LimeSDR-QPCIe v1.2 hardware description

Introduction

LimeSDR-QPCIe is low-cost software defined radio board based on Lime LMS7002M Field Programmable Radio Frequency (FPRF) transceiver and Altera Cyclone V PFGA, through which apps can be programmed to support any type of wireless standard, e.g. UMTS, LTE, LoRa, GPS, WiFi, Zigbee, RFID, Digital Broadcastimng, Radar and many more.

LimeSDR-QPCIe Board Key Features

The LimeSDR-QPCIe development board provides a hardware platform for developing and prototyping high-performance and logic-intensive digital and RF designs using Altera’s Cyclone V FPGA and Lime Microsystems transceiver.

Figure 1. LimeSDR-QPCIe v1.2 board

For more information on the following topics, refer to the respective documents:

• Cyclone V device family, refer to Cyclone V Device support resources link
• LMS7002M transceiver resources link

LimeSDR-QPCIe v1.2 board features:

• USB Interface
  • Cypress FX3 Super Speed USB 3rd generation controller
• FPGA Features
  • Cyclone V, 5CGXFC7D7F31C8N device in 896-pin FBGA package
  • 150’000 logic elements
  • 6860 Kbits embedded memory
  • 312 embedded 18x18 multipliers
  • 7 PLLs
  • 9 Transceivers (2.5Gbps)
  • PCIe Hard IP Blocks
  • 2 Hard Memory Controllers

• FPGA Configuration
  • JTAG mode configuration
  • Active serial mode configuration
  • Possibility to update FPGA gateware by using FX3 (USB)
  • Possibility to update FPGA gateware by using PCIe interface.

• RF
  • 2x LMS7002M, FPRF transceivers
  • Onboard RSSI measurement circuits
  • Onboard loopback control switches

• DACs and ADCs
  • 2x DAC5672A, dual, 14-bit, Digital-To-Analog converters
  • 1x ADS424, Dual-Channel, 14-bit, Analog-To-Digital converter

• Memory Devices
  • 4 x 2Gbit DDR3 SDRAM (128M x 16)
  • 4Mbit flash for FX3 firmware
  • 128Mbit flash for FPGA gateware
  • 2 x 128Kbit and 2 x 512Kbit EEPROMs for LMS MCU firmware, LMS MCU data
  • 1 x 128K EEPROM for FX3 or FPGA data

• Connections
  • microUSB3.0 (type B) connector
  • PCIe x4 edge connector (Gen1)
  • Coaxial RF (U.FL) connectors
  • 2x PMOD header (0.1” pitch)
  • FPGA (0.1” pitch) and FX3 (0.05” pitch) JTAG connectors
  • 12V DC power jack and pinheader
  • LVDS connector (0.05” pitch)
  • Fan connector (12V/5V)
  • PCIe 6-pin power connector
  • Holder for coin cell CR1220 battery

• Clock System
  • 30.72MHz VCTCXO (precision: ±1 ppm initial, ±4 ppm stable).
  • Possibility to lock VCTCXO to external clock using ADF4002 or tune VCTCXO by onboard DAC (AD5662)
  • Programmable clock generator for the FPGA reference clock input or LMS PLLs
  • VCTCXO clock output for external device synchronization.
  • 1x 100 MHz, 4 x 125MHz crystal oscillators for FPGA

• Miscellaneous devices
  • LM75 Digital temperature sensor with 2-Wire Interface.
  • DS3231 real-time clock.
  • M0578-A3 GPS/GNSS module receiver

• Board Size 190mm x 106.7mm (7.48” x 4.20”)

LimeSDR-QPCIe Board Overview

LimeSDR-QPCIe board version 1.2 picture with highlighted major connectors presented in Figure 2. There are three connector types – data and debugging (PCIe, USB3.0, PMOD, LVDS and JTAG), power (DC jack and external supply pinheaders) and high frequency (RF and reference clock).

///////////// Figure 2 LimeSDR-QPCIe v1.2 Development Board Connectors

Board components description listed in the Table 1 and Table 2.