PMC puts FPGA to work on speedy signals

A new rugged FPGA PMC card aims to simplify and speed the capture, processing and output of data derived from high-speed sensors such as electro-optical/infra-red and radar systems.

Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (CWCEC) has released a new rugged FPGA PMC card designed to simplify and speed the capture, processing and output of data derived from high-speed sensors such as electro-optical/infra-red (EO/IR) and radar systems.

The ProWare PMC-440 features an onboard FPGA that delivers up to 20BOPS performance for FFT and digital filter DSP functions.

Ideal for use as a front-end sensor I/O interface and a DSP processing mezzanine module for use in VMEbus and CompactPCI embedded systems, the ProWare PMC-440 can be configured with either of two versions of the Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGA, the XC2VP20 (9280 logic slices/88 18x18 multipliers) or the XC2VP40 (19,392 logic slices/192 18x18 multipliers).

The module is designed for use in a variety of applications: it can be used as a sensor data interface for EO/IR video streams and still-camera images, or as a data preprocessor for video filtering, region of interest extraction and reformatting.

It uses a 64bit, 66MHz PCI interface with support for PCI-X, and provides a legacy bus interface for C40 comm link, SHARC link and other proprietary DSP interfaces.

"CWCEC is setting the standard for delivering FPGA-based products that are as easy to use and simple to integrate as our processor-based boards have proved to be", said Lynn Patterson, Vice President and General Manager of Modular Solutions, CWCEC.

"The PMC-440 offers military/aerospace system integrators a cost-effective, off-the-shelf solution".

"With its integrated combination of hardware, FPGA IP modules, and driver software, the PMC-440 can save users man-years of development effort".

Available in both air-cooled and conduction-cooled versions, the ProWare PMC-440 is equipped with a wide range of input/output options.

These options include four front-panel RocketIO transceivers with aggregate peak throughput up to 1.6Gbyte/s, and four RocketIO transceivers accessible via the module's Pn4 connector that support throughput rates up to 1Gbyte/s.

The card also includes 30 LVDS/LVTTL ports via the front panel and 48 LVDS/LVTTL ports via the Pn4 connector.

Front panel I/O options are only available on air-cooled versions of the module.

Additional features include 256Mbyte of 32bit DDR266 SDRAM, a temperature sensor, a current sensor and four indicator LEDs.

The ProWare PMC-440 is user-programmable with CWCEC's ProWare Design Kit (PDK).

The PDK provides a library of IP modules, a VxWorks driver, a simulation testbench, a reference design and a test cable.

To simplify programming, the card is supported with interfaces for ChipScope Pro and JTAG debug tools.

The ProWare PMC-440 complements CWCEC's wide range of VME and CompactPCI single board computers and multi-computing engines including the Champ-AV, Champ FX, Manta series, 18x and Raptor/Rhino series (VME), and the Champ-AV, 122 and G4C (CompactPCI) products.

The ProWare PMC-440 is available in a range of air- and conduction-cooled ruggedisation levels.

Pricing for the ProWare 440 starts at $4250 in single-unit quantities.

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