Shuttle LX1

We use Opal Kelly modules as the heart of our product designs. Opal Kelly saves us months of design time and allows us to focus on our core value add - building the hardware that is dedicated to our customers' products.  

- Michael W. Phaneuf, President, Fibics Incorporated

The Opal Kelly XEM 3010 is an expertly-designed module that is the heart of our instrument - the central core of our CMOS Image Sensor Lab ISL-1600. It provides a development platform and a communications layer that dramatically reduced development engineering expense and accelerated time-to-market.  

- Martin Vasey, CEO, Jova Solutions

The light came on when I saw the Opal Kelly product line - it was perfect for us. It has memory, USB, powerful FPGA with lots of I/O, and not much else. This is a fundamental value of Opal Kelly modules - they have the minimum configuration to be incredibly flexible and useful, without the cost and complexity of unnecessary accessories.  

- Michael W. Phaneuf, President, Fibics Incorporated

Opal Kelly provides a great building block, with high-level software tied into the power of the FPGA, which makes it quick and painless to connect our proprietary product to a PC.  

- Martin Vasey, CEO, Jova Solutions

Opal Kelly module designs are unlike any others we have found on the market. Their powerful modules make the basic transfer of data from the FPGA to the PC very straight forward and simple.  

- Michael W. Phaneuf, President, Fibics Incorporated

XEM6006 module

Semiconductor Evaluation

The Shuttle LX1 was designed as a better semiconductor evaluation platform: a better way for semiconductor companies to showcase their products and a better way for engineers to evaluate them. Quite simply, a better way to engage engineers with the semiconductors they are about to choose for their next great product.

The Shuttle LX1 is the perfect host for value-added semiconductor evaluation of DACs, ADCs, SERDES, communication, and interface devices. With the FrontPanel SDK, semiconductor manufactures can create a richer environment for their customers to evaluate devices. Customers can use the FrontPanel SDK and develop their own FPGA and software interfaces to truly engage the device under evaluation.

Whitepaper – Semiconductor Evaluation Leveraging COTS FPGAs and Connectors

General-Purpose FMC Carrier

The Opal Kelly Shuttle LX1, the world’s smallest FMC (LPC) carrier at 69mm x 50mm, is also great as a general-purpose FMC carrier for many FMC (LPC) devices available. Combining a Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA, high-speed USB 2.0, and the FrontPanel SDK makes FPGA configuration and PC/FPGA integration simple, reliable, and fast so your software can be communicating to standard FMC-based modules quickly.

Applications

  • Semiconductor evaluation and testing
  • Rapid hardware prototyping
  • Data acquisition
  • Student / hobbyist FPGA module
  • Custom test equipment
  • Test fixtures

Block Diagram

Shuttle LX1 Block Diagram

FrontPanel Virtual Interface

Virtual interface elements such as buttons, LEDs, and hex displays make cumbersome "I/O Boards" a thing of the past.

128-MiByte DDR2

Integrated 128-MiByte DDR2 provides plenty of on-board memory for high-performance applications, such as image capture and data acquisition.

 

Abundant I/O

78 I/Os and including GCLK and an adjustable voltage bank are available on the FMC (LPC) connector

Self-Powered

The Shuttle LX1 is a self-powered device and includes high-efficiency regulators to operate from a single 5-volt supply.

Shuttle LX1 Enclosure

For information on the optional enclosure, contact sales@opalkelly.com.

Features & Specifications

  • Xilinx Spartan-6 (XC6SLX16-2FGG)
  • Small form-factor -- at 69mm x 50mm, it is smaller than a credit card
  • High-speed USB 2.0 interface for configuration and communication
  • 128-MiByte DDR2 (Micron MT47H64M16HR)
  • Self-powered from a single 5-volt supply
  • Four FPGA-attached LEDs
  • Single FMC low-pin-count connector with Vadj support.
  • JTAG header
  • Full FrontPanel virtual control panel support
  • Transfer rates of up to 36 MBytes/second between the PC and FPGA
  • Complete Application Programmer's Interface (API) in C, C++, C#, Ruby, Python, and Java

Important Note: Firmware source code is not included with the Shuttle LX1.  Of course, full documentation on designing the Shuttle LX1 into your application is included.  Please see the Library items on this page.