VMETRO’s Analog Input XMC Modules Exploit Virtex-5 FPGAs

Employing the latest generation of Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGAs, the AD3000 is single-channel ADC XMC module, while the AD1500 is a dual-channel module. The 3-Gsamples/s AD3000 employs a National Semiconductor ADC083000 8-bit a/d converter for its analog input, while the 1.5-Gsamples/s AD1500 uses National's ADC081500. Both designs share a common FPGA back-end of either a Virtex-5 SX95T or LX110T, which is directly connected to the analog input. An LVPECL trigger input, LVPECL output, LVTTL output, and the sample-clock input are provided on the front panel. This allows the modules to be operated in a range of modes including multi-board synchronous sampling. The FPGA connects to two 8-MB memory banks of QDRII SRAM and two 128 MB banks of DDR2 SDRAM. Off-board data links are provided through either PCI-X or PCI via PMC connectors or RocketIO transceivers using the XMC connectors. Host software support includes Windows, VxWorks, and Linux including drivers for DMA access between the XMC and CPU, FPGA reconfiguration, and diagnostics. Pricing starts at $13,995. VMETRO INC., Houston, TX. (281) 584-0728.