In a recent release, technology solutions provider Avnet announced the availability of its XRF16 system-on-module, featuring the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ Radio Frequency (RF) System-on-Chip SoC Gen-2. The new module is designed for developers working on applications that require 5G connectivity by accelerating development and production time.
With the XRF16 module and a comprehensive software suite, developers reportedly can begin prototype and application development immediately and move quickly to production with the same hardware, significantly reducing time to market. Avnet said that the XRF16 is a tool set to ease the process of developing small-footprint, low-power solutions for real-time processing for 5G MIMO, radar, beamforming and medical imaging.
“Developers require the latest, most advanced technology to deliver on their 5G initiatives and projects,” said Jim Beneke, VP, engineering and technology, Avnet. “Together with Xilinx, we created a production-ready solution module that frees developers to focus on the differentiating features of their products. This is just our latest offering designed to accelerate time-to-market, and by leveraging this groundbreaking new standard of connectivity developers can more quickly deliver real business value.”
The Avnet XRF16 is a 16-channel transceiver module capable of RF direct conversion of waveforms with analog bandwidth up to 5 GHz. The module takes advantage of the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC Gen-2 device, the industry’s only single-chip, adaptable radio platform, making it ideal for RF applications such as 5G massive MIMO radio, phased array radar and multi-channel RF instrumentation, which demand small-footprint, low-power and real-time processing.
The XRF16 ADCs and DACs can operate at sampling rates of 2.22 GSPS and 6.554 GSPS, respectively, on 16 channels. High-speed digital connectivity is available for 100G Ethernet and PCIe, and baseband processing and network interface are handled by the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC integrated quad Arm® Cortex®-A53 processing subsystem and programmable logic.
Standard peripherals such as USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet and serial UART are included. To support hardware prototyping and software development, Avnet has also launched a carrier card to provide convenient interface to RF test equipment as well as 100G Ethernet and PCIe over cable (OCuLink).
Ken Briodagh is a storyteller, writer and editor with about two decades of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars.Edited by
Ken Briodagh
