FPGA-based data converter XMC module for radar and communications introduced by Pentek

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J., 3 Nov. 2013. Pentek Inc. in Upper Saddle River, N.J., is introducing the Onyx model 71730 high-speed data converter XMC field-programmable gate array (FPGA) embedded computing modules for radar, communications, or general data acquisition applications.

The Onyx model 71730 is one channel, 1 GHz 12-bit A/D, 1 GHz 16-bit D/A module based on the high-density Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA. It is for air-cooled, conduction-cooled, and rugged operating environments. The board can receive and transmit at the same sampling rate, supporting signal bandwidths to 400 MHz.

Architectural enhancements in the Onyx family include a doubling of the DDR3 memory in size and speed to 4 gigabytes and 1600 MHz, respectively. The PCI Express interface has been upgraded to Gen 3, delivering peak transfer rates to 8 gigabytes per second.

The Virtex-7 is more power-efficient than previous generations making it easier to use larger FPGAs. Optional LVDS and gigabit serial connections to the Virtex-7 FPGA are available for connecting to custom high performance I/O.

The model 71730 comes preconfigured with a suite of built-in functions for data capture, synchronization, time tagging, and formatting. The card has an A/D acquisition intellectual property (IP) module for capture and data moving and a D/A waveform playback IP module to help users play back waveforms from on-board memory or the PCI Express interface.

GateXpress PCI Express configuration manager is an FPGA-PCI Express hardware engine for managing the reconfiguration of the FPGA. At power up, the GateXpress manager presents a PCI Express target to the host computer for discovery and enumeration, giving the FPGA time to load from FLASH.

Once booted, the GateXpress manager offers several options for reconfiguring the FPGA with a IP image, handling the hardware negotiation and streamlining the loading task.

GateXpress also allows dynamic FPGA reconfiguration though software commands as part of the runtime application. For systems that require custom functions, IP can be developed using the Pentek GateFlow FPGA Design Kit, extending or even replacing the factory-installed functions.

Software support packages are available for Linux and Windows operating systems. The mezzanine board is available as a 3U/6U Compact PCI, 3U VPX, PCI Express, and AMC.

For more information contact Pentek online at www.pentek.com.