Phased Array Beamforming ICs and Systems Design

| Created: November 5, 2020 | Updated: October 10, 2024

Just like other application areas, integration abounds and has helped cut system sizes drastically. IoT products, telecom, automotive, and many more areas benefit from integration provided by SoCs and other ICs. RF technologies that rely on beamforming are seeing their own level of integration, and a phased array beamforming IC is just what a compact system needs to provide beamforming and, in 5G-capable systems, MIMO.

5G has helped make beamforming a new tech buzzword, but beamforming has uses outside of telecom. Chirped radar, long-range wireless power transfer, and V2X are some areas where beamforming is useful to provide longer range data/power transfer with directional control. When you need phased array control in your new system, consider one of these beamforming controllers.

Beam Control in Phased Array Beamforming

Beamforming from a planar surface, such as a PCB, can be accomplished with a phased antenna array. These antennas can be printed directly on the PCB, or they can be external antennas (e.g., rubber ducky antenna). The signal sent to each antenna in the array is slightly phase shifted, and the resulting beam is formed due to interference between each antenna. By placing just the right delay between signals sent to different antennas, you can control the direction of the resulting beam.

Your phased array beamforming IC controls this delay between different antenna elements, thereby controlling the emitted beam. These ICs are high frequency RF components that are typically combined with other components. The block diagram below shows the typical architecture of an RF front end integrated with beamforming.

The various blocks in this diagram might be integrated with different levels in various components. For the beamforming controller, some portions of the front-end may be integrated into the IC, so be careful adding additional amplification or filtration at the output. The beamformer can only connect to a small number of antennas, so controlling a larger array requires multiple beamforming ICs, possibly with multiple transceivers. Something like a chirped radar module only needs up to 4 center-fed patch antennas, while a 4x4 or 8x8 MIMO system may need a huge array of antennas to provide beamforming over multiple channels. A single RF transceiver could be used with an antenna switch to expand the size of the array as well.

A phased array beamforming IC is easy to use with time domain duplexing (TDD) or frequency domain duplexing (FDD). For TDD, a switch at the antenna end simply switches the signal path between the Rx and Tx sides of the phased array beamforming controller. For FDD, you’ll need to take a more creative approach as you’ll need to send and receive in different bands simultaneously. The research community is still working on IC architecture to enable FDD with beamforming in a single transceiver unit. Until then, there are two-channel transceiver units for FDD radio that can support beam control with multiple phased array beamforming controllers.

Types of Beamforming Controllers

On the receive side, beamforming comes in two varieties, and you’ll need to select your components to accommodate either type of beamforming. Note that the different types of beamforming also affects your PCB layout. These two types of beamforming are digital and analog.

In analog beamforming, one of Tx signals is fed to an antenna element by passing it through a phase-shifting element, (e.g., filters and amplifiers). Currently, analog beamforming is arguably the most cost-effective way to build a beamforming array, but each beamforming controller can only be used with a single beam. In digital beamforming, the input at each antenna element is converted to a digital signal with an integrated ADC. This gives more accurate directionality reconstruction of the received beam. Finally, hybrid beamforming is a mix between these two types of beamforming.

The phased array beamforming controllers shown below are all analog beamformer controllers as digital beamforming is still being developed and commercialized, expect this other class of beamformers to become widely available in the future.

Renesas, F5260AVGK

The F5260AVGK beamforming controller by Renesas is an 8-channel analog beamformer operating from 24 to 28 GHz. This makes it useful for applications like short-range radar modules with somewhat low directionality, e.g., back-up sensors. This component operates in half-duplex mode with dual polarization for phased array applications. The frequency range is also useful in 5G applications with 4x4 MIMO. Each channel includes integrated gain control and precise phase control for accurate beam steering with long range. Control is achieved over SPI up to 50 MHz. Other components operating in other frequency ranges are also available in the F5XXX and F6XXX line from Renesas.

Anokiwave, AWMF-0139

The AWMF-0139 beamforming IC from Anokiwave is another component enabling massive MU-MIMO in 5G, although the frequency output is appropriate for short-range radar or other specialty RF applications. Other components in the AWMF series support other frequency ranges up to 40 GHz. These components also provide fine gain and phase control that is needed for half-duplex communication, making them competitive with the Renesas component shown above. Ideal applications for the AWMF-0139 include MIMO systems for 5G and other wireless technologies.

Peregrine Semiconductor, PE19601

The PE19601 beamforming controller from Peregrine Semiconductor is ideal for X-band radar applications (8-12 GHz) where beamforming is required (e.g., short-range radar in new cars). This component offers integrated amplification with high linearity (OIP3 at +40 dBm) with phase shifts controlled with 10 bit accuracy. Isolation between each antenna feedline output is also quite high (50 dB).

Other Components for Phased Array Beamforming

RF front ends are seeing more integration than ever before, and at higher frequencies than ever before. When you need to design your board with phased array beamforming control and reception, here are some other components you’ll need for your system:

Beamforming is becoming easier thanks to phased array beamforming controller components. When you need to find new beamforming components for your next RF/wireless product, try using the advanced search and filtration features in Octopart. Octopart gives you a complete solution for electronics sourcing and supply chain management. Take a look at our integrated RF semiconductors page to start searching for the components you need.

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About Author

Zachariah Peterson has an extensive technical background in academia and industry. He currently provides research, design, and marketing services to companies in the electronics industry. Prior to working in the PCB industry, he taught at Portland State University and conducted research on random laser theory, materials, and stability. His background in scientific research spans topics in nanoparticle lasers, electronic and optoelectronic semiconductor devices, environmental sensors, and stochastics. His work has been published in over a dozen peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, and he has written 2500+ technical articles on PCB design for a number of companies. He is a member of IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE Electronics Packaging Society, American Physical Society, and the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA). He previously served as a voting member on the INCITS Quantum Computing Technical Advisory Committee working on technical standards for quantum electronics, and he currently serves on the IEEE P3186 Working Group focused on Port Interface Representing Photonic Signals Using SPICE-class Circuit Simulators.