FPGA connection

[jiyeon]

Is it possible to use TI ADC31RF80 14-Bit, 3-GSPS, RF-Sampling Wideband Receiver and Feedback IC with Cora Z7?

[vicentiu]

How do you intend to connect TI ADC31RF80 to the Cora Z7?

[jiyeon]

13 hours ago, vicentiu said:

How do you intend to connect TI ADC31RF80 to the Cora Z7?

We'd like to connect TI ADC31RF80 to J4 on the Cora Z7 using the JESD204B interface.

Let me know if there is any better way.

Or let me know which board is best for connecting to TI ADC31RF80.

[zygot]

If you don't know what you are doing you should stick with boards supporting your project needs. Still, I understand that hope springs eternal, even when a bit of research would quash one's dreams.

Suggestion. Quartus 15, a Cyclone V GX or GT based board with an HSMC connector or at least transceiver Tx and Rx SMA connectors. Make sure that the transceivers support your devices data rates.

[vicentiu]

We don't have enough resources to review designs or offer consulting. We can offer assistance if something doesn't work as specified in our data sheets and reference manuals or if you have questions regarding content in our reference materials.

Please review the Cora Z7 reference manual and specifications along with the ADC31RF80 specifications , decide on the best way to connect it and ask questions if there are unclear details or if something is not working as expected.

You should note that the J4 is not a high speed connector. On the similar pmod connector, we managed around 1 Mbps sample rates in our testing.

The rate you can obtain with your chip connected may vary.

[asmi]

19 hours ago, jiyeon said:

We'd like to connect TI ADC31RF80 to J4 on the Cora Z7 using the JESD204B interface.

JESD204B is a multigigabit serial interface, so you need a board that has a chip which have these. Cora Z7 doesn't have any.

19 hours ago, jiyeon said:

Or let me know which board is best for connecting to TI ADC31RF80.

Any board which has FMC-style connector with enough bonded out MGT transceivers. Be warned though, these won't be cheap. Some JESD204B chips can run as high as 12.5 Gbps per lane, even Kintex and Virtex-7 FPGAs will be able to go that fast only at -3 speed grade. Your best bet would probably be something like Kintex Ultrascale FPGA.

[zygot]

@asmiis correct about the transceiver part. I hesitate to make broad claims about any board with an FMC connector. Not everyone using the connector adheres to the VITA57 specs or tests performance. Also 12 GHz is close to the connector ratings. I'd add that finding free IP for JESD204B isn't easy. I am unaware of any free IP for JESD204B in the Xilinx ecosystem. Personally, I'm not fond of time limited or evaluation licenses. This is why I mentioned the Quartus 15.0 option as that version, if the target is a Cyclone V GT or GX does. Cyclone V devices are not high-end parts nor do they have transceivers with particularly high rate transceivers. Beware, the labelling on what a particular part offers in regards to transceiver performance can be confusing. I have used JESD204B ADCs with Cyclone GX devices through an HSMC connector.

[asmi]

Analog provides free GPLed IP for use with their ADC/DACs.

[zygot]

2 hours ago, asmi said:

Analog provides free GPLed IP for use with their ADC/DACs.

I like Analog Devices FPGA support. As I recall, for the transceiver based parts, in particular JESD204B, when I  examined the source deeply I noticed that good parts aren't available as HDL so it isn't as useful as it looks on the surface. Before buying an EVM requiring FPGA design elements it's not a bad idea to rebuild the supporting code and then see how easy it is to modify it for your needs. In general I've found that it takes less time to write your own code than try and massage demo code into something fitting my project requirements. Often it's the not so obvious details that cause the biggest problems.  I'd be happy to hear about a project where someone had success building their own JESD204B interface using freely available code.

Sometimes, if you can slog through the script generated sources the FPGA vendors' tools can provide good hints to resolving things that you don't understand. My view is to do your homework before making choices and committing to a schedule.