DSP
Xilinx DSP Platform
Featuring Spartan®-6 and Virtex®-6 FPGA DSP Kits
- DSP-optimized Spartan-6 and Virtex-6 FPGAs provide the right balance of hardware resources for DSP
- Silicon-optimized DSP IP libraries enable rapid design creation
- High-level DSP design flows allow FPGA design without RTL
Key Documentation
Quick Links
Videos and Webcasts
The Xilinx Targeted Design Platform for DSP brings development tools, methodologies, IP and support together into solutions that accelerate development for experienced users and simplifies the adoption of FPGAs for new users. Engineers spend less time working on application infrastructure and more time on the portion of their design that delivers unique value.
Benefits of the Xilinx DSP Solution
- Xilinx FPGAs exceed the computing power of DSPs with their inherent parallelism, breaking the paradigm of sequential execution and accomplishing more per clock cycle*
- FPGAs perform as co-processors supporting high sample rates while allowing digital signal processor to focus on complex software problems
- The Virtex-6 FPGA family provides up to 2,016 DSP48 slices that deliver over 1000GMAC/s of DSP processing performance
- 38MBytes of dedicated internal RAM insure maximum processing bandwidth for demanding DSP applications
- Up to 72 high-speed transceivers, two PCI Express® blocks and four 10/100/1000 Ethernet MAC blocks to get data on and off the device without requiring additional FPGA resources
*“FPGAs for DSP” – Second edition, © 2007 Berkeley Design Technology, Inc.
- Xilinx FPGAs support I/O standards such as 10/40/100G Ethernet, PCI Express®, OC-48, XAUI, SRIO, and HD-SDI that provide the ideal interface bridge in your system
- Embedded processing capabilities compliment high performance DSP bandwidth on a single device with just the right mix of peripherals
- Designers have the flexibility to modify designs throughout the development cycle of the product
- Multiple DSP processing channels packed into a single device provide cost and power savings
- Reduce equipment operating costs by leveraging the DSP processing bandwidth and embedded processing capabilities of FPGAs to implement sophisticated power management algorithms such as digital pre-distortion
- Virtex-6 FPGA family’s advanced 40nm process, architecture, tools, and system level optimizations reduce core power by 30%
- Spartan-6 FPGAs combine proven low-power 45nm processes technology with efficient power management features
DSP Solution Elements
Elements |
| Design flows tailored for DSP methodologies |
| DSP algorithms and IP |
| DSP development kits |
| FMC IO daughter card partners |
| High-Level Synthesis (HLS) tool partners |
DSP Optimized FPGAs
Xilinx offers DSP-optimized Virtex and Spartan FPGA families with just the right mix of hardware resources that provides the price, performance, power efficiency, bandwidth, and I/O to satisfy a broad spectrum of application requirements.
Virtex-6 SXT FPGA
- Optimized for ultra high-performance DSP with low-power serial connectivity
- Up to 2,016 DSP macro blocks are available to deliver over 1000 GMACs of DSP processing performance
- Good for wireless, aerospace and defense, and broadcast applications
Spartan-6 LXT FPGA
- Optimized for low cost logic, DSP, and memory with high-speed serial connectivity
- 50 GMACs of DSP performance for $40
- Good for wireless, military, industrial, scientific and medical, and automotive applications
DSP Design Flows
Xilinx offers DSP design flows integrated into our DSP and Video Targeted Design Platforms tailored to the unique needs of hardware, algorithm and traditional processor based DSP designers.
ISE Design Suite: DSP Edition
ISE Design Suite: DSP Edition forms the foundation of all DSP design flows and includes features, technologies and DSP-specific IP that enable these design flows. Developers with little FPGA design experience can quickly create production quality FPGA implementations of DSP algorithms.
RTL Based DSP Design
ISE Design Suite: DSP Edition includes DSP specific IP and verification functionality that accelerates development using RTL design methodologies. An extensive library of device optimized DSP IP can be used with RTL to quickly assemble DSP designs that deliver high quality of results without requiring extensive FPGA design experience. DSP algorithms implemented in RTL can be verified from within DSP specific simulation environments such as MATLAB or Simulink using hardware accelerated co-simulation.
MATLAB / Simulink
ISE Design Suite: DSP Edition includes System Generator for DSP, the industries leading high-level tool for designing high-performance DSP systems using FPGAs. System Generator enables high-level models to be created using MATLAB and Simulink and provides automatic code generation, hardware co-simulation and system integration into RTL or embedded systems.
C/C++ Based DSP Design
Xilinx works closely with our premier 3rd party C-synthesis providers to deliver easy to use C to FPGA design flows tightly integrated into our DSP and Video Targeted Design Platforms. These design flows enable traditional DSP programmers and hardware designers working from C/C++ executable specifications to easily target their designs to Xilinx FPGAs
DSP Algorithms and IP
Xilinx provides an extensive set of highly optimized DSP IP that can be used in both RTL and Simulink based design flows. Xilinx IP allows designers to create device optimized FPGA implementations that commonly use DSP algorithms to rapidly create high quality designs.
| Table 1: Intellectual Property for DSP designs | |
|---|---|
| Free with ISE Software | Available for Purchase |
| Filters | Error Correction* |
| Building Blocks | Image Processing Pipeline |
| Transforms | Video Scalar |
| Correlators | |
| Trig Functions | |
| Modulation/Demodulation | |
| Compression | |
In addition to horizontal DSP building block IP, Xilinx also provides an extensive set of vertical market specific IP and algorithms targeting specific applications:
DSP Development Kits
The Xilinx DSP solution helps you develop tailored high-performance DSP solutions for aerospace and defense, digital communications, multimedia, video, and imaging industries.
Featured DSP Boards and Kits
Rapidly accelerate the development of your next DSP application.
Real time system integration, development, and verification.
XtremeDSP Starter Kit - Spartan-3A DSP FPGA 1800A Edition
Low cost, entry-level environment for developing signal processing designs
Additional DSP Boards and Kits
Virtex-6 FPGA ML605 Evaluation Kit
The Virtex-6 FPGA ML605 Evaluation Kit includes the ML605 board and the ISE Design Suite Logic Edition software.
Spartan-6 FPGA SP605 Evaluation Kit
The Spartan-6 FPGA SP605 Evaluation Kit includes the SP605 board and ISE Design Suite Logic Edition: (Device-Locked) for Spartan-6 LX45T FPGA.
Spartan-6 FPGA SP601 Evaluation Kit
The Spartan-6 FPGA SP601 Evaluation Kit includes the SP601 base board and ISE Design Suite: WebPack Edition.
XtremeDSP Development Kit – Virtex-5 SXT FPGA Edition
This is a comprehensive development kit that includes hardware, design tools, IP, and pre-verified reference designs that can rapidly accelerate the development of your next DSP application.
XtremeDSP Video Starter Kit — Spartan-3A DSP FPGA Edition
The Spartan-3A DSP FPGA Video Starter Kit is the ideal hardware platform to evaluate Xilinx FPGAs in a wide range of Video and Imaging applications.
XtremeDSP Starter Platform – Spartan-3A DSP FPGA 1800A Edition
Low cost, entry-level environment for developing signal processing designs.
XtremeDSP Development Platform — Virtex-5 FPGA ML506 Edition
Virtex-5 ML506 FPGA DSP Development Platform with RocketIO GTP Transceivers.
XtremeDSP Development Platform — Spartan-3A DSP FPGA 3400A Edition
An ideal platform to evaluate and implement your DSP based FPGA design
XtremeDSP Development Kit — Virtex-4 FPGA Edition
Powered by the SX35 device and fully supported by System Generator, this platform is ideal for high-performance signal processing applications.
XtremeDSP Development Kit with System Generator — Virtex-4 FPGA Edition
The XtremeDSP Development Kit provides a complete platform for high-performance signal processing applications.
Virtex-4 FPGA ML402 SX XtremeDSP Evaluation Platform
Powered by the Virtex-4 SX35 FPGA and supported by industry-standard peripherals, connectors, and interfaces, the Virtex-4 FPGA ML402 Evaluation Platform provides a rich feature set that spans a wide range of applications.
FMC IO Daughter Card Partners
Xilinx and its partners offer a variety of application-specific FMC daughter cards for use with the Spartan-6 and Virtex-6 FPGA DSP Development Kits. The following list of partners provide a board support package for the DSP kits that include interface logic and reference designs.
| FMC IO Daughter Card Partners | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Name | Description | DSP Kit Support | |
| Virtex-6 | Spartan-6 | |||
| Texas Instruments | ADS62P49 ADC EVM | 14-bit, dual channel, 250 MSPS ADC | X | X |
| Texas Instruments | DAC5682Z DAC EVM | 16-bit, dual channel, 1000 MSPS DAC | X | X |
High-Level Synthesis (HLS) Tool Partners
Xilinx and its partners offer a variety of high-level synthesis design flows use with the Spartan-6 and Virtex-6 FPGA DSP Development Kits. The following list of partners each provide a board support package for the DSP kits that include reference designs and getting started guides.
| High-Level Synthesis (HLS) Tool Partners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| HLS Product | Supported Language | Virtex-6 DSP Kit | Spartan-6 DSP Kit |
| AutoESL | C/C++/ SystemC | X | X |
| Synfora | C/C++ | X | X |
BDTI High-Level Synthesis Certification Program
High-level synthesis tools raise the level of abstraction for FPGA designers, promising substantial productivity gains and high-quality designs. They also offer processor users the possibility of higher performance through the creation of custom processing engines. Do they deliver? Berkley Design Technology Inc. (BDTI) has completed a detailed analysis of AutoESL and Synfora with published reports with published results that can be viewed .
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Step 1Choose a tool: Trial versions available
Step 2Choose an IP core
Step 3Choose a board or kit
- ML605 Virtex-6 Family Evaluation Kit
- SP605 Spartan-6 Family Evaluation Kit
- SP601 Spartan-6 Family Evaluation Kit
- XtremeDSP Development Kit – Virtex®-5 SXT Edition
- XtremeDSP Video Starter Kit — Spartan®-3A DSP Edition
- XtremeDSP Starter Platform – Spartan-3A DSP 1800A Edition
- View all DSP boards and kits
Related Products
Need a jump start on your FPGA Design? Take a look at the wide array of development boards and kits on the Xilinx Online Store!Information, products, and services related to the Xilinx DSP Solution
General Documentation
Xilinx DSP Kit Product Brief (PDF)
This document provides an overview of the Virtex®-6 and Spartan®-6 DSP kits.
Xilinx DSP Design Platforms: Simplifying the Adoption of FPGAs for DSP White Paper (PDF)
This white paper shows how the Spartan-6 and Virtex-6 FPGA DSP kits are designed to ease FPGA adoption and enable algorithm and hardware developers to quickly begin developing DSP applications on Xilinx devices.
ISE Design Suite Software Manuals
These software documents support all Editions of the ISE® Design Suite.
White Paper: DSP Co-Processing in FPGAs: Embedding High-Performance, Low-Cost DSP Functions (PDF)
This white paper takes a look at some common high-performance DSP functions and calculates their effective implementation cost.
Tools and IP Reference Guides
System Generator for DSP User Guides (PDF)
Complete technical documentation on the features and capabilities available in System Generator for DSP™.
Application Notes
Boards
XtremeDSP Video Starter Kit - Spartan-3A DSP Edition
The Video Starter Kit provides a DSP design framework that can be customized with user defined video accelerators implemented on the FPGA fabric
XtremeDSP Starter Kit - Spartan-3A DSP 1800A Edition
This starter kit delivers instant access to Spartan®-3A DSP family capabilities and supports industry-standard peripherals, connectors, and interfaces.
Virtex-5 SXT XtremeDSP Development Kit
The Virtex®-5 SXT XtremeDSP Development Kit is a comprehensive development kit that includes hardware, design tools, IP, and pre-verified reference designs that can rapidly accelerate the development of your next DSP application
Access all the available Digital Signal Processing boards and kits
IP
The FIR Compiler v4.0 reduces filter implementation time to the push of a button, while providing users with the ability to make trade-offs between differing hardware architectures of their FIR filter.
Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) Compiler
The DDS Compiler supports all the common algorithmic requirements, such as SFDR, frequency resolution, programmable phase and frequency, while achieving maximum performance.
The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is a fundamental building block used in DSP systems, with applications ranging from OFDM based Digital MODEMs, to ultrasound, RADAR and CT image reconstruction algorithms.
Access all the available DSP-specific IP
Videos and Webcasts
Virtex-6 Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) Demo
See the Xilinx demo for WCDMA which is a wideband spread-spectrum 3G mobile telecommunication air interface that utilizes code division multiple access.
DSP System Design on FPGAs Using the ISE Design Suite
Understand the basics of combining processors with DSP accelerators in FPGA-based DSP systems
Simplified Verification of DSP Algorithms in Hardware
This FPGA Journal Webcast presents strategies for verifying high-performance DSP algorithms that require hardware acceleration in FPGAs
Accelerating FPGA Designs with AccelDSP and System Generator for DSP
This video demonstration gives an overview of the process of using the AccelDSP™ synthesis tool with a floating-point MATLAB algorithm, and generating a VHDL or Verilog model along with a test bench.
Access all the available videos covering DSP design
Training
System Generator Getting Started Free Online Training
After completing this 40-minute 7 module course, you will be able to create a DSP design that includes memories and control using Simulink and implement that design into a Xilinx FPGA, design highly efficient FIR filters for Xilinx device architectures, and define fixed-point numeric precision abstractly using the Xilinx DSP blockset.
DSP Design Using System Generator
This intermediate course focuses on using System Generator for DSP, design implementation tools, and hardware co-simulation verification.
The MathWorks Simulink for Xilinx
This hands-on The MathWorks™ course covers the basics of using Simulink, an interactive, graphical environment for modeling and simulating dynamic systems.
DSP Implementation Techniques for Xilinx FPGAs
This course will show you how to take advantage of Xilinx FPGA architecture to effectively implement DSP algorithms.
Access all the available Xilinx training
Services and Support
Contact Xilinx Technical Support
From documentation to tools and IP, Xilinx has the support you need for DSP design
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