Product category:
VMEbus Boards and Assemblies
News Release from: Pentek | Subject: Model 7150 high-speed data convertor
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 12 March 2008
Data convertor provides efficiency boost
Pentek's Model 7150 high-speed data convertor is suitable for anyone seeking to detect very small signals across a wide range of frequencies.
Pentek has released its Model 7150 high-speed data convertor, which connects directly to the RF or IF inputs of a communications system, delivering high-resolution A/Ds and enhanced processing power in a single PMC/XMC module The Pentek 7150's architecture combines the faster and higher precision DSP slices in the two Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGAs with four 200MHz, 16bit A/D convertors, offering increased resolution and wider signal bandwidths
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 14 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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This combination is suitable for anyone seeking to detect very small signals across a wide range of frequencies.
"The boost in sampling rate to 200MHz means that users will be able to directly digitise nearly 100MHz of bandwidth, invaluable for engineers working on wideband radar and wideband communication systems", says Rodger Hosking, Vice President, Pentek.
"The innovative design of the 7150 assigns strategic functions to both Virtex-5 FPGAs for optimum performance".
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"One is dedicated to interface connectivity and the other towards real-time signal processing and both FPGAs are available in different sizes and types".
"As a result, the 7150 makes an suitable platform for adding custom IP cores to provide outstanding overall system performance over a wide range of applications".
The Model 7150 demonstrates Pentek's commitment to Xilinx' latest family of Virtex-5 FPGAs for high-performance embedded board level products.
The dual- FPGA architecture of the 7150 simplifies task assignments and boosts efficiency for each device.
The processing FPGA handles data flow and data routing, controls all clock and synchronisation functions and manages memory resources.
It is at the centre of all data flow paths, making it ideally positioned for performing DSP and data processing.
The interface FPGA is responsible for providing the board's system connectivity through a PCI-X or optional PCIe interface.
By assigning the board interfaces and the associated resources to this second FPGA, the processing FPGA can be kept free for performing the processing tasks it is designed for.
Xilinx maintains a consistent pin configuration among its various Virtex-5 family devices.
This means different sizes and family types of the Virtex-5 family can be substituted for the Model 7150 to fulfill specific user needs.
Virtex-5 LXT devices may be the choice for users with demanding logic requirements, while SXT devices may best satisfy DSP-intensive applications.
The future FXT family offers embedded PowerPC processors for microcontroller functions.
Another important feature of the 7150, retained from previous designs, is the front-panel synchronisation bus.
Multiple boards can be easily synchronised via a multipin ribbon cable to create larger multichannel systems.
Synchronisation signals include reset, gates, PPS, sync and clocks.
In addition to the sync bus, the sampling clock can be sourced from an onboard crystal oscillator or through a front-panel external clock input connector.
Connected to the main processing FPGA are three banks of DDR2 Synchronous DRAM.
Compared to previous designs, the 7150 doubles the amount of synchronous DRAM to a total of 1.5Gbyte, supporting real-time capture of 2.56 seconds of data sampled at 200MHz.
This large transient capture capability is essential for applications like wideband radar.
The DDRS SDRAM acts as a large elastic buffer, capturing data in real-time and delivering it at a slower aggregate rate through the module interfaces.
Built-in triggering modes allow capture of a wide range of block sizes, while DMA controllers simplify data transfers to the PCI-X bus.
The 7150 is designed to the PMC/XMC standard, allowing it to mount on VME/VXS host boards.
In addition, the board is available in other form factors, including PCI and PCIe for use in desk top computers and blade servers and 3U and 6U compact PCI.
Initially, the 7150 will be delivered with a PCI-X interface, with a PCIe option available later this year.
The 7150 is supported under Linux, Windows and VxWorks with board support packages for each OS.
The BSPs include an OS driver as well as a full feature ReadyFlow C language library to support all board functions and provide sample applications for quick development startup.
Pentek provides GateFlow FPGA design kits for both FPGAs.
Each GateFlow kit provides the factory-installed functions as a project that can be imported into the Xilinx ISE tools, allowing users to build their own functions and data processing into the IP.
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