Application Note: Virtex-5 Family
Virtex-5 FPGA Interface to a JESD204A
Compliant ADC
Author: Marc Defossez
XAPP876 (v1.0.1) February 22, 2010
Summary
This application note describes how to interface the Virtex®-5 LXT, SXT, TXT, and FXT devices
featuring GTP/GTX transceivers to an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter compliant to JEDEC
Standard No. 204A (JESD204A) Serial Interface for Data Converters [Ref 1]. With some
restrictions that are highlighted in the text, this application note can also be used for ADC
devices compliant to the older JESD204 standard.
Introduction
The JESD204A standard describes a serialized interface between data converters and logic
devices. It contains normative information to enable the implementation of designs that
communicate with devices covered by the JESD204A standard. This application note
discusses the implementation of a two-lane dual ADC with each lane having a 14-bit resolution
and running at 125 MSPS. It provides an overview of how to implement the serial data interface
and the link protocol described in the JESD204A standard. Although some implementation
modes are discussed in this application note, not all possible implementation modes are
provided in the accompanying reference design.
The JESD204A standard describes the protocol for implementation with general high-speed
SERDES devices. The Virtex-5 TXT device contains GTX transceivers. The JESD204A
standard is interpreted accordingly, and a compliant interface is delivered for GTX transceivers.
Figure 1 shows a comparison between the JESD204A standard and the older JESD204
standard. The implementation described in this application note is for a single device containing
two converters (M), using one link of two lanes (L) connected to the FPGA. For completeness,
the FPGA is always assumed to be a single device.
X-Ref Target - Figure 1
JESD204
JESD204A
One multipoint link.
All lanes aligned.
Similar
Converters
1 Link,
L Lanes
M
Converters
Logic
Device
(FPGA or
ASIC)
Logic
Device
(FPGA or
ASIC)
1 Lane,
1 Link
M
M
Converters
Converters
1 Link,
L Lanes
X876_01_072309
Figure 1: Comparison of JESD204 and JESD204A Standards
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XAPP876 (v1.0.1) February 22, 2010
www.xilinx.com
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