PHOENIX—January 11, 2017—Avnet, Inc., a leading global technology distributor, today released the PicoZed™ Software-Defined Radio SDR 1×1, a rugged, low-power, system-on-module (SOM). Priced at $549, the PicoZed SDR 1×1 is cost optimized for single-channel transmit and receive signal paths in the 70 MHz to 6.0 GHz range, and is available to customers in the Americas, EMEA, Asia and Japan.
The full-duplex PicoZed SDR 1×1 combines the AD9364 integrated RF Agile Transceiver™ from Analog Devices, Inc. with a Xilinx® Zynq®-7020 All Programmable SoC, and features the same handheld form-factor as Avnet’s dual-channel PicoZed SDR 2×2. By integrating the critical RF signal path and high-speed programmable logic in a fully verified SOM, the PicoZed SDR 1×1 enables designers to dramatically reduce cycle times for the development of the RF-to-baseband signal processing core in wireless communications systems for markets, including defense/aerospace, security/surveillance, portable systems and 3G/4G communications.
The PicoZed SDR 1×1 SOM is supported by robust simulation and code generation tools that integrate seamlessly with Xilinx Vivado®Design Suite. For fast prototyping of software-defined radio products, PicoZed SDR 1×1 is compatible with the PicoZed SDR FMC Carrier Card (AES-PZSDRCC-FMC-G), providing standard high bandwidth interfaces like USB, Gigabit Ethernet and RF power modules. Fast data streaming to MATLAB and Simulink from MathWorks is supported to speed algorithm development and aid in the verification of system designs.
“Next-generation wireless systems across all market segments, from 3G/4G small cells to military and industrial, will be driven by imperatives of size, power and cost reduction. Software-defined radio technology provides designers of portable communications devices with flexibility and upgradability that far surpass the limits of traditional hardware-only customization,” said Luc Langlois, director, global technical marketing, Avnet Electronics Marketing. “Designed for immediate prototype and quick integration in customers’ end application, the PicoZed SDR 1×1 reduces the cost, risk, and time required to develop and deploy production-ready SDR systems.
“PicoZed SDR 1×1 extends the PicoZed SDR family with a single-channel solution based on the AD9364 RF Agile Transceiver,” said Robin Getz, director of engineering, Analog Devices. “For software developers targeting the dual ARM Cortex A9 within the Zynq SoC, PicoZed SDR 1×1 is supported through libiio, a comprehensive API with C, C++, C# and Python bindings. The various carriers provide a multitude of connectivity, from Dual Gigabit Ethernet to USB, allowing live data streaming into various SDR design environments, including MATLAB/Simulink. SDR developers can now quickly move from algorithm development to cost-optimized product, using the same radio and base band processor hardware.”
To help wireless system designers maximize the performance potential of the PicoZed SDR SOMs, Avnet offers a series of online software-defined radio SpeedWay Design Workshops™, created in collaboration with Analog Devices, MathWorks and Xilinx. The pre-recorded SpeedWay course modules demonstrate hands-on design techniques with system-level reference designs to deploy SDR systems using the PicoZed SDR. Further information about the online SpeedWay Design Workshops can be found athttps://products.avnet.com/wps/portal/ema/event/software-defined-radio-picozed-sdr-speedway-workshop-2015/.
The PicoZed SDR 1×1 system-on-module (SOM) is available for order today from Avnet. Further information on the PicoZed SDR SOMs and Carrier Cards can be found at http://picozed.org/.
