X60: A Programmable Testbed for Wideband 60 GHz WLANs with Phased Array

摘要

This thesis discusses the development of X60, a cross-layer 60 GHz wideband testbed with reconfigurable physical (PHY), medium access control (MAC), and network layer. It provides multi-Gbps rates and has a 24-element phased array antenna with 4 user selectable phase weights. The testbed is based off of National Instruments mmWave 2GHz Reconfigurable Software Defined Radio. It contains multiple high performance field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) for processing, and a SiBeam phased array antenna with an up-converter. This thesis will cover the hardware provided by National Instruments as well as the software functionality. It will also cover the functionality that was developed after delivery, as well as a guide on how to operate the testbed from a complete shutdown to transmission. A troubleshooting section and antenna beam pattern measurements are also included.