commercial solution, especially at For example, the behavior of the PA depends on the bandwidth of the
higher frequencies and for larger bandwidths. For this reason, digital driving signal, on its spectral occupation, and on its peak-to-average-
predistortion (DPD) techniques are applied to increase the eficiency power (PAPR) ratio.
of the transmitter and at the same time limit spectral regrowth and
Because of this complexity, DPD algorithms are often developed in the
interchannel interference.
lab, using rapid prototyping platforms that enable you to test algorithms
Developing a quality DPD algorithm is challenging, because it requires a together with the actual PA. While this approach is useful to validate
deep understanding of the effects introduced by the power ampliier and and ine-tune the algorithms, it is harder to apply when the actual PA is
adjacent subsystems, such as the antenna. Because power ampliiers not yet available, or to explore the algorithmic DPD design space.

Example of a memory polynomial model of a Power Ampliier identiied with MATLAB

using measurement data, and simulated in RF Blockset using Circuit Envelope.
Conceptual representation of ampliier linearization using digital predistortion.

5G Development with MATLAB 22

 Modeling and Linearizing
Power Amplifiers continued
For these reasons, a model-based approach is recommended to explore Once the model is identiied, it can be used within a system simulation
and develop DPD algorithms before lab prototyping and testing. environment together with realistic (and standard-compliant) baseband
However, this is only possible when a good quality model of a power signals, models for the low-power RF transmitter and observer receiver,
ampliier is available. RF Blockset provides models of power ampliiers the antenna termination expressed with S-parameters, and different
at different levels of abstraction, including generalized memory types of adaptive DPD algorithms. With this approach, designers can
polynomial models that are a convenient derivation of Volterra series. innovate more rapidly and validate new ideas while taking into account
The behavioral models are identiied using power ampliier input/output dispersive and nonlinear effects that are otherwise hardly reproducible
characteristics, coming from circuit-level simulation done with IC design and understood in the lab.
tools or from actual measurements. Designers can leverage the provided
identiication routing or use their own procedure to compute the series
coeficients. In a matter of seconds, users can experiment using different
polynomial orders and memory depth.

Closed-loop transceiver model with power ampliier and adaptive DPD algorithm. The
lab-validated AD9371 models include real-life effects. The Volterra series model of the
power ampliier includes non-linearity and memory effects. The loop simulation includes
low and high-power effects, timing, and frequency selectivity over the signal bandwidth.
The adaptive DPD algorithm improves the device linearity within the signal bandwidth. Plots showing spectrum analysis (bottom right) and received constellation (top left).

5G Development with MATLAB 23

New 5G Radio Algorithms
for Greater Spectral Efficiency
The 5G wireless communication standard will provide signiicantly higher
mobile broadband throughput with its enhanced mobile broadband
(eMBB) mode. While the details are not inalized, several techniques and
features have been set as candidates for 3GPP LTE Release 15, the irst
version of the 5G standard.

Among the key elements of the new 5G standard are:

• New waveforms with improved out-of-band emissions (OOBE),

enabling more eficient use of bandwidth resources

• Shorter slot durations, corresponding to increased subcarrier spacing,

for increased signal bandwidth and shorter latency

• New coding schemes such as LDPC for data and polar codes for
control information, for error correction and improved data rates

• Spatial channel models for operation at current (<6 GHz) and

mmWave (>28 GHz) frequencies
Spectrum measurements for LTE and candidate 5G modulation techniques:
These elements have the potential to improve system eficiency, but CP-OFDM with ACLR iltering (100 RBs, used in LTE),
W-OFDM (108 RBs), and F-OFDM (108 RBs).
they can add complexity and delay to your design. How do you know
whether the techniques proposed for 5G will be suitable for your design?
Should you implement them all, or just a subset? Along with RF Blockset,
Antenna Toolbox, and Phased Array System Toolbox, the 5G library lets
you investigate and seek answers to these design trade-off questions at
an early stage.

5G Development with MATLAB 24

New 5G Radio Algorithms
for Greater Spectral Efficiency continued
5G Library for Physical Layer Design and Simulation
The 5G library is a downloadable add-on for LTE System Toolbox™
that provides executable versions of features deined by the new 5G
standard, including:

• New waveforms for more eficient spectrum use

• Propagation channel models for the 0.5 to 100 GHz frequency range

• Coding schemes, including LDPC for data channels and polar codes
for control channels

• A customizable end-to-end link simulation example with conigurable

subcarrier spacing

Spectrum of CP-OFDM, W-OFDM (108RBs), and F-OFDM (108RBs)

with nonlinear power ampliier (PA).

5G Development with MATLAB 25

New 5G Radio Algorithms
for Greater Spectral Efficiency continued
Using the 5G library, you can measure the impact of different algorithms and design choices on system performance by simulating end-to-end
system performance along with realistic 5G propagation channels.

5G WAVEFORM

PDSCH WAVEFORM GENERATION: CHANNEL MODEL: PERFECT OFDM PERFECT CHANNEL PDSCH DL-SCH
DL - SCH GENERATION OFDM, F-OFDM
GENERATION CDL OR TDL SYNCHRONIZATION DEMODULATION ESTIMATION DECODING DECODING
AND MAPPING OR W-ORDM

LTE Resource Grid 3GPP 38.901 Channel Model Throughput Measurement

5G downlink reference model and simulation. Using an LTE reference and resource grid as a starting point, you can insert 3GPP
5G algorithms and channel model to simulate the end-to-end link performance.

5G Development with MATLAB 26

Learn More

Ready for a deeper dive? Explore these resources to learn more about new
architectures and algorithms for 5G systems.
Watch
Winner II Channel Model (5:01)

5G Library (4:54)

Download Code
5G Library

Winner II Channel Model

Explore
5G Wireless Technology Development

Beamforming

RF Systems

Channel Modeling
3. Accelerating Prototypes and Field Trials
Accelerating Prototypes and 5G Field Trials

To evaluate the performance of new 5G algorithms and architectures,

engineers need to develop proof-of-concept prototypes and prepare the
new designs for ield trials. Typically, the prototypes are built using FPGA
hardware with embedded processors for some portions of the designs.
Algorithms
These platforms are commonly known as hardware testbeds, and they and
enable rapid prototyping and testing of new technologies and design Models
changes in the ield.

It can be dificult for a typical R&D team to implement FPGA-based radio

prototypes and testbeds without outside assistance. R&D engineers have
strong signal processing and communications algorithm development
expertise, but relatively little experience with hardware implementation.
This experience gap is compounded by a tool and worklow gap.
While R&D engineers typically use a high-level language like MATLAB,
hardware engineers use their own design tools and hardware description
languages (HDLs).

Leading companies such as Huawei, Nokia, and Ericsson instead

have turned to Model-Based Design with MATLAB and Simulink to
bridge these gaps and enable R&D engineers to quickly move new 5G
algorithms and design changes to their FPGA-based test platforms.

Rapid prototyping of new algorithms on FPGA-based hardware for 5G ield trials.

5G Development with MATLAB 29

Rapid Prototyping with
Model-Based Design
Many wireless engineers rely on MATLAB to develop and simulate With Model-Based Design, 5G R&D teams can:
physical layer communication algorithms. Model-Based Design with
• Explore algorithms and develop a standard-compliant reference and
MATLAB and Simulink enables wireless engineers to use a common
test bench in MATLAB
model for both simulation and implementation on the FPGA or SoC
(system-on-chip) prototyping platform. They no longer need to maintain • Develop a hardware-accurate model in Simulink using ixed-point
different representations of the same design, and they can use MATLAB algorithm blocks
code as a reference and test bench to verify the hardware design.
• Partition the model into subsystems to target the FPGA fabric
Using Model-Based Design, the R&D and system engineers can develop and processor on the prototype
and debug hardware prototypes of their algorithms without hardware
specialists. They can quickly update prototypes in response to changes • Automatically generate target-independent or target-optimized
in requirements. Instead of handing the hardware team an abstract HDL and C code
algorithm to interpret and implement, they can hand off an eficient, fully • Automate prototyping on SDRs and other FPGA or SoC hardware
veriied VHDL® or Verilog® implementation.
• Integrate and test the generated code into the full radio
platform design

5G Development with MATLAB 30

Rapid Prototyping with
Model-Based Design continued
This process produces fully veriied algorithm implementations, running ALGORITHM DESIGN (MATLAB)
C and HDL code automatically generated from a Simulink model.
Algorithm Golden
Available support packages for commercially available software-deined Exploration Reference
radio (SDR) frameworks further automate integration into a real-time
radio application that transmits and receives signals. Test Bench

To deploy the veriied algorithms onto a custom hardware testbed, you

can integrate the generated code with other custom interfaces and IMPLEMENTATION
external IP cores using standard FPGA development tools. DESIGN (SIMULINK)

When changes are required, you can quickly modify the algorithm Architecture VERIFICATION
model, verify it in simulation, regenerate the code (typically within
Timing Fixed-point
minutes), integrate the code in the FPGA development environment,
and synthesize it for FPGA implementation. The generated code is well
structured, readable, and functionally accurate.
HARDWARE PROTOTYPE
(HDL CODER ™ , EMBEDDED CODER ®)

C Code HDL

Processor FPGA

SDR Platform

Using Model-Based Design for rapid prototyping of 5G algorithms.

5G Development with MATLAB 31

Case Study: Developing an LTE OFDM Modulator
and Detector
This example illustrates the application of Model-Based Design in the
context of an LTE-compliant OFDM modulator and detector. The design
requires a peak detection algorithm that will decode an LTE-compliant
signal and execute eficiently in hardware.

The process starts with MATLAB and LTE System Toolbox to explore
algorithm options to produce a standard-compliant reference waveform
and test bench.

Visualizing the LTE resource grid, as shown here, helps to verify that the
waveform is constructed properly and conforms to the standard.

The following image shows the steps in transforming an LTE cell search
detection algorithm into HDL code ready for FPGA prototyping or
implementation:

• Behavioral golden reference in MATLAB

• Hardware-accurate model in Simulink

• HDL code automatically generated from the Simulink model LTE resource grid representing a standard-compliant waveform.

5G Development with MATLAB 32

Case Study: Developing an LTE OFDM Modulator
and Detector continued
The detector performs frequency estimation and correction, PSS The output of simulations and hardware tests can be compared with the
detection, timing adjustment, FFT, and SSS detection to determine the reference algorithm and visualized in MATLAB, as shown below.
LTE cell identity of a detected cell group. The model was veriied using
an LTE-compliant waveform, and it successfully detects cell IDs both in
simulation and over-the-air running on a Xilinx® Zynq® SDR.

Veriication of the HDL implementation of the OFDM modulation.

MATLAB reference code for LTE cell search (top), and worklow for designing and
generating an HDL implementation of the algorithm (bottom).

To learn more, download an example of building an LTE-compliant OFDM modulator and detector for implementation with HDL Coder™, and use
LTE System Toolbox to verify the HDL implementation model.

5G Development with MATLAB 33

HDL Implementation on FPGA and ASIC

Model-Based Design doesn’t stop at prototyping. Wireless engineers are The model produces hardware-independent HDL code that can be used
successfully using MATLAB and Simulink with automatic HDL generation on any FPGA or ASIC. Optimizations for other architectures can be
to produce algorithm implementations that meet the performance, size, performed by modifying the model, verifying the results in Simulink, and
and power requirements of production FPGA and ASIC designs. The regenerating the HDL code. HDL Coder integrates with SoC and FPGA
iterative worklow enables rapid development and veriication of highly design to provide target-optimized implementations. This can accelerate
eficient hardware implementations of algorithms for multirate iltering, the development of SoC and FPGA designs, enabling teams to complete
PAPR suppression, digital predistortion, and baseband processing. this work in days or weeks rather than in months.

SPEC

TYPICAL
SYSTEM/ HARDWARE HAND RTL VERIFICATION
DEVELOPMENT ALGORITHM RTL
ARCHITECTURE CODING
PROCESS
RTL SYNTHESIS

DEVELOPMENT TIME

MODEL

RTL VERIFICATION
MODEL-BASED SYSTEM/ HARDWARE
ALGORITHM ARCHITECTURE RTL
DESIGN GENERATE RTL SYNTHESIS
COLLABORATE
ITERATE
VERIFY

Using Model-Based Design to accelerate algorithm implementation on FGPAs and ASICs.

5G Development with MATLAB 34

Who uses this workflow for 5G prototyping?

Nokia: Prototyping SoC IP

Nokia uses Model-Based Design for rapid prototyping of
wireless communication SoC intellectual property (IP). They
use Simulink and HDL code generation to accelerate FPGA
prototyping and veriication of SoC implementation, and to
achieve earlier delivery of a full SoC hardware/software design.

Esa-Matti Turtinen and Joonas Järviluoma from Nokia highlight

the beneits of Model-Based Design for prototyping, including:

• Human-readable HDL output

• Design work and focus of veriication move to a higher level

• Good synthesis results in both FPGA and ASIC cases

• Distinct GUI

• Support for third-party tools and FPGA boards

For details on how Nokia uses Simulink and HDL Coder,

watch the presentation Rapid Prototyping Using HDL Coder. (20:51)

5G Development with MATLAB 35

Who uses this workflow for 5G prototyping?
continued

Huawei: Accelerating 5G Prototyping

“When we do 5G prototyping design and development, we
Kevin Law, director of algorithm architecture and design at Huawei,
automatically generate HDL code from MATLAB for hardware
provides an insider view of a 5G development worklow using MATLAB
veriication. When we evaluate the algorithm in ield testing, we can
and Simulink to accelerate 5G prototyping.
very effectively see the whole system’s performance and status, and
For details on how Huawei engineers use MATLAB and Simulink in their identify any potential issues.”
5G R&D, see the user story:
— Kevin Law, Director of Algorithm Architecture and Design, Huawei
5G R&D at Huawei: An Insider Look—Accelerating the move from
theory to engineering practice with MATLAB and Simulink

Ultra-high-speed algorithm simulation and ofline veriication using Simulink.

5G Development with MATLAB 36

Who uses this workflow for 5G prototyping?
continued

Ericsson: Deploying 5G Hardware Testbeds

To complete and deploy a full proof-of-concept on a hardware testbed,
a development group at Ericsson has integrated algorithms developed
with MATLAB and Simulink with other system components in a standard
FPGA development environment. Speciically, they integrated HDL code
automatically generated from Simulink using HDL Coder with manually
coded custom interfaces and IP cores from FPGA vendors for components
such as soft processors, DMA, and physical interfaces. When changes are
required, the engineers make the change in Simulink, regenerate the code
(typically within minutes), integrate the code in the FPGA development
environment, and synthesize it for FPGA implementation. Ericsson
engineers have noted that the generated code is well structured,
readable, and functionally accurate.

For details on how Ericsson is using hardware testbeds for fast hardware
prototyping and automatic HDL code generation with MATLAB and
Simulink, watch the video Radio Testbed Design Using HDL Coder. (22:44)

“When a new design is required because a new design idea

emerges, using HDL Coder, we were able to demonstrate that the
change was acceptable and have a working demonstration in less
than one week.”

— Tomas Andersson, Ericsson

5G Development with MATLAB 37

Learn More

Ready for a deeper dive? Explore these resources to learn more about
accelerating 5G prototypes and field trials.

Qualcomm: Connecting Systems and HDL World – Rapid RTL Generation (Conference Proceedings)
Huawei: System-Level ASIC Algorithm Simulation Platform Using Simulink (Conference Proceedings)

Watch
FPGA Implementation of an LTE Receiver Design (27:01)

Download Code
HDL Implementation of LTE OFDM Modulator and Detector

Explore
Hardware Design with MATLAB and Simulink
4. System Veriication and Testing
5G System Verification and Testing

After completing baseband, RF, and antenna array designs, it is essential

to verify whether the system designs yield satisfactory results in the lab
and in the ield under real-world conditions. To do so, engineers need
to work with live 5G signals and waveforms using interfaces to test and
measurement equipment.

5G Development with MATLAB 40

5G Live-Signal Generation and Reception

By connecting to software-deined radio (SDR) and RF instrument During ield testing, it is important to be able to quickly modify test
hardware, you can use MATLAB® and Simulink® to perform over the- parameters and test scripts to accommodate different test scenarios.
air tests to validate your 5G designs in simulation, in the lab, or in the Using MATLAB provides the lexibility to customize tests and to diagnose
ield under real-world conditions. The test benches, signal generators, and debug subtle issues that are dificult to address in the more
scopes, and measurements used at the simulation stage can be reused constrained software environments and encrypted waveforms that test
for hardware testing. This approach eliminates the need to recreate tests and measurement instruments typically provide.
in a different software environment and reduces test development time
MATLAB and Simulink support a range of available SDR hardware, as
and errors.
well as RF signal generators and spectrum analyzers from RF instrument
You can capture live 5G or LTE signals for analysis and comparison to vendors such as Keysight, Rohde & Schwarz, National Instruments, and
baseband simulation results. Algorithm designers can use the captured Anritsu. SDR support packages are available for Xilinx Zynq and FPGA
signals to test their algorithms, and the RF team can use this setup to Radios; USRP® N, X, and E Series Radios; PlutoSDR; and RTL-SDR. From
verify their RF design. Download an example that demonstrates live LTE these options, you can choose the hardware that’s most appropriate for
signal generation and capture capability. your requirements and budget.

TRANSMITTER

SUPPORTED HARDWARE

Digital DAC PA
Baseband
Front End

DIGITAL PHY RF FRONT END

Software-Deined Radio

Digital
Baseband ADC LNA
Front End

RF Signal Generator Spectrum Analyzer

RECEIVER

MATLAB and Simulink support for over-the-air (OTA) testing with a range of available SDR and RF instrument hardware,
simplifying comparison of OTA tests to simulation results.

5G Development with MATLAB 41

5G Live Signals via Software-Defined Radio

A software-deined radio (SDR) is a wireless device consisting of a conigurable

RF front end with an FPGA or programmable SoC to perform digital functions.
Commercially available SDR hardware can operate at different frequencies to
transmit and receive standard-compliant and custom signals to test baseband
algorithms and RF front end designs.

You can use MATLAB and Simulink with SDR hardware as a cost-effective,
real-time platform for a range of wireless engineering tasks, including:

• Over-the-air lab and ield testing with live RF signals

• Signal capture for posttest analysis

• Rapid veriication with custom radio functions

A typical SDR device with RF front end and FPGA board.

BASEBAND RF SIGNAL RF SIGNAL BASEBAND

WAVEFORM GENERATION CAPTURE WAVEFORM
GENERATION HW Support HW Support ANALYSIS
package package

Over-the-air

+ +
LTE System Toolbox™ SDR Platform SDR Platform LTE System Toolbox™

MATLAB and LTE System Toolbox with supported SDRs. This provides a lexible, cost-effective environment for live signal generation and capture.

5G Development with MATLAB 42

5G Live Signals via Software-Defined Radio
continued
With an interactive app or a few lines of MATLAB code, you can adapt SDR hardware to generate baseband signals that span a wide range of
possibilities—a candidate 5G signal, a 4G LTE standard-compliant signal, or a fully customized signal.

Generation (left) and analysis (right) of an LTE downlink test model (E-TM) waveform.

5G Development with MATLAB 43

Generation and Capture of Live 5G Signals
Using RF Instruments
The second method for working with live signals uses commercially To transmit signals, you can generate the 5G baseband signal,
available test instruments. These instruments employ inely calibrated RF download it to a signal generator, conigure and control the parameters
characteristics, making them suitable for precise lab, ield, or production in the baseband signal, and upconvert the IQ waveform to RF and play
tests. However, 5G experiments and ield trials require greater software back over the air. On the receiver side, you can retrieve IQ data into a
lexibility and analysis capability than is typically found on such PC for analysis, perform visualization and analysis, programmatically
instruments. These limitations can be overcome by using MATLAB and conigure acquisition parameters, and down-convert the RF signal to
Instrument Control Toolbox™, which supports interfaces and standards baseband in the hardware.
such as VISA, TCP/IP, SPI, USB, and GPIB; equipment from different
manufacturers; and instrument types, such as signal generators and
vector signal analyzers.

BASEBAND RF SIGNAL RF SIGNAL BASEBAND

WAVEFORM GENERATION CAPTURE WAVEFORM
GENERATION Instrument Control Instrument Control
ANALYSIS
Toolbox Toolbox

Over-the-air

+ +
LTE System Toolbox™ Signal Generator Spectrum Analyzer LTE System Toolbox™

Over-the-air testing with MATLAB and test and measurement instruments.

5G Development with MATLAB 44

Analysis of Massive Field Trial Data Sets

Network equipment vendors and wireless operators have been

conducting public ield trials to demonstrate their 5G technology and
characterize its operation in a real-world setting.

In 5G ield trials, many parameters are measured and monitored

dynamically, such as reference signal received power (RSRP) and
reference signal received quality (RSRQ). System performance is
recorded by capturing signals and sweeping across a large range of
parameters.

After taking the measurements, designers can extract useful and

actionable indings from the data. Compared with 4G systems, 5G ield
tests capture massive amounts of data due to high data rates and the
need to capture and analyze massive MIMO radiation patterns.

The ield trial system requires a test and analysis system that supports
scalable data capture, data processing, analysis, and sharing of results.

Huawei ield trial from Tokyo.

5G Development with MATLAB 45

Test Data Capture and Analysis

Test engineers performing ield tests often use commercially available information such as antenna pattern iles. It is helpful to have a common
test instruments. However, 5G ield trial analysis requirements go far environment or tool that can access various kinds of data from different
beyond simple measurements. equipment vendors.

Field trial analysis software must be able to import data directly from For very large data sets, teams can use computing clusters or cloud
test instruments or from stored data in a variety of formats. The data storage that scales from a single workstation to compute clusters or
represents captured signals, name and time stamps, and coniguration process big data sets.

Using MATLAB to capture, process, and analyze ield test data stored locally or in the cloud.

5G Development with MATLAB 46

Data Processing and Visualization

Test engineers may want to store raw captured data or show the results to
their management, partners, or customers after analysis.

For example, a team might want to show cell handover points on a map,
decide if signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) is satisfactory, and
how the RSRP varies. In performing this task, it can be necessary to quickly
generate standard waveforms and repeat the test process many times.
Cell ID Change Points

Analysis of the signal in conformity with the standard and handover point and cell ID number.

5G Development with MATLAB 47

Visualization of 5G Field Test Results on Maps

Visualization is critical in ield testing. Test engineers need to If properly implemented, this visualization architecture enables engineers
superimpose captured signals as well as performance and parameter to comprehensively visualize system performance in real-world scenarios
data on a representation of a geographic map. 3D and pseudo-3D and demonstrate results to inform network planning decisions.
representations require latitude and longitude in the map.

For some 5G applications such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication and

base station coverage analysis, engineers need to directly access map
data with latitude, longitude, and building location information.

Visualization of cellular signal coverage on a street map (left) and regional map (right).

5G Development with MATLAB 48

Analysis and Results Sharing

For large-scale postprocessing of data and central SHARED

management, system architects can deploy their 5G ield DIRECTORY

testing software as applications on enterprise systems. These

applications can be hosted on a dedicated server or cloud,
so the system architects can remotely check the test data and
centrally manage system updates. Using MATLAB application WEB
APPLICATION
deployment tools, the development team can leverage their
MATLAB PRODUCTION SERVER
previous work, and everyone on the team (system architects WEB SERVER

and developers, ield engineers, and management team) can Visualization

remotely view and validate performance and analysis results. DESKTOP

APPLICATION
You can implement enterprise applications with MATLAB
Decoding
Production Server™, which lets you incorporate custom
algorithms, tests, and analytics into web, database, and Pre-Process APPLICATION SERVER
BATCH
APPLICATION
production enterprise applications running on dedicated
servers or a cloud. See an example of this deployment process.
This 5G ield test worklow has been used by cellular service
DATABASE SERVER
providers and leading suppliers and is ideally suited for the
A B C
demands of 5G ield trials.

IT architecture of a 5G ield trial.

5G Development with MATLAB 49

 Learn More

Ready for a deeper dive? Explore these resources to learn more about 5G
system verification and testing.
Watch
5G/LTE/WLAN: Waveform Generation, Simulation, Measurement, and Over-the-Air Testing

Learn
Verifying LTE Designs Using Live Signals and Test and Measurement Equipment

LTE Transmitter Using Analog Devices AD9361/AD9364

Explore
Designing and Testing LTE Systems

Software-Deined Radio (SDR)

© 2017 The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB and Simulink are registered trademarks of The MathWorks, Inc. See mathworks.com/trademarks for a list of additional trademarks.
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