Enhancing the Common-Modem Hardware Integrated Library (CHIL) Framework

In recent years, the advent of agile RF transceivers, software defined radios, and large Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices has both decreased the timescale for development and deployment of communications systems and increased the rate of emergence of threats resulting in the need to rapidly adapt. To shorten the timescales of inserting new technology into tactical communications systems, the Common-modem Hardware Integrated Library (CHIL) was developed. CHIL is a library of configurable digital signal processing blocks grouped together in a framework that enables waveform developers to dynamically “string” processing blocks together to form new waveforms. While CHIL has the potential to offer significant benefits to waveform development, it suffers from several limitations including: 1) tight coupling of the framework with library algorithms, 2) slow operation and large FPGA utilization, and 3) lack of documentation. In this paper, we present enhancements to CHIL to address some of these limitations and demonstrate increased reusability, reduction in FPGA utilization, and increase in operating speed.