The Key to SDR is the RF Front End

Software Defined Radio will come of age in the next five years. From a niche application in the military world to an academic research topic today, SDR will become main stream in five years throughout the commercial industry. Mobility will shift beyond the handful of standards that defines its role today into an open playing field where anyone can play. The key to SDR is the RF Front End. The solution must

--be ultrawideband to handle 20 MHz to 60 GHz
--work with any softrware
--work with any waveform
--use tunable filters

Some solutions are already coming to market such as

The IMEC research center in Belgium proposes a CMOS solution to this problem. The solution promises a low-power, low-cost solution.

Microtune offers a chip for car radio applications called the MT3511 that provides a generic hardware platform to support ­AM/FM, digital radio, CD audio, MP3 playback, navigation, as well as connectivity for iPod®, SD card, USB and Bluetooth.

Best regards,

Hall T.