MATLAB enables engineers to simplify high-fidelity RF signal analysis for modern RF systems that demand higher bandwidth, deterministic low-latency processing, and real-time signal analysis. Applications such as radar, wireless communications, aerospace, defence, satellite communications, and electronic warfare require increasingly sophisticated RF processing while reducing development time and design complexity.
To address these challenges, iWave evaluated the Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF System on Module (SoM) using a comprehensive suite of MathWorks® tools, including MATLAB®, Simulink®, Fixed-Point Designer™, Communications Toolbox™, DSP System Toolbox™, DSP System Toolbox™ Blockset, MATLAB Report Generator™, and the Instrument Control Toolbox™ Support Package for Keysight IO Libraries.
Together, these tools provide a streamlined, model-based workflow for RF algorithm development, FPGA implementation, signal processing, hardware verification, RF performance analysis, and automated reporting. This integrated development environment enables engineers to efficiently develop, validate, and optimize RF systems while shortening development cycles and accelerating time-to-market.
Why the Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF System on Module:
The Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF System-on-Module (SoM) is a high-performance platform designed for next-generation RF and high-speed signal processing applications. Built around the Altera Agilex® 9 Direct RF SoC FPGA (R17B package), it combines integrated RF data converters, high-speed transceivers, and heterogeneous processing to support demanding real-time RF workloads.
Designed for mission critical applications, the platform simplifies RF system architecture while delivering high bandwidth, deterministic latency, and precise synchronization in a compact production-ready form factor.
Key Features
- Altera® Agilex® 9 Direct RF SoC FPGA (AGRW014, R17B package)
- Up to 1.43 million logic elements
- 16 high-speed transceivers supporting up to 58 Gbps PAM4
- 4 integrated ADC and 4 DAC channels operating up to 64 GSPS
- Wide RF bandwidth from 0.1 GHz to 36 GHz
- Quad core 64-bit Arm® Cortex®-A53 processor operating up to 1.4 GHz
- Compact form factor: 82 mm × 111 mm
Accelerating RF Development with MATLAB® and Simulink®
The Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF SoM provides a scalable hardware platform for high-performance RF signal acquisition, processing, and generation. The architecture incorporates dedicated receive (RX) and transmit (TX) signal paths, high-speed ADC and DAC interfaces, and DMA-based data movement to efficiently transfer captured and generated RF data.
Hardware control is implemented through Avalon® memory-mapped interfaces using a JTAG-based communication framework, providing direct access to FPGA registers, DMA engines, and system configuration.
On the host computer, MATLAB® provides a unified software environment for hardware control, waveform generation, data acquisition, signal visualization, RF analysis, and automated reporting. By integrating these capabilities within a single environment, engineers can significantly simplify RF validation workflows and reduce overall development effort.
Architecture Overview
Figure 1 : illustrates the complete software and hardware architecture for RF signal generation, acquisition, FPGA control, and performance analysis using MATLAB® and the Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF System-on-Module.
Validated MathWorks® Toolboxes
To evaluate the RF capabilities of the Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF SoM, iWave validated several MathWorks® products covering RF algorithm development, FPGA communication, signal processing, visualization, debugging, and automated reporting.
MATLAB®
Provides FPGA hardware control, waveform generation, RF data acquisition, visualization, and performance analysis.
Simulink®
Supports model-based design, simulation, and verification of RF, DSP, and communication algorithms prior to FPGA implementation.
Fixed-Point Designer™
Converts floating-point algorithms into hardware-efficient fixed-point implementations optimized for FPGA deployment.
Communications Toolbox™
Supports modulation, demodulation, synchronization, channel modeling, and communication algorithm development.
DSP System Toolbox™
Provides FFT processing, digital filtering, spectral analysis, signal measurements, and DSP algorithm development.
DSP System Toolbox™ Blockset
Enables graphical construction and validation of DSP processing pipelines within Simulink®.
MATLAB Report Generator™
Automatically generates engineering reports containing RF measurements, waveform plots, and performance summaries.
Instrument Control Toolbox™ Support Package for Keysight IO Libraries
Provides automated communication with external RF test instruments for system validation and measurement.
Simplified FPGA Control and RF Analysis
MATLAB® simplifies interaction with the Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF SoM by providing direct access to FPGA resources through a unified software interface. Engineers can configure hardware, control RF signal paths, acquire data, and analyse system performance without switching between multiple development tools.
Using System Console APIs together with a JTAG-based Avalon® Memory-Mapped (Avalon-MM) interface, MATLAB® enables real-time FPGA configuration, monitoring, and hardware interaction without requiring multiple independent software applications.
By consolidating hardware control and RF analysis into a single workflow, engineers can reduce development effort, accelerate debugging, and shorten the overall RF system validation cycle.
Advanced Data Visualization
MATLAB® provides comprehensive visualization capabilities for RF signals, including:
- Time domain waveform analysis
- Frequency domain spectrum analysis
- FFT visualization
- IQ constellation analysis
- Multi-channel signal comparison
These visualization tools enable rapid debugging, efficient signal interpretation, and comprehensive system validation.
Figure 1. Time-Domain Waveform Visualization
Figure 2. Frequency-Domain Spectrum Analysis
Automated RF Performance Analysis
MATLAB® automates RF performance evaluation by calculating industry-standard metrics, including:
- Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
- Signal to Noise and Distortion Ratio (SINAD)
- Effective Number of Bits (ENOB)
- Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR)
- Harmonic distortion
- Spectral measurements
These capabilities simplify RF characterization while enabling automated report generation for validation and documentation.
End to End RF Development with MATLAB® and Simulink®
MATLAB® and Simulink® provide a comprehensive workflow that spans every stage of RF system development from algorithm modeling to verified FPGA implementation on the Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF System on Module.
Key Capabilities
- Algorithm Development: Design, model, and validate RF, DSP, AI, and communication algorithms before hardware implementation.
- System Simulation: Verify algorithm behaviour using bit accurate simulations to identify design issues early.
- Fixed-Point Optimization: Convert floating-point algorithms into hardware-ready fixed point implementations while maximizing FPGA resource efficiency.
- Automatic HDL Generation: Generate synthesizable Verilog® and VHDL directly from validated Simulink® models, reducing manual RTL development.
- IP Core Generation: Create reusable AXI and streaming IP cores for rapid integration into Intel® Quartus® Prime projects.
- Hardware Verification: Validate FPGA functionality using FPGA in the Loop (FIL) and hardware co simulation before deployment.
- Performance Optimization: Fine tune latency, throughput, and FPGA resource utilization to meet application requirements.
- AI and DSP Deployment: Implement AI inference and DSP algorithms for deterministic real-time RF signal processing.
Enabling Next Generation RF Applications
The combination of MATLAB®, Simulink®, and the Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF System-on-Module supports a wide range of high performance RF applications.
Software Defined Radio (SDR)
Develop, simulate, and deploy QPSK, QAM, OFDM, LTE, and 5G physical-layer algorithms for software defined radio, spectrum monitoring, wireless testing, and satellite communication systems.
Radar Signal Processing
Implement pulse compression, FFT processing, digital filtering, beamforming, target detection, and target tracking for advanced radar systems.
Electronic Warfare (EW)
Develop wideband signal acquisition, spectrum monitoring, threat detection, and real-time signal intelligence applications.
5G and 6G Wireless Infrastructure
Accelerate Massive MIMO processing, RF front end functions, digital beamforming, and high bandwidth baseband processing.
Wireless Test and Measurement
Perform automated signal generation, RF characterization, modulation analysis, and production testing.
Aerospace and Defence
Deploy mission critical embedded RF computing solutions requiring deterministic low latency performance and high reliability.
As RF systems continue to evolve toward higher bandwidth, deterministic low latency processing, and AI-enabled signal intelligence, development platforms must provide both hardware performance and software productivity.
The Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF System on Module, combined with MATLAB®, Simulink®, and the broader MathWorks® ecosystem, provides a comprehensive development platform that enables engineers to move efficiently from algorithm design and simulation to verified FPGA implementation. This integrated workflow simplifies RF development, improves system validation, reduces debugging effort, and accelerates deployment across radar, wireless communications, satellite communications, aerospace and defence, software defined radio, and other high-performance RF applications.
For more information about the iWave Agilex® 9 R17B Direct RF System on Module (SoM) or to discuss your RF application requirements, please contact us at mktg@iwave-global.com
