BBox™ 5G
mmWave NR Beamforming Development Tool
Let you focus on 5G antenna array design and mmWave application development
What is BBox™ 5G?
A mmWave analog beamformer
BBox™ 5G comprises RF components such as transmit/receive (T/R) switch, power amplifier (PA), low noise amplifier (LNA) and phase shifters as well as TMYTEK‘s standard antenna for 5G beam steering. Furthermore, beam shaping and beam synthesis can be easily implemented in one device.
Why BBox?
Ready-to-use mmWave device for 5G NR application
Key Features
- Operating Frequency: 26.5 to 29.5 GHz
- Antenna designed for 5G n257 band
- Up to 16 controllable RF channels, each channel providing:
- 360 ̊ phase shifter coverage with 5 ̊ per step
- 15 dB attenuation range with 0.5 dB per step
- T/R half duplex operation
- Software control via RJ-45 Ethernet or SPI interface
- CE/FCC/UKCA/ICES certified
Internal Structure
Beamformer Series
 BBox One 5G |  BBox Lite 5G |  BBoard | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 GHz | 28 GHz | 39 GHz | 28 GHz | 39 GHz | 28 GHz | 39 GHz | |
| Frequency | 24.25 - 27.5 GHz | 26.5 - 29.5 GHz | 37.0 - 40.0 GHz | 26.5 - 29.5 GHz | 37.0 - 40.0 GHz | 26.5 - 29.5 GHz | 37.0 - 40.0 GHz |
| RF Channels | 4 x 4 | 1 x 4 | 1 x 4 | ||||
| Phi-A Tx/Rx Gain | 8 - 12 / 0 - 4 dB | 8 - 10 / 0 - 2 dB | 1 - 3 / -1 - 1 dB | 16 / 12 dB | 15 / 10 dB | 15 / 11 dB | 14 / 9 dB |
| Phi-A Phase Shifting Range | 360 deg | 360 deg | 360 deg | 360 deg | 360 deg | 360 deg | 360 deg |
| System Tx/Rx Gain | 38 / 30 dB | 38 / 30 dB | 24 / 27 dB | 34 / 30 dB | 31 / 26 dB | --- | --- |
| Beam Steering Range (V) | ±45 deg | ±45 deg | ±40 deg | Fixed | Fixed | --- | --- |
| Beam Steering Range (H) | ±45 deg | ±45 deg | ±40 deg | ±45 deg | ±45 deg | --- | --- |
| Dimensions (mm) | 152.5 x 82 x 82 | 119.4 x 102 x 101 | 105.6 x 98 x 37 | ||||
| Datasheet | |||||||
BBox 5G Introduction
Antenna
-2-01c91851c36b9c05142e393e80c82744.png "BBox One SMPM connector")
SMPM Connector
Antenna is detachable
Power
RF COM
LAN
SPI
Type-C
RF4
RF3
RF2
RF1
SPI
RF COM
Power
LAN
Type-C
BBox One 5G
BBox Lite 5G
Development Tool for 5G mmWave Antenna Designer
BBox™ 5G is composed of two separable components, the AA Kit and PhiA box. Antenna designers can detach and replace the AA Kit with their antenna array design to produce a unique phased array FEM.
Lead more possibilities for antenna designers; for further details, see the Array Antenna R&D Solution.
Learn More+One28+AMARICallbox-424f8b2027cc4f0a3d379c204ea44bb4.png "BBox and UD Box with base station emulator")
Development Tool for 5G mmWave System/Communication Designer
Baseband developers implement advanced algorithms for 5G NR mmWave such as beam tracking and beam control. The air interface is mandatory to radiate controllable beam patterns. With multiple BBox™, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) technology with beamforming is possible.
TMYTEK BBox and UD Box provide the discrete architecture of the communication system and integration with OAI. It provides flexibilities for users to develop customized requirements for a variety of research topics, such as SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO with commercial user equipment.
Learn MoreCase Study - mmWave Beamforming and Massive MIMO >
UD Box Series - RF Up and Down Converter >
+One3+SDR-4ea6ab8b206486c4b9d3f5098335d77a.png "BBox One + UD Box + VNA")
A Complete Solution for Algorithm Developers
BBox™ is a complete software/hardware integrated device from firmware, API, to beamformer FEM. 5G protocol developers can verify the beam tracking algorithm and protocols by connecting BBox™ to a baseband instrument. BBox™ allows engineers to precisely control the gain and phase, making it ideal for the research and development of beamforming algorithms and protocols.
With the integration of OAI, it expands the research topics for those who care about communication throughput. It allows users to develop the software on both the gNB and UE sides.
Learn MoreCase Study - 5G Channel Sounders >
UD Box Series - RF Up and Down Converter >
Testimonial: Enhancing 5G/6G Wireless Communication Security with the BBox
TMYTEK BBox greatly simplifies the prototype implementation in our wireless research. The programmable mmWave beamformer, including the GUI and programming API, offers flexible yet intuitive tools for different experimental settings.
Shucheng Yu, Ph.D., FIEEE
Associate Professor, ECE Department, Stevens Institute of Technology
Equipment Configuration
BBox One + UD Box(Dual Channel) + BS Emulator
Information & Documentation
What’s included
FAQ
Does the API support Linux environment ?
Yes, you can refer to our github link for more details. https://github.com/tmytek/bbox-api
Is BBox integrated with openairinterface ?
Yes, we provide api that can be used in the Linux environment and easy to integrate with OAI project.
What's the beam switching speed ?
2ms if using LAN as control interface, however it's achievable if using SPI interface with different control host such as FPGA.
Can BBox™ perform algorithm analysis?
It can verify beam tracking or beam management algorithms by connecting BBox to a baseband instrument.
Is software provided for the control of BBox™?
We have GUI and API available for developers to control channel amplitude and phase. Our GUI is called the TMXLAB Kit which integrates most of our products into a single user interface. On the other hand, API is ready-made to help production line automation and research environment for more extensive controls.
Is BBox™ a transmitter (Tx) or a receiver (Rx)?
BBox is half-duplexed. It can operate as a transmitter or as a receiver. The T/R switch can be configured in the GUI or API.
What is the pitch between each patch antenna on AA Kit?
Pitch is 5 mm.
What is the advantage of using BBox™ for mmWave phased array antenna development?
The antenna (AA Kit) on BBox™ can be separated from its main body (ΦA Box) and the output of BBox™ is calibrated so each output port is in phase with the other output ports. This helps designers quickly iterate design changes and adapt to different test systems.
What is the antenna polarization of BBox™?
Our BBox™ antenna is single and vertically-polarized.
What is the frequency band of BBox™? Is it only for the 5G FR2 n261 band?
AA Kit is our standard antenna array which is designed for the n261 band. Our ΦA box covers the frequency range from 25 to 31 GHz. You can either design your antenna or we can customize one for you with an NRE charge.
What is the main functional difference between BBox One and BBox Lite?
There are six main differences and they are (1) number of channels, (2) AA Kit design, (3) channel gain, (4) total gain, (5) scan angle and (6) dimensions.
What is the difference between 4x4 and 8x8 AA Kits? How does 8x8 AA Kit patch antenna mapping to 16 channel BBox One?
The 8x8 AA Kit has a higher gain, narrower beam and smaller scan range when compared to the 4x4 AA Kit. Each group of four antenna patches on the 8x8 AA Kit maps to one channel on the BBox™ One. On the other hand, 4x4 AA Kit has one-on-one mapping.
What is the recommended factory calibration period?
We recommend a factory re-calibration and checkup once per year under normal usage conditions. If the module is used aggressively, this schedule may be shortened.