Martin Gilpatric, transceiver technical marketing engineer at Xilinx, demonstrates the Virtex® HX380T GTH transceivers, using ChipScope and an ML628 evaluation board. The Virtex®-6 family provides the newest, most advanced features in the FPGA market. Virtex-6 FPGAs are the programmable silicon foundation for Targeted Design Platforms that deliver integrated software and hardware components to enable designers to focus on innovation as soon as their development cycle begins. Using the third-generation ASMBL™ (Advanced Silicon Modular Block) column based architecture, the Virtex-6 family contains multiple distinct sub-families. This overview covers the devices in the LXT, SXT, and HXT sub-families. Each sub-family contains a different ratio of features to most efficiently address the needs of a wide variety of advanced logic designs. In addition to the high-performance logic fabric, Virtex-6 FPGAs contain many built-in system-level blocks. These features allow logic designers to build the highest levels of performance and functionality into their FPGA-based systems. Built on a 40 nm state-of-the art copper process technology, Virtex-6 FPGAs are a programmable alternative to custom ASIC technology. Virtex-6 FPGAs offer the best solution for addressing the needs of high-performance logic designers, high-performance DSP designers, and high-performance embedded systems designers with unprecedented logic, DSP, connectivity, and soft microprocessor capabilities.

Author: Martin Gilpatric, Xilinx Tranceivers Technical Marketing Engineer