Geotest Expands User Programmable PXI FPGA Product Line

12th September 2011

ES Admin

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Geotest has announced the release of new, high performance PXI and PXI Express FPGA modules. The GX3700 and GX3700e FlexDIOs use the Altera Stratix III FPGA, which can support SerDes data rates to 1.25GHz/sec and I/O data rates to 700MHz. Additionally, both cards include 256K x 32 of SSRAM as well as integrated DMA capability. For applications that require high data throughput, the GX3700e offers the ability to stream data to and from the host controller via the PXI express' X4 interface at rates in excess of 800MB/s.

The GX3700e can also be used for peer to peer data transfer applications when combined with a compatible PXI multi-computing controller which resides in a PXI Express peripheral slot – providing a high performance data acquisition, generation and analysis subsystem.

“ Geotest is firmly committed to supporting both the PXI and PXI Express platforms”, stated Loofie Gutterman, Geotest’s president. “By offering the same high performance FGPA architecture in either PXI or PXI Express formats, customers with an installed base of PXI chassis are not required to update their existing systems, allowing them to take advantage of the latest FPGA technology”.

Both the PXI and PXI express cards can accommodate additional custom circuitry via an expansion card which does not require extra slots or external interface boards. This approach allows users to add Geotest expansion boards with signal conversion interfaces such as RS-422, LVDS, etc. or optionally, users can design their own custom boards while still occupying only a single PXI or PXIe slot. Both the GX3700 and GX3700e are supplied with a generic expansion board which provides the user with access to the FPGA’s I/O channels. Users can design their FPGA using Altera's free Quartus II Web Edition tool set or for more complex designs; they can use Altera’s Quartus II subscription edition software.