WSD: Broadband and Spectrally Agile RF Front-Ends for Advanced Software-Defined Radios

Presentation Abstract
Next-generation wireless systems Beyond-5G will place unprecedented demands on radio front-ends across all frequency ranges, from sub-6GHz (FR1) to the upper mid-band (FR3) and into mm-wave spectrum. Each band presents its own trade-offs in terms of coverage, capacity, propagation, and spectrum availability, but they share common challenges: fragmented allocations, coexistence with incumbent services, and the need for spectrally agile, energy-efficient, and highly integrated transceivers. The upper mid-band (FR3, ∼6–24GHz) is a prime example. Compared to congested FR1 allocations, it offers an order of magnitude more bandwidth, while avoiding some of the severe propagation penalties of mm-wave frequencies above 28GHz. These advantages make FR3 highly attractive for wide-area enhanced broadband and low-latency applications, but also introduce stringent coexistence requirements with incumbent scientific, defense, and satellite users. The resulting emphasis on spectrum awareness and frequency agility highlights design challenges that resonate across all frequency ranges. This workshop will explore the circuit- and architecture-level innovations needed to enable broadband, reconfigurable, and spectrally agile radios. Topics include: Wideband, reconfigurable LNAs and PAs with high linearity and efficiency; Frequency-agile local oscillators and synthesizers with fast switching, low phase noise, and fine resolution; Wideband filtering and duplexing strategies using tunable, switched-capacitor, or acoustic/EM-based solutions; Digital-assisted calibration and adaptation, including ML-based techniques for resilience against PVT variations; Scalable architectures in advanced CMOS and SiGe technologies, enabling multi-band, multi-standard, and multi-antenna integration with energy efficiency. By bringing together experts from academia, industry, and government laboratories, the workshop will highlight state-of-the-art circuit techniques and cross-layer considerations — including spectrum policy, system-level trade-offs, and co-designed RF/digital intelligence — that are critical to realizing the next generation of programmable, energy-efficient, spectrally agile radios.