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Xcell Journal: The authoritative journal for programmable ... - Xilinx

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DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING<br />

<strong>The</strong> Nu Horizons/<strong>Xilinx</strong> VirtuaLab<br />

Architects and designers can reserve exclusive<br />

blocks of time by simply logging onto<br />

VirtuaLab.TechOnLine.com to register. You<br />

can select one of three types of interactive<br />

VirtuaLab experiences:<br />

1. New <strong>Xilinx</strong> user – Although technically<br />

astute, you have not been<br />

exposed to either the development<br />

tool flow or the <strong>Xilinx</strong> FPGA<br />

architecture.<br />

2. <strong>Xilinx</strong>-aware user – You have designed<br />

with previous <strong>Xilinx</strong> products but may<br />

not know about the latest solutions.<br />

3. Expert <strong>Xilinx</strong> user – You are proficient<br />

in both standard and advanced<br />

products architecture, and are licensed<br />

in most or all of the EDA design tools<br />

available <strong>for</strong> development.<br />

<strong>The</strong> opportunity to return and continue<br />

your studies or design work is always<br />

possible with VirtuaLabs’ LDAP environment,<br />

which provides secure storage; however,<br />

you can always transfer your files if<br />

you prefer.<br />

Once in the VirtuaLab environment,<br />

you can compile code, measure board per<strong>for</strong>mance,<br />

and set breakpoints – anything<br />

that you could do if the evaluation board<br />

was being controlled by your own PC.<br />

What Can I Evaluate?<br />

Working with <strong>Xilinx</strong>, the Nu Horizons<br />

engineering teams offer a full portfolio of<br />

educational aids, as well as direct access to<br />

<strong>Xilinx</strong> design flow tools and high-speed test<br />

equipment.<br />

Our first laboratory consists of the Nu<br />

Horizons Spartan-3-2000 evaluation<br />

plat<strong>for</strong>m (Figure 1), which is a very flexible<br />

testing plat<strong>for</strong>m that allows you to evaluate<br />

the <strong>Xilinx</strong> XC3S2000 FPGA and develop a<br />

multitude of applications. One of the Nu<br />

Horizons/<strong>Xilinx</strong> VirtuaLab applications is<br />

focused on high-per<strong>for</strong>mance FPGA DSP<br />

functionality.<br />

You can develop advanced algorithms<br />

and per<strong>for</strong>m complex measurements<br />

through a full complement of test equipment<br />

connected to the Spartan-3-2000<br />

environment. Both a signal/pattern genera-<br />

tor and high-speed oscilloscope are connected<br />

to high-speed analog-to-digital converter<br />

(ADC) and digital-to-analog<br />

converter (DAC) modules, and each piece<br />

of Agilent test equipment is placed in<br />

the host mode so you can remotely manage<br />

the equipment’s front panel controls. You<br />

can save settings and scripts easily within<br />

your I- or H-drive private folders to re-use<br />

<strong>for</strong> future sessions.<br />

Having real signal insertion and being<br />

able to measure real output means that you<br />

can validate your algorithms, trans<strong>for</strong>ms,<br />

and functions, and simultaneously have<br />

confidence that all results are both precise<br />

and authentic.<br />

Reference DSP designs are provided<br />

within the VirtuaLab. <strong>The</strong>se designs allow<br />

you to evaluate the Spartan-3-2000 FPGA<br />

in a pre-verified environment. Reference<br />

designs include:<br />

• Existing System Generator tutorial to<br />

introduce engineers to other features<br />

such as the ChipScope tool, HDL<br />

co-simulation, hardware co-simulation,<br />

and the PicoBlaze processor.<br />

• Simple FFT with a 256-tap FIR filter<br />

and interpolation by three. Ease of use<br />

and reasonably high per<strong>for</strong>mance allow<br />

you to evaluate the tool interface as well<br />

as the hardware. <strong>The</strong> filter design is provided<br />

using the FDA tool to generate<br />

the coefficients, allowing you to modify<br />

the coefficients and view the results.<br />

Simulation can be run in System<br />

Generator, as well as live in hardware.<br />

• Equalized 16-QAM demodulator,<br />

including the adaptive filter. <strong>The</strong><br />

receiver architecture provides subsystems<br />

that demonstrate adaptive channel<br />

equalization and carrier tracking on<br />

a random QAM data source.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Spartan-3-2000 plat<strong>for</strong>m delivers<br />

acquisition/conversion capability through<br />

two high-per<strong>for</strong>mance plug-in modules<br />

and two mid-range per<strong>for</strong>mance plat<strong>for</strong>m<br />

solutions.<br />

ADC Plat<strong>for</strong>m Solution<br />

<strong>The</strong> Nu Horizons Spartan-3-2000 evaluation<br />

plat<strong>for</strong>m includes a mid-range ADC<br />

Figure 1 – Nu Horizons Spartan-3-2000 evaluation plat<strong>for</strong>m<br />

82 <strong>Xcell</strong> <strong>Journal</strong> Winter 2004

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