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Partnership formed for FPGA boards with high density RF connectors

16th July 2018

Anna Flockett

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TE Connectivity (TE), has announced it has partnered with Annapolis Micro Systems, a leading FPGA board and systems supplier, on the release of three of their new high-performance FPGA boards that feature TE’s NanoRF module. The half-size NanoRF is designed to fit into the VITA 67.3 form factor and supports 70GHz bandwidth, with more than double the RF contact density of existing VITA 67 solutions.

Eliminating the need for front panel coaxial cables, the NanoRF design leverages the alignment features of optical (VITA 66) modules. A floating insert on the backplane pre-aligns the RF contact array before the contacts start to engage. This rugged precision alignment is critical in blindmate plug-in architecture, which requires high reliability under extreme conditions.

“The NanoRF gives us super high density out the backplane in a really tight package,” said Noah Donaldson, Annapolis Micro Systems Chief Technology Officer. “This breakthrough connectivity allows us to utilize the full performance capability of these super-powered FPGA boards and our high-channel-count I/O cards.” The cutting-edge COTS boards integrate up to two Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ FPGAs and a Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC motherboard controller. Each board also has one (3U) or two (6U) WILD FMC+ (WFMC+™) next generation I/O site(s), for dense, high-bandwidth ADCs and/or DACs.

Mike Walmsley, TE Global Product Manager said: “These leading-edge Annapolis Microsystems OpenVPX applications are a perfect illustration of the rugged RF density that can be achieved for next generation embedded systems. TE is pursuing the NanoRF modules as an industry standard VITA 67.3 solution to enable unprecedented bandwidth in a smaller package.”

TE gave Annapolis early access to the NanoRF; widespread launch will take place in August.

The backplane contacts in the NanoRF modules are float mounted, assuring that the coax interface is fully bottomed in VPX backplane applications, and maintains excellent isolation and VSWR in rugged environments. Multiple position options from 8 to 18 positions are offered in half and full-size modules, and custom module configurations are possible utilising the same NanoRF interface.

The three FPGA processors supplement Annapolis’ WILD EcoSystem. The EcoSystem is an interoperable portfolio of rugged high-performance OpenVPX and PCIe COTS boards and systems that are used for challenging data acquisition, digital signal processing, and data storage applications.

The FPGA boards are designed for advanced High Performance Computing (HPC) and Electronic Warfare (EW) applications, including DRFM, beamforming, sensor processing, wireless communication, and radar signal processing.