Alion is developing Propagation and Clutter Modeling Analysis (PACMAN), a new integrated model approach to help coordinate between the telecommunications industry (LTE and 5G providers) and the U.S. government. As part of this work, we have expedited early expansion to the AWS-3 bands, while continuing to protect DoD systems from harmful interference with increased accuracy, by modeling site-specific effects of clutter. Our approach provides an innovative, band-agnostic solution to clutter modeling that will benefit future bi-directional spectrum sharing analyses and build the foundation upon which a dynamic spectrum allocation engine could be developed to optimize shared spectrum use.

Alion played a key role in securing the regulatory permissions required for a private company that plans to deploy commercial broadband services in the U.S. — including in under-serviced rural areas — through low-Earth orbit satellite systems. We determined the appropriate operational parameters to avoid interference with existing systems and provided analysis and advice to advance the filings.

Alion RF engineers have used a wide variety of software-defined radios (SDRs) and built SDRs using Zylinq 7000 and Zynq UltraScale+ system-on-a-chip (SoC), with the ability to generate complex waveforms, such as Standard Common Data Link (STD-CDL). Our design process uses both the HDL Coder and Embedded Coder to target Xilinx FPGAs and the Xilinx Zynq SoC family of parts, permitting floating point operations within the same FPGA part for rapid data transfer between the Advanced Reduced Instruction Set Compatible Machine (ARM) processing system and FPGA programmable logic, for complex algorithm implementation.

Advanced spectrum technology must be integrated into the DoD’s spectrum-dependent systems for enhanced access and efficiency in congested and contested electromagnetic environments. Alion is a key and active partner in formally chartered advanced technology and policy/regulatory working groups. We have developed models and hardware in-the-loop simulations that allow us to provide advice on spectrum strategy and tactics as well as enhance understanding of the affects of emerging spectrum technologies in real-world scenarios.

The Alion Spectrum Operations Center in Maryland includes a spectrum-sharing laboratory, which focuses on algorithm development and RF signals processing. Lab personnel work cooperatively with industry, researchers, and academia to design and test new technologies — such as FPGAs and systems-on-a-chip, MIMO, advanced sensors, and machine learning — that can increase access, improve spectrum awareness, and advance spectrum sharing.