TMYTEK, a provider of mmWave and advanced wireless solutions, has launched its 6G FR3 Platform, a modular research platform designed to help wireless researchers move FR3 research and next-generation algorithms beyond simulation and into real-world over-the-air (OTA) validation. Centered on the 7.125 to 8.3 GHz upper mid-band, the platform integrates TMYTEK’s BBox Lite FR3 phased array beamformer, XRifle Dynamic RIS FR3 reconfigurable intelligent surface and UD Box 0630 6 to 30 GHz bidirectional RF up/down converter.
The integrated architecture allows researchers to extend existing sub-6 GHz SDRs, USRPs, and laboratory instruments into FR3 without replacing their existing baseband infrastructure. Frequency conversion, active beamforming, and programmable RF reflection can be combined within one test environment for channel sounding, beamforming, MIMO, ISAC, radar, NLoS propagation, SATCOM, and other next-generation wireless research.
Moving FR3 Research from Simulation to OTA Measurements
Research into spectrum above 7 GHz is accelerating as the wireless industry advances toward 6G. 3GPP Release 19 introduced channel-model enhancements for the 7–24 GHz range, providing an important technical foundation for upper mid-band research. As 3GPP progresses into Release 21 and normative 6G specification work, the need to connect simulation with real RF measurements is becoming increasingly important.
In parallel, ITU-R studies under WRC-27 Agenda Item 1.7 are examining sharing and compatibility conditions for potential IMT use in spectrum including the 7.125–8.4 GHz range.
Simulation provides an essential starting point for wireless system development, but RF behavior in real environments is shaped by reflection, multipath, blockage, mobility, and changing line-of-sight conditions. TMYTEK developed the FR3 Platform to give researchers a controllable path from software-based simulation and algorithms to repeatable real-world OTA measurements.
“6G will not be defined by simulation alone. It ultimately has to be measured, repeated, and proven over the air,” said Su-Wei Chang, Founder & President of TMYTEK. “By making the signal path, beam, and propagation environment programmable, researchers can obtain real RF evidence faster, compare measured behavior with simulation, and validate next-generation system designs.”
From the Bench to Realistic FR3 RF Scenarios
Real-world FR3 links are affected by blockage, reflection, mobility, multipath, and changing line-of-sight conditions. The TMYTEK platform allows these effects to be explored through controlled OTA experiments using three complementary building blocks: the BBox Lite FR3 phased-array beamformer, the XRifle Dynamic RIS FR3 reconfigurable intelligent surface, and the UD Box 0630 bidirectional RF up/down converter.
Each component addresses a different part of the experimental RF chain, allowing researchers to control the transmitted beam, modify the propagation environment, and connect existing sub-6 GHz test infrastructure to FR3 frequencies.
BBox Lite FR3 Provides Sub-2 µs Beam Switching
The BBox Lite FR3 is a modular phased-array beamformer for FR3 research in the 7.125 to 8.3 GHz range. It combines a 7 to 16 GHz beamformer RF front end with a modular dual-polarized phased-array antenna kit, with four independently controllable RF channels in a single unit and support for flexible active subarray configurations.
The antenna uses a 4 × 4 dual-polarized array with 16 elements and supports selectable active subarray configurations of 1 × 4 horizontal, 4 × 1 vertical, or 2 × 2. Four independently controlled RF channels connect the beamformer to the antenna through SMA-to-SMPM coaxial cables. Each channel provides 360° phase coverage with 2.8° phase steps, together with a 31 dB gain adjustment range in 0.5 dB steps. Through its SPI interface, BBox Lite FR3 supports T/R mode switching and beam switching in less than 2 µs, enabling low-latency beam control for dynamic beamforming, beam tracking, ISAC, and radar experiments.
The modular design also allows multiple BBox Lite FR3 units to operate in parallel. Researchers can begin with a single benchtop setup and scale the architecture to larger arrays and 4T4R MIMO configurations for multi-channel spatial research.
XRifle Dynamic RIS FR3 Adds Programmable RF Propagation
The XRifle Dynamic RIS FR3 extends TMYTEK’s reconfigurable intelligent surface platform into the 7.125–8.4 GHz FR3 upper mid-band. The RIS uses a 16 × 16, 256-element PIN-diode array with 1-bit phase control at 0° and 180°. It supports beam switching in less than 10 µs, allowing reflected RF paths to be dynamically reconfigured during OTA experiments. Both incident and reflection angles can reach ±60° in the horizontal and vertical planes. At 7.7 GHz with a 0° incident angle, the datasheet specifies an RCS gain of 45–50 dB and a 3 dB beamwidth of 6–13°.
The thin-bezel modular construction allows multiple RIS panels to be tiled into larger reflective surfaces. The platform reuses TMYTEK’s XRifle SPI controller and TLKCore API, reducing the additional hardware and software integration required for existing XRifle users.
These capabilities allow the RIS to be used not only for NLoS coverage extension but also for FR3 channel sounding, propagation measurements, RIS beamforming validation, ISAC prototypes, multi-user MIMO, and spatial-multiplexing experiments. Click here to see RIS products from TMYTEK.
UD Box 0630 Extends Existing SDRs from Sub-6 GHz to FR3
The UD Box 0630 acts as the frequency bridge between existing baseband equipment and the FR3 RF front end. The bi-directional converter covers 6-30 GHz RF with a 1-8 GHz IF range and 1 GHz instantaneous bandwidth, allowing commonly used SDRs, VSGs, VSAs, and VSTs to operate across FR3, FR2, Ku-band, and other higher-frequency applications.
The dual-channel RF/IF architecture incorporates an internal LO and precision OCXO. Shared-LO operation and 10 MHz/100 MHz synchronization support phase-coherent multi-channel configurations required for MIMO, phased-array, radar, and SATCOM experiments.
The UD Box 0630 also supports Ethernet and SPI control and integrates with TMXLAB Kit APIs for Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, C++, and C#.
One Platform for Multiple 6G Research Domains
By combining the three subsystems, researchers can build an end-to-end workflow in which an existing SDR generates the baseband signal, the UD Box 0630 translates it into FR3, BBox Lite FR3 controls the active beam, and XRifle Dynamic RIS FR3 alters the propagation environment.
This architecture enables repeatable OTA research across FR3 channel sounding, beamforming and MIMO, integrated sensing and communication, radar, programmable NLoS channels, multi-user spatial multiplexing, and SATCOM waveform validation.
The modular approach also allows laboratories to begin with an existing SDR and expand the RF hardware as experimental requirements grow, rather than replacing the complete test infrastructure when moving from sub-6 GHz or FR2 into FR3.