Pentek Introduces First Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA Module

Pentek is introducing its 71620, a multichannel, high-speed data converter XMC module suitable for connection to HF or IF ports for communications, radar, telemetry and medical systems. This new module is the first member of Pentek's Cobalt� family of products slated to employ

Xilinx new Virtex-6 family. With greater than two times more resources than previous Virtex generations, including new enhancements in digital signal processing, logic, and clocking technology, the Virtex-6 family delivers the industrys most advanced FPGA technology.

This new module provides our customers with a much denser fabric for supporting complex applications,� noted Rodger Hosking, vice president of Pentek. �Aside from the performance of the Virtex-6 FPGA, and the additional logic available for custom IP installation over the previous generation, its three wideband analog inputs and two wideband analog outputs directly target a wide range of radar and telemetry applications. For larger systems, this new module is equipped with a built-in clock synthesizer and multi-channel synchronization capabilities,� he concluded.

�The logic density and substantial DSP resources of Virtex-6 FPGAs make them ideal for Pentek�s newest high-speed data converter module,� said Xilinx senior manager, Platform Solutions, Raj Seelam. �The latest Virtex family consumes 50% less power than the previous generation of Virtex FPGAs, allowing Pentek to support even the largest parts in the family. Pentek has also taken full advantage of the built-in PCIe functionality of the Virtex-6 devices, using it as the primary board interface while also providing a secondary path for user installed protocols, like Aurora, to enhance board-to-board connectivity." Powerful Front End The Pentek 71620 analog front end features three

Texas Instruments

ADS5485 200 MHz 16-bit A/Ds delivering excellent dynamic range and an input bandwidth of 350 MHz, ideal for signal intelligence, radar, beamforming and undersampling applications.

In addition, a dual channel TI DAC5688 800 MHz 16-bit D/A provides two wideband analog outputs. Built-in 2x, 4x and 8x interpolation filters and a digital upconverter translate real or complex baseband input signals to any IF center frequency up to 360 MHz, making the dual D/A extremely flexible for generating many popular communications and radar signals.

Modular Memory Four separate DRAM banks of 256 MB each are larger than previous designs. These multiple banks offer flexibility in dedicating separate resources to I/O streams and processor requirements, eliminating the overhead associated with arbitrating for a single, shared bank.

While synchronous SDRAM offers a fast, extremely dense memory, its architecture shares a data path for reading and writing. In some applications this shared path creates a bottleneck. To address this, the 71620 can be optioned with QDRII+ SRAM offering very efficient memory with separate read and write interfaces. The QDRII+ banks are each 8 MB deep and provide an ideal memory resource for structures like data streaming FIFOs, an integral part of the board�s advanced DMA engines.

The 71620 memory architecture is modular, giving users a choice of memory types. Applications requiring deep, fast memory can choose the DDR3. Other applications requiring simultaneous read/write access can choose QDRII+. For ultimate flexibility, a mixture of both memory types is available.

Intelligent DMA Engines With