Industry’s First COTS Card with 64 GSps ADC/DAC Direct RF Sampling Is Shipping
Annapolis Micro Systems, a leading COTS board and systems supplier, is now shipping the industry’s first COTS Card to feature Jariet Technologies’ Electra-MA chip with 64 GS/s, 10-bit ADC and DAC capability. The SOSA™-aligned WILD FMC+ DME1 Card is targeted at demanding applications requiring direct sampling frequency coverage anywhere from 0.1 to 36 GHz (VHF through Ka-band), and/or wide instantaneous bandwidths.
The breakthrough direct sampling Jariet transceiver performs frequency conversion and filtering in the digital domain, eliminating the need for costly analog frequency conversion. The DME1 Card thus provides an unprecedented level of performance and integration for RF and microwave systems:
- 2-Channel, 40 to 64 GSps, 10b ADC
- 2-Channel, 40 to 64 GSps, 10b DAC
“This first delivery from Annapolis Micro Systems contains cutting-edge technology in a truly software definable transceiver to support the warfighter with game-changing technology,” said the technical lead overseeing this mission-critical airborne electronic warfare (EW) program.
The card has usable analog bandwidth of 36 GHz and a maximum instantaneous bandwidth of 6.4 GHz on both channels simultaneously. All transceiver channels feature onboard digital downconverters (DDCs) and digital upconverters (DUCs), including sub-band channelizers for dynamic frequency selection.
“This is a game-changing product that will revolutionize the EW RF chain by using direct sampling techniques to reduce the amount of RF circuitry between the ADC/DAC and the sensor,” said Annapolis Micro Systems VP of Hardware Engineering Dan Markoff. “It truly slashes the size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements.”
The DME1 is available for use with Annapolis’ WILDSTAR 3U OpenVPX Baseboards (one WFMC+ mezzanine site) or 6U OpenVPX Baseboards (two WFMC+ mezzanine sites).
In development are two additional products that also deliver sample rates of 64 GSps at 10-bit resolution:
- WILDSTAR 3AE1 – a 3U OpenVPX Baseboard
- WILDSTAR SAF1 (right) – a standalone Small Form Factor Module
The DME1 is one of dozens of products that comprise Annapolis’ proven WILD100 EcoSystem that aligns with SOSA™ 1.0. The EcoSystem is an interoperable portfolio of rugged high-performance OpenVPX COTS boards and systems that are used for challenging data acquisition, digital signal processing, and data storage applications.
The WILD100 EcoSystem includes these 3U VPX products:
- 3U Baseboard: Eight WILDSTAR Baseboards
- 3U Storage: WILDSTAR 3SN0 Storage
- 3U Switch: WILDSTAR 3E10 Switch
- 3U Chassis: Three WILD100 Chassis & Backplanes
- 3U Kit: WILD100 SOSA Development Kit
The WILD100 EcoSystem also includes these 6U VPX products:
- 6U Baseboard: Three WILDSTAR Baseboards
- 6U Storage: WILDSTAR 6SN0 Storage
- 6U Switch: WILDSTAR 6E10 Switch
- 6U Chassis: WILD100 16-Slot Chassis & Backplane
Suitable for either a 3U or 6U VPX system are Annapolis’ WILD Chassis Managers. They are secure VITA 46.11/SOSA-aligned chassis managers that implement a Xilinx UltraScale+ Zynq and latest Microsemi PolarFire FPGA. Support for MIL-STD-1553 is included.
Annapolis’ powerful BSP options include 40/100GbE IP and both VxWorks 7 and Linux support.
Annapolis high-performance products are designed for advanced HPC, ISR, and multi-function EW applications, including phased array radar, cybersecurity network processing, DRFM, beamforming, sensor processing, wireless communication, and radar signal processing.
