September 6, 2010
Lowering System Costs with Highly Integrated FPGAs & Power Solutions
by Jim Turley
Changing the architecture of electronic systems from parallel I/O to high-speed serial can be challenging. It involves learning a new I/O standard, designing PCBs for gigabit per second differential signals, and applying new debug and verification techniques, to name a few. One way today’s low-cost, low-power FPGAs can help ease these challenges is IP blocks implementing multi-gigabit per second transceiver I/Os (analog and digital circuits) and supporting many popular serial protocols (e.g. PCI Express). In some FPGAs, such IP blocks are “hardened”, pre-built, and pre-verified blocks implemented on the die, simplifying many tasks for the design team.
Altera’s Cyclone® IV GX family, shipping today, provides the industry’s only low-cost, low-power FPGAs with PCI Express hard IP blocks supporting x1, x2 and x4 lane configurations plus end-point and root-port functionality. Furthermore, these PCI-SIG certified FPGAs require only two power supplies for the FPGA core. This results in reduced BOM costs, less PCB space, and a simplified PCB design when compared to other FPGAs needing more power supplies.
Get started on a new Cyclone IV GX design with the new Altera Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Kit Some key elements in selection of the power solution hinged upon the following criteria: lowest total cost (including inductors, resistors, etc.), high efficiency, low jitter, and small footprint. The following webcast goes into details about the Linear Technology solutions chosen to power the FPGA core, FPGA transceivers, FPGA I/Os and other devices on this $349 FPGA starter kit.
Speakers:
Jeff Wimett, Technical Marketing, Development Kits, Altera Corporation
Sharad Khanal, Field Application Engineer – FPGA Systems, Linear Technology
Related
November 17, 2009
Lowering System Costs with Highly Integrated FPGAs & Power Solutions (CHALK TALK)
by Kevin Morris
The MicroTCA backplane can deliver power to run the most demanding applications, up to 80W. The challenge resides in the fact that each watt of power must be dissipated by the small AdvancedMC card through the chassis’ cooling system. Thanks to the Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA which uses 50% less power than previous generations, a smaller and simpler heat sink can be used, and tightly integrated µModule DC/DC Regulator Systems from Linear Technology allow for real world component count savings, making the Perseus 601X board from Lyrtech the ideal platform for high-performance, high-bandwidth, low-latency processing applications. Customers will also want to take full advantage of the FMC (Vita-57.1) expansion site, which offers almost endless I/O possibilities.
Join Amelia as she chats with experts from Linear Technology, Xilinx, and Lyrtech about getting uTCA up and running with a super-slick development kit – complete with power by Linear Technology, Virtex-6 FPGAs by Xilinx, and an innovative board set from Lyrtech.
Remember to click the paperclip on the viewer so you can recieve a 10% discount on the Perseus 601X board from Lyrtech andor a chance to win one of two iPod Shuffles courtesy of Xilinx
For more information about the Perseus 601X AMC click here.
Speaker: Martin Turgeon
Product Line Manager (DSP Boards and Solutions)
Lyrtech
Speaker: Sharad Khanal
Field Application Engineer – FPGA Systems
Linear Technology
Speaker: Jameel Hussein
Technical Marketing Manager of Power and
Configuration Solutions
Xilinx
Related
