PentekInc.'s Model 71690 L-Band RF tuner and dual digitizermodule with on-board Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA is capable of directly receiving anddigitizing signals in the 925 MHz to 2175 MHz (L-band) frequency range with adynamic range of -75 dBm to 0 dBm. The MAX2112 direct-conversion tuner ICintegrates variable-gain amplifiers, dual downconverting mixers andconfigurable-bandwidth low-pass filters to produce baseband analog in-phase (I)and quadrature (Q) signals for digitization.

Dual 16-bit, 200 MHz A dc synchronouslysamples the I and Q signals, passing them to a Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA forprocessing tasks such as demodulation, decoding and decryption. Customers canchoose from a variety of FPGAs, including the LX130T, LX240T, LX365T, SX315Tand SX475T, to obtain the processing performance they need at the lowest cost.Four independent memory banks provide the 71690 with a capacity of up 2 Gbyte of DDR3SDRAM for applications requiring deep memory, or up to 32 MB of QDRII+ SRAM forapplications requiring fast random access.

The module's external interfacesinclude a Gen2 PCI Express bus (x8) for native connection to the host systemfor control and data transfer. In addition, the module offers application-specificoptions for installation of 20 LVDS pairs for general-purpose input/output andfour gigabit interfaces to support serial protocols.

The RFsubsystem can accept an external reference signal or an optional on-boardcrystal oscillator for its tuning reference. Internal timing generators providethe module's A dc sample clock, or users can select an external reference that,along with triggers and other control inputs, allow synchronized operationacross multiple modules.

Software IPfor the on-board Virtex-6 FPGA provides customers with a combination of turnkeyand custom functionality. The board ships with the FPGA configured to providedata acquisition, synchronization, triggering and memory control as well as atest signal generator and control of the RF receiver tuning and bandwidth for acomplete baseband signal receiver solution. The additional space available evenin the smallest FPGA option also provides users ample opportunity to add theirown IP using Pentek's GateFlow Design Kit.

The71690's native form factor is a ruggedizedXMC module compatible with the VITA 42.0 XMC specification. It can also beimplemented in PCI Express (Model 78690) and a VITA 65 3U VPX (Model 53690)form factors. ReadyFlow software support for the Model 71690 includes driversfor Windows and Linux platforms, as well as future support for VxWorks.

L-Band RF Tuner with Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA