Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) development boards and evaluation kits serve as framework for digital designers to master how to make circuit board designs. The kits also help the designers to get a hang of how to deal with some challenges and design errors that may come up.
In line with this, the Artix-7 50T has been launched to take the education and prototyping of circuit board designs to the next level. Manufactured by Avnet, it provides an all-around solution for digital designers looking to get most of the FPGA customization tools in one box.
This review covers the features of the Artix-7 50T FPGA evaluation kit and the design process.
Artix-7 50T FPGA Evaluation Kit: How Does It Work?
The Artix-7 50T works by first, providing digital designers with the tools to customize circuit boards. It also fast-tracks the design and development of affordable or low-cost circuit boards via the merging with the Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA.
Already, the Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA is known for the low-power, low-cost applications. Through the interoperability between the Artix-7 50T evaluation kit and the Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA, more low-powered, and low-cost circuit boards can be designed.
Features of the Artix-7 50T FPGA Evaluation Kit
What can be found inside the Artix-7 50T FPGA evaluation kit? A lot can be found inside there! Here are some of the features of the board.
The Avnet 7A50T Evaluation Board
The development board is the primary component of the kit. Alongside it comes the following components:
- Onboard USB-JTAG Programming.
- 32 MB Quad-SPI Flash
- 512b EEPROM with SHA-256 authentication engine.
- Artix-7 XC7A50T-FTG256-1 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)
- 16 AMS Inputs
- 256 MB DDR3 SDRAM
- USB UART
- 32 KB 12C EEPROM
- 6 Digilent Compatible Pmod Interfaces
- Dual 10/100 Ethernet Interfaces that support IEEE1588
Online Documentation
One of the main reasons for purchasing an FPGA evaluation kit or development board is to get access to documents that will help your design. The Artix-7 50T provides a wide range of online documentations.
The documentations range from targeted reference designs to help you get started and use the same as reference points for your designs. The documentations also include board errata, hardware user guide, schematics and Bill of Materials (BOM).
The additional features are:
- 1 Ethernet cable
- 2 Micro USB Cables
- Quick Start Card for the Artix-7 50T FPGA Evaluation Kit.
- A Voucher for the Xilinx Vivado® Design Edition license. It is device-locked to the Artix-7 XC7A50T FPGA.
Who is the Artix-7 50T Evaluation Kit for?
Do you need the Artix-7 50T? If so, on what basis? Here are the classes or categories of users or designers that will find the Artix-7 50T evaluation kit most useful.
1. Embedded Designers
Digital circuit designers who specialize in the use of embeddable technology, such as the Surface Mount Technology (SMT) find it useful.
It is because of the flexibility of the board/kit and its low-power platform, allowing for excellent designs.
2. Experienced FPGA Designers
Although FPGA evaluation kits and development boards are for beginners, they can also make a great design tool for professionals.
In the case of Artix-7 50T, experienced FPGA users/designers can use it to make a prototype of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). They can also use the evaluation kit for general purpose FPGA testing.
3. MicroBlaze-Focused Designers
Digital circuit designers using the MicroBlaze soft processor can also leverage the Artix-7 50T FPGA evaluation kit. In their case, the kit helps in the packaging of the needed peripherals in a smaller circuit board footprint.
Conclusion
By and large, the Artix-7 50T is an awesome FPGA evaluation kit, irrespective of the use case. The primary applications are for low-cost, bandwidth-sensitive applications.
