Pentek Adds DDC and Interpolation Filter IP Cores to its Dual Digital Transceiver Module, Greatly Boosting Bandwidth Range

• Complete software radio transceiver in a single PMC/XMC module
• GateFlow FPGA IP core provides high-performance DDC and interpolation
• Decimation range is extended by a factor of 64,536: from 2 to 1,048,576
• Interpolation range is extended by a factor of 1,024: from 2 to 16,384
• Module handles input and output signal bandwidths from 4.8 kHz to 40 MHz

Upper Saddle River, NJ - July 23, 2007 -- Pentek, Inc., one of the pioneers of VME board-level technology, today released its Model 7140-420 Dual Digital Transceiver with Wideband Digital Downconverter (DDC) Core and Interpolation Filter. This is a complete software radio system in a PMC/XMC module. It includes two A/D and two D/A converters for connection to HF and IF ports. This highly versatile transceiver, with greatly extended bandwidth, can fulfill an unusually wide range of applications in signal intelligence, military and commercial communications systems and in radar. This module is also available in a variety of form factors including PCI, 3U and 6U cPCI, as well as a PMC/XMC conduction-cooled version.

"We expanded the capability of the basic hardware ASICs on the board with the GateFlow Core 420, which adds high-performance wideband DDCs and an interpolation filter. This enhanced product is far more powerful than the original, operating over a wider range of bandwidths ? at both the input and the output," says Rodger Hosking, vice president, Pentek. "Pentek is proud of this industry-first installation of IP cores in an off-the-shelf module to extend the original decimation and interpolation by more than three orders of magnitude," he added.

A Single Product Performs Multiple Roles

The Model 7140-420 Dual Digital Transceiver with Wideband DDC Core and Interpolation Filter handles a range of input and output signal bandwidths from 4.8 kHz to 40 MHz ? highly extraordinary for a single product. Customers benefit from the economy of scale realized by purchasing one product to fulfill all their required functionalities.

"For example, a signal-intelligence customer may acquire a voice band signal with an 8-kHz bandwidth one day, and the next day the same customer might want to acquire a cell phone signal 10 MHz wide," says Hosking. "By choosing the Model 7140-420, this customer can employ a single product to address multiple applications spanning a huge range of bandwidth requirements."

Down-Converting Enhanced by an IP-Based DDC

The GateFlow Core 420 includes a two-channel, wideband DDC IP core that complements the multiband Texas Instruments GC4016 ASIC. This DDC can be driven directly from the A/D converters to achieve decimations from 2 to 64 for signal bandwidths up to 40 MHz.

Alternatively, the GateFlow Core 420 DDC can be driven from the outputs of the Texas Instruments GC4016 ASIC DDC using a cascade connection. This provides a maximum decimation of 1,048,576 to handle extremely low bandwidth signals down to 76 Hz. Thus, the GateFlow Core 420 DDC significantly extends both the upper and lower bandwidth limits of GC4016 ASIC alone.

Core-based Interpolator Improves Upconverting Performance

On the upconverter side, an IP core interpolation filter boosts the sampling rate of real or complex signals by a factor of 16 to 1024, programmable in steps of 2. Acting as a pre-processing stage for the Texas Instruments DAC5686 DUC (digital up converter), the core extends the overall interpolation range for the module so it is now programmable from 2 to 16,384.

Consequently, with a 100 MHz output sample rate, the module now accepts baseband transmit signal bandwidths that can range from 40 MHz down to about 4.8 kHz.

Software Support

Pentek's ReadyFlow Board Support Libraries and C-callable device functions simplify board operation and setup with easy-to-use function calls. ReadyFlow libraries offer flexibility and provide low-level access to all of the board's hardware.

Pentek support libraries, device drivers and software development tools, plus third-party offerings, are all available for a variety of platforms, including PCs running Windows 2000/XP or Linux operating systems and PowerPCs running VxWorks, Linux or eCos operating systems.

All these software resources allow full control of all new features of the GateFlow Core 420, including configuration of the data flow into and out of the new IP cores and full access to operating parameters like interpolation and decimation factors, filter coefficients, data formatting, and modes of operation.