Flexible digital demodulation/integrating simulation software with measurement hardware

Digitally modulated signals are now an important part of most modern RF/microwave communications systems. Analysis and troubleshooting of digitally modulated signals in the presence of high frequency effects typically require specialized hardware and firmware/software. In the past decade, the commercial wireless industry has evolved with a number of standards specifications and a rich set of digital modulation analysis tools due to its phenomenal growth. The authors have been involved in integrating design and simulation software measurement and analysis instrumentation for these standard specifications. These tools make testing and troubleshooting at various phases of the product development cycle faster, easier and more powerful. The same set of tools and methodologies can also be applied to the aerospace/defense industry, where open and standards-based technologies are not common. This paper will describe how existing design and test solutions can be combined to support various digital modulation techniques, bringing to the aerospace/defense many of the benefits now enjoyed by the wireless industry.