Case Study: Analog Devices achieves a scalable, accurate X‑Band phased‑array digital twin for hundreds of elements with Keysight PathWave System Design

Developing an X-Band Hybrid Beamformer Digital Twin

Analog Devices needed a way to prototype and validate X‑band hybrid phased‑array beamforming systems without the cost and physical limits of large hardware arrays. Working with Keysight, ADI aimed to create a scalable digital twin of its 4x8 hardware enablement platform (based on ADAR1000 and AD9081 components) that could represent larger arrays, incorporate Sys‑parameter and S‑parameter models, and integrate MATLAB models for system‑level design and verification.

Keysight’s PathWave System Design, together with PathWave ADS and RFPro, was used to build the digital twin, import EM‑derived element patterns and S‑matrices, and co‑simulate MATLAB converter models. The Keysight‑hosted solution reproduced antenna beam patterns and RF metrics to within target tolerances (beam overlap within the ±30° window and RF metrics within about ±1 dB), scales to hundreds of elements, runs baseline simulations in ~25 minutes on a midrange laptop, enabled discovery and mitigation of a heat‑sink resonance, and is estimated to save up to one to two years in reaching technology‑readiness milestones.

Analog Devices

Sam Ringwood

Systems Platforms Application Engineer