FAQ

The XEM8350 features the AMD-Xilinx Kintex UltraScale (XCKU060-1FFVA) FPGA. It provides 2,760 DSP slices and extensive logic resources, serving as a compact integration module designed for high-performance system processing and ultra high-end data acquisition.

The XEM8350 employs two independent SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interfaces that support full-duplex operation. This configuration delivers measured real-world data transfer performance exceeding 600 MiB/s using the FrontPanel SDK, effectively doubling the bandwidth of single-interface modules.

The module includes 4 GiByte DDR4 SDRAM with a full 72-bit wide ECC-capable data interface. Non-volatile memory features include two 16 MiB SPI System Flash devices for firmware and a dedicated 32 MiB QSPI FPGA Flash for gateware boot configurations.

The XEM8350 is equipped with six SYZYGY ports (four Standard and two Transceiver TXR4) and three high-density Samtec mezzanine connectors. For high-speed serial connectivity, it features 28 GTH transceivers capable of operating at up to 16.375 Gb/s.

The board requires a single DC input between 5 V and 16 V. It is designed with anchors for an active fansink (FANSINK-40X40) that connects to an on-board controller for manual or automatic temperature-based control.

Engineers use the XEM8350 for custom 5G test equipment, automated protocol validation, and ASIC/hardware-based simulation. Its 28 high-speed transceivers and the FrontPanel SDK allow for high-fidelity signal analysis against complex serial standards.

Modules like the XEM8350 are frequently deployed for RADAR and LIDAR processing, satellite communications prototyping, and Electronic Warfare (EW) simulation. The Kintex UltraScale FPGA provides the parallel processing power needed for sophisticated real-time signal intelligence.

Yes, the high DSP count (2,760) and 4 GiB of ECC DDR4 make it an ideal FPGA co-processor for edge machine learning. It handles deterministic AI inference for high frame rate machine vision and real-time data analytics without host CPU bottlenecks.

The XEM8350 serves as a high-performance engine for high frame rate machine vision. It can process high-resolution image streams, performing hardware-accelerated feature detection and video processing in smart factory environments.

Research institutions worldwide choose Opal Kelly for stable, off-the-shelf USB-to-FPGA connectivity. This allows focus on breakthroughs in advanced photonics and SDR rather than building custom PC-to-FPGA interconnects.

The FrontPanel SDK is a trio of firmware, software, and hardware blocks that connect applications to FPGA hardware. It manages complex USB 3.0 communication automatically, reducing development risk and time to market.

The SDK supports Windows, Linux, and macOS. Supported languages include C, C++, C#, Ruby, Python, and Java, with integration support for MATLAB and LabVIEW.

• Wires: Periodic status and control signals.
• Triggers: Asynchronous event signals for handshaking.
• Pipes: High-speed synchronous bulk data transfers.
• Registers: Addressable read/write access to internal logic.

Developers can use the FrontPanel Application to create virtual control panels using industry-standard XML descriptions. FrontPanel 6 also supports browser-based platforms for JavaScript, HTML, and CSS apps.

1. HDL Design: Create logic in Vivado and integrate FrontPanel HDL IP blocks.
2. Software Integration: Use the SDK to define the data path between hardware and host.
3. Deployment: Use the FrontPanel Application for testing or build standalone executables.

JTAG pins are accessible through the expansion connectors. This allows real-time debugging and logic analysis (ILA) using the AMD Vivado Hardware Manager during integration.

Products are lifecycle managed with status updates: Production, Limited Production, and End-of-Life. Current updates are available at opalkelly.com/products/lifecycle.

Released on November 15, 2019, the XEM8350 is currently in Production. major Kintex UltraScale components have an estimated EOL of 2030.