iWave unveils RFSoC Card for multi-channel RF apps

The PCIe card leverages the gen-3 RFSoC of AMD to address the entire sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum, which is critical in applications such as 5G, LTE, wireless, phased array RADAR, and satellite communications.

At the heart of the RFSoC PCIe Card is the iW-RainboW-G42M System on Module (SoM): a powerful single-chip adaptable radio platform providing up to 6GHz of direct RF sampling. It offers a multi-element processing system, including an FPGA, Arm Cortex-A53 processor, and a real-time dual-core Arm Cortex-R5, which makes it able to acquire, process, and act on RF signals.

The RFSoC SoM offers onboard 8GB 64bit DDR4 RAM with an error correction code for the processing system and 8GB 64bit DDR4 RAM for programmable logic. M.2 NVMe slots on the PCIe Carrier board allow for extended storage.

iW-RainboW-G42M RFSoC SoM features the industry’s highest RF channel count with 16 Channel RF-DACs @ 10GSPS & 16 Channel RF-ADCs @ 2.5GSPS. Integrated RF PLL, SyncE and PTP network synchronisation enable the highest signal processing bandwidth in the comprehensive RF signal chain.

Complementing the RFSoC’s on-chip resources, the iWave RFSoC ADC DAC PCIe Card adds,

• 16 ADC Channels
• 4 x Right Angle SMA connectors on the Front Panel with Balun (BW-800MHz-1GHz)
• 4 x Straight SMA connectors with Balun (BW-800MHz-1GHz)
• 4 x Straight SMA connectors with Balun (BW-700MHz-1.6GHz)
• 4 x Straight SMA connectors with Balun (BW-10MHz-3GHz)
• 16 DAC Channels
• 4 x Right Angle SMA connectors on the Front Panel with Balun (BW-800MHz-1GHz)
• 4 x Straight SMA connectors with Balun (BW-800MHz-1GHz)
• 4 x Straight SMA connectors with Balun (BW-700MHz-1.6GHz)
• 4 x Straight SMA connectors with Balun (BW-10MHz-3GHz)
• 3/4 Length PCIe Gen3 x8 Host Interface
• Integrated ultra-low-noise programmable RF PL
• Integrated SyncE & PTP Network Synchronization
• NVMe PCIe Gen2 x2/x4 M.2 Connector
• FMC+ HSPC Connector

The inclusion of SMA connectors on an RFSoC PCIe carrier card offers a significant advantage for validating ADC and DAC channels. These connectors provide a standardised interface for connecting external signal sources and measurement equipment, ensuring precise input and output signal control. This facilitates an accurate assessment of signal integrity, noise performance, and distortion characteristics.

Furthermore, the RFSoC ADC DAC PCIe Card includes an industry-standard interface fully compliant with PCIe Gen 1, 2, and 3 bus specifications. Supporting PCIe links up to x8, the interface includes multiple DMA controllers for efficient transfers to and from the module.

The FMC+ connector offers an industry-standard interface that allows seamless integration of high-speed data pathways between the RFSoC device and external peripherals. This empowers engineers to connect advanced testing equipment and signal sources, enabling the thorough validation and optimisation of GTY transceivers' performance, signal integrity, and synchronisation capabilities.

“RFSoC ADC DAC PCIe Cards cover all sub-6GHz Spectrum bands to allow customers to accelerate the development of next-generation wireless systems and gain a competitive advantage,” said Pradap Raj, Associate Director at iWave Systems. “The flexibility offered by the RFSoC PCIe card helps the user to deploy the new technology in the field by leveraging the design to match the specific application requirements.”

The RFSoC SoM and the companion PCIe carrier card leverage RF and signal integrity design techniques to provide high-speed connectivity across the platform. This enables system architects and product designers to develop next-gen RF applications such as 5G wireless, Digital RF front end, Aerospace, Defence, and other high-performance RF applications.

iWave provides a robust suite of tools, libraries, and software resources that empower developers to harness the full potential of the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC PCIe Card. This ecosystem simplifies development and accelerates time-to-market for innovative solutions.