Several new monolithic A/D converter devices now offer sampling rates above 1GHz with unprecedented accuracy. Switched gigabit serial fabrics for system backplane connections now handle data streams at rates above 2 GBytes/sec. Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) equipped with the latest digital signal processing resources easily outperform even the fastest DSP and RISC processors. This presentation discusses how all of these technologies have been implemented in a family of next generation open-architecture A/D converter boards.

Topics include the new industry standard VXS switched fabric backplane, architectures for interfacing multi GHz A/D converters to system components without sacrificing performance, effective use of local memory for digital delay and transient capture, implementation of FPGA-based digital signal processing algorithms, and several strategies for data rate reduction to match application and interface requirements.

Additional topics include synchronization of multiple boards for beamforming and direction finding systems, and packaging techniques for commercial, ruggedized and conduction cooled form factors suitable for deployments ranging from laboratory to military maritime, land, and airborne applications.

About the Presenter:



Rodger Hosking
Rodger is currently responsible for new product definition, marketing and sales activities, and strategic alliances with third-party hardware and software vendors. He is an accredited speaker with over 25 years experience in the electronics industry.

Mr. Hosking served as Engineering Manager at Wavetek and Rockland Systems. He designed the first commercial direct digital frequency synthesizer in 1971 and holds patents in frequency synthesis and FFT spectrum analysis techniques.