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Curtiss-Wright Debuts Rugged High Performance FPGAbased I/O XMC Card>> click here for the full-size image

Adaptable I/O card combines user programmable Virtex®-5 FPGA processing with configurable I/O; Supports ADC, DAC, Camera Link, RS485, and LVDS

High Wycombe, UK – February 9, 2009 -- Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing, a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) VME, VPX, VXS and CompactPCI products for the aerospace and defense market, has announced the XMC-FPGA05D, a new high-performance I/O mezzanine card that combines a user-programmable FPGA and configurable I/O on a single compact, rugged card to deliver an enhanced level of I/O flexibility and processing performance. This PMC/XMC card, available in both air- and conduction-cooled versions, takes full advantage of its on-board Virtex®-5 FPGA to control the I/O interface and deliver up to 138 signals, such as ADC, DAC, Camera Link, RS485, LVDS, from its front panel, and up to 64 signals from the backplane via the host card. The XMC-FPGA05D combines the latest generation reconfigurable FPGA processing with fast data paths to simplify and speed the integration of high-speed I/O into embedded subsystems for a wide variety of applications, including imaging, direct sensor interfacing and system control for radar, telecommunication (SDR), tracking systems, and SigINT platforms.

“The XMC-FPGA05D’s innovative use of its onboard Virtex®-5 FPGA raises the bar for flexible, application high-speed I/O in rugged deployed embedded systems,” said Lynn Patterson. “By providing both configurable I/O and state of the art FPGA processing on a single mezzanine card, the XMC-FPGA05D enables Aerospace & Defense system integrators to get to market faster with more powerful, more compact solutions.”

High Speed Data Paths On the Card, and Off
The XMC-FPGA05D accommodates high-density application specific I/O schemes supported by front-panel I/O personality modules. Personality modules are available from Curtiss-Wright for ADC, DAC, LVDS, RS485, Camera Link and other popular I/O types. Non front-panel I/O is supported through the PMC P14 and XMC 16 I/O.

The XMC-FPGA05D routes two x8 Virtex-5 FPGA RocketIO HSS ports to the XMC P15 and P16 connectors enabling the card to be used with a variety of protocols and connectivity types. The card supports a x8/x4 PCI Express (PCIe) channel through its primary XMC P15 connector using the Virtex-5 FPGA’s built-in PCIe end-point block. Alternatively, the XMC P15 and P16 connectors can be used to provide user-defined protocol support over the data links, such as Aurora for higher bandwidth, lower latency operation.

A PCI/PCI-X interface to the PMC connectors supports up to 64-bit, 133 MHz PCI-X operation. An on-board switch is used to determine whether the board powers up using the PCI-X or PCI Express interface.

XMC-FPGA05D Features

  • High density, FPGA controlled parallel I/O
  • Range of front panel I/O personality modules (User programmable Xilinx® Virtex®-5 FPGA (SX95T, LX155T or FX100T))
  • Two banks of 9Mbytes 250MHz QDR SRAM memory
  • Two banks of 128Mbytes 250MHz DDR SDRAM memory
  • PMC/XMC form-factor
  • VxWorks®, Linux® and Windows® host support
  • Air and Conduction-cooled variants

Software Support
Software support for the XMC-FPGA05D includes software drivers for VxWorks®, Linux® and Windows® operating environments. In addition, Curtiss-Wright’s FusionXF development kit provides software, HDL and utilities complete with reference designs, to ease development with the XMC-FPGA05D. FusionXF includes a C programming language API, driver framework and sophisticated DMA support. One of the core elements to the FusionXF development kit is a framework for adding in new IP functionality or capabilities to the FPGA easily and effectively.

Ruggedization
A range of environmental requirements are addressed by the XMC-FPGA05D including commercial, air-cooled rugged and conduction-cooled. For conduction-cooled applications, the host board must be able to incorporate front panel I/O connections.

Pricing for the XMC-FPGA05D starts at $7,250. Availability is Q2 2009. For more information on the XMC-FPGA05D click here.

For editorial information regarding Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing Multi Computing products or services, contact John Wranovics, public relations director, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing, Tel: (925) 640-6402; email. jwranovics@curtisswright.com.  

Inquiries: Please forward all Sales and reader service inquiries to Jerri-Lynne Charbonneau, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing, Tel: (613) 254-5112; Fax: (613) 599-7777; e-mail: sales@cwcembedded.com.

About Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing
Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing is the industry’s most comprehensive and experienced single source for embedded solutions, ranging from Processing, Subsystems, Data Communication, DSP, and Video & Graphics to the most advanced board level components and fully integrated custom systems. The Embedded Computing group serves the defense, aerospace, commercial and industrial markets and is part of Curtiss-Wright Controls Inc.

About Curtiss-Wright Controls, Inc.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Curtiss-Wright Controls is the motion control segment of Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW). With manufacturing facilities around the world, Curtiss-Wright Controls is a leading technology-based organization providing niche motion control products, subsystems and services internationally for the aerospace and defense markets. For more information, visit www.cwcontrols.com.

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