LimeSDR-PCIe v1.2 hardware description

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Draft

Introduction

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

Complete Development Kit Package

The LimeSDR-PCIe v1.2 board from full package showed in Figure 1.

Figure x. LimeSDR-PCIe v1.2


Development kit content:

  • LimeSDR-PCIe v1.2 board
  • USB stick containing following files:
    • Doc/ - Documentation files for LimeSDR-PCIe
    • Drivers/ - Windows drivers for LimeSDR-PCIe
    • Gateware/ - FPGA gateware related files for LimeSDR-PCIe v1.2
    • Gui/ - LimeSuiteGUI software and related files

LimeSDR-PCIe Board Key Features

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

LimeSDR-PCIe board features:

  • RF transceiver:
    • Lime Microsystems LMS7002M
  • FPGA Features
    • Cyclone IV GX (EP4CGX30CF23C7N) device in 484-pin FBGA
    • 29’440 logic elements
    • 1080 Kbits embedded memory
    • 80 embedded 18x18 multipliers
    • 4 general and 2 multipurpose PLLs
    • 4 high-speed transceivers
    • PCIe (PIPE) hard IP block
  • FPGA Configuration
    • JTAG mode configuration
    • Active serial mode configuration
    • Possibility to update FPGA gateware by using PCIe interface
  • Memory Devices
    • 2x 1Gbit (64M x 16) dual channel DDR2 SDRAM
    • 4Mbit flash for FPGA data
    • 64Mbit flash for FPGA gateware
    • 128Kb (16K x 8) EEPROM for LMS MCU firmware and 512Kb (64K x 8) LMS MCU data
  • Connections
    • PCI Express x4 (4 lanes)
    • Coaxial RF (U.FL) connectors
    • FPGA GPIO 2x8 (3.3V) headers
    • FPGA and JTAG connector
    • DC (12V) power jack and pinheader
    • FAN (12V) connector
  • Clock System
    • 30.72MHz ±250 ppb onboard VCTCXO
    • Possibility to lock VCTCXO to external clock or tune VCTCXO by onboard DAC
    • Programmable clock generator for the FPGA reference clock input or LMS PLLs
    • 100 MHz and 2x 50MHz crystal oscillators for FPGA
  • Board Size 68,9mm x 136,85mm

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

  • Cyclone IV device family, refer to Cyclone IV Device Handbook [link]
  • LMS7002M transceiver resources [link

LimeSDR-PCIe board overview

LimeSDR-PCIe board version 1.2 picture with highlighted major connections and components presented in Figure 1 and Figure 2. There are three connector types – data and debugging (PCIe, FPGA GPIO and JTAG), power (DC jack - optional) and high frequency (RF and reference clock). LimeSDR-PCIe board version 1.2 picture with highlighted components on top presented in Figure 1.

Figure x. LimeSDR-PCIe Development Board Top Connectors and Components


LimeSDR-PCIe board version 1.2 picture with highlighted components on bottom presented in Figure 2

Figure x. LimeSDR-PCIe Development Board Bottom Components


Board components description listed in the Table 1.

Table 1. Board components
Featured Devices
Board reference Type Description
IC1 FPRF Field programmable RF transceiver LMS7002M
IC8 FPGA Altera Cyclone IV GX (EP4CGX30CF23C7N) device in 484-pin FBGA
Miscellaneous devices onboard
IC14 IC Temperature sensor LM75
IC4, IC5, IC6, IC7 IC SPDT Switch
Configuration, Status and Setup Elements
J11 JTAG chain pinheader FPGA programming pinheader for Altera USB-Blaster download cable, 0.1” pitch
LEDS1 or LED1, LED4 Red-green status LEDs User defined FPGA indication dual colour (red – green) LEDs. LEDS1 if two TH LEDs with standoff or two SMD LEDs are populated.
LED5-LED8 Green status LEDs User defined FPGA indication green LEDs (LED3-LED6).
LED9 Green status LEDs Power indication
General User Input/Output
J12, J13 Pinheader 8 + 8 FPGA GPIOs, 0.05” pitch
J14 Pinheader 12V fan connection pinheader, 0.1” pitch
J18 Pinheader 12V internal power rail. Can be used to power external devices.
SW1 Switch 4 pole switch
Memory Devices
Board Reference Type Description
IC11, IC12 DDR2 memory 1Gbit (64M x 16) DDR2 SDRAM with a 16-bit data bus
IC2, IC3 EEPROM 128K (16K x 8) and 512K (64K x 8) EEPROMs for LMS7002 MCU firmware and data
IC15 EEPROM 128K (16K x 8) EEPROM for FPGA data
IC9, IC10 Flash memory 64Mbit Flash for FPGA configuration (only one is soldered).
Communication Ports
P1 PCIe connector PCI Express x4 connector
Clock Circuitry
XO1, XO2 VCTCXO Voltage Controlled, Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator (30.72MHz, only one is soldered).
IC20 IC Programmable clock generator (Si5351C) for the FPGA reference clock input and RF boards
IC19 IC Phase detector (ADF4002)
J15 U.FL connector RF connector for reference clock output
J16 U.FL connector RF connector for external reference clock input
IC18 IC DAC for TCXO (XO1 or XO2) frequency tuning
Power Supply
J17 DC input jack External 12V DC power supply (Optional)
J18 Pinheader External 12V DC power supply and internal main power rail

LMS7002M based connectivity

All LMS7002M RF transceiver signals are connected to FPGA Bank 8 (power rail: VDIO_LMS_FPGA; voltage: 2.5V-default or 3.3V). The interface and control signals are described below:

  • Digital Interface Signals: LMS7002 is using data bus LMS_DIQ1_D[11:0] and LMS_DIQ2_D[11:0], LMS_ENABLE_IQSEL1 and LMS_ENABLE_IQSEL2, LMS_FCLK1 and LMS_FCLK2, LMS_MCLK1 and LMS_MCLK2 signals to transfer data to/from FPGA. Indexes 1 and 2 indicate transceiver digital data PORT-1 or PORT-2. Any of these ports can be used to transmit or receive data. By default PORT-1 is selected as transmit port and PORT-2 is selected as receiver port. The FCLK# is input clock and MCLK# is output clock for LMS7002M transceiver. TXNRX signals sets ports directions. For LMS7002M interface timing details refer to LMS7002M transceiver datasheet page 12-13. [link].
  • SPI Interface: LMS7002M transceiver is configured via 4-wire SPI interface; FPGA_SPI0_SCLK, FPGA_SPI0_MOSI, FPGA_SPI0_MISO, FPGA_SPI0_LMS_SS.
  • I2C Interface: used access EEPROM memories for LMS7002M MCU firmware and data. I2C interface is using LMS_I2C_SCL, LMS_I2C_SDA signals.
  • Control Signals: these signals are used for optional functionality:
    • LMS_RXEN, LMS_TXEN – receiver and transmitter enable/disable signals.
    • LMS_RESET – LMS7002M reset.
Table x. RF transceiver (LMS7002) digital interface pins
Chip pin (IC1) Chip reference (IC1) Schematic signal name FPGA pin FPGA I/O standard Comment
AM24 xoscin_rx RxPLL_CLK - 2.5V (3.3V) Connected to 30.72 MHz clock
E5 xoscin_tx TxPLL_CLK - 2.5V (3.3V) Connected to 30.72 MHz clock
E27 RESET LMS_RESET A1 2.5V (3.3V)
U29 TXEN LMS_TXEN A7 2.5V (3.3V)
D28 SEN FPGA_SPI0_LMS_SS B1 2.5V (3.3V) SPI interface
C29 SCLK FPGA_SPI0_SCLK B3 2.5V (3.3V) SPI interface
F30 SDIO FPGA_SPI0_MOSI C1 2.5V (3.3V) SPI interface
F28 SDO FPGA_SPI0_MISO A3 2.5V (3.3V) SPI interface
D26 SDA LMS_I2C_SDA A2 (via R46) 2.5V (3.3V) Connected to EEPROMS
C27 SCL LMS_I2C_SCL G11 (via R51) 2.5V (3.3V) Connected to EEPROMS
AB34 MCLK1 LMS_MCLK1 K10 2.5V (3.3V)
AA33 FCLK1 LMS_FCLK1 H9 2.5V (3.3V)
V32 TXNRX1 LMS_TXNRX1 C3 2.5V (3.3V)
V34 RXEN LMS_RXEN C2 2.5V (3.3V)
Y32 ENABLE_IQSEL1 LMS_ENABLE_IQSEL1 D6 2.5V (3.3V)
AG31 DIQ1_D0 LMS_DIQ1_D0 D9 2.5V (3.3V)
AF30 DIQ1_D1 LMS_DIQ1_D1 B7 2.5V (3.3V)
AF34 DIQ1_D2 LMS_DIQ1_D2 H8 2.5V (3.3V)
AE31 DIQ1_D3 LMS_DIQ1_D3 C8 2.5V (3.3V)
AD30 DIQ1_D4 LMS_DIQ1_D4 C7 2.5V (3.3V)
AC29 DIQ1_D5 LMS_DIQ1_D5 C9 2.5V (3.3V)
AE33 DIQ1_D6 LMS_DIQ1_D6 H7 2.5V (3.3V)
AD32 DIQ1_D7 LMS_DIQ1_D7 G8 2.5V (3.3V)
AC31 DIQ1_D8 LMS_DIQ1_D8 E8 2.5V (3.3V)
AC33 DIQ1_D9 LMS_DIQ1_D9 G7 2.5V (3.3V)
AB30 DIQ1_D10 LMS_DIQ1_D10 F8 2.5V (3.3V)
AB32 DIQ1_D11 LMS_DIQ1_D11 E6 2.5V (3.3V)
U33 CORE_LDO_EN LMS_CORE_LDO_EN C4 2.5V (3.3V)
P34 MCLK2 LMS_MCLK2 M8 2.5V (3.3V)
R29 FCLK2 LMS_FCLK2 C5 2.5V (3.3V)
U31 TXNRX2 LMS_TXNRX2 A4 2.5V (3.3V)
R33 ENABLE_IQSEL2 LMS_ENABLE_IQSEL2 B6 2.5V (3.3V)
H30 DIQ2_D0 LMS_DIQ2_D0 G6 2.5V (3.3V)
J31 DIQ2_D1 LMS_DIQ2_D1 E5 2.5V (3.3V)
K30 DIQ2_D2 LMS_DIQ2_D2 A8 2.5V (3.3V)
K32 DIQ2_D3 LMS_DIQ2_D3 D7 2.5V (3.3V)
L31 DIQ2_D4 LMS_DIQ2_D4 D8 2.5V (3.3V)
K34 DIQ2_D5 LMS_DIQ2_D5 F6 2.5V (3.3V)
M30 DIQ2_D6 LMS_DIQ2_D6 C6 2.5V (3.3V)
M32 DIQ2_D7 LMS_DIQ2_D7 D4 2.5V (3.3V)
N31 DIQ2_D8 LMS_DIQ2_D8 A5 2.5V (3.3V)
N33 DIQ2_D9 LMS_DIQ2_D9 D5 2.5V (3.3V)
P30 DIQ2_D10 LMS_DIQ2_D10 B4 2.5V (3.3V)
P32 DIQ2_D11 LMS_DIQ2_D11 A6 2.5V (3.3V)

PCI Express connector

For data transfer LimeSDR–PCIe board has PCI express connector with four lanes. PCI express interface is implemented in FPGA. Pin connection and corresponding signal names are listed in Table 4.

Table x. PCIe connector pins
Connector pin Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
B5 PCIE_SMCLK A10 3.3V
B6 PCIE_SMDAT B10 3.3V
B11 PCIE_WAKEn G12 3.3V Signal is disconnected with not fitted R100 resistor
B14 PCIE_HSO0_P Y2 1.5-V PCML
B15 PCIE_HSO0_N Y1 1.5-V PCML
B19 PCIE_HSO1_P T2 1.5-V PCML
B20 PCIE_HSO1_N T1 1.5-V PCML
B23 PCIE_HSO2_P M2 1.5-V PCML
B24 PCIE_HSO2_N M1 1.5-V PCML
B27 PCIE_HSO3_P H2 1.5-V PCML
B28 PCIE_HSO3_N H1 1.5-V PCML
A11 PCIE_PERSTn H12 3.3V
A13 PCIE_REFCLK_P M11 HCSL
A14 PCIE_REFCLK_N N11 HCSL
A16 PCIE_HSI0_P V2 1.5-V PCML AC coupled
A17 PCIE_HSI0_N V1 1.5-V PCML AC coupled
A21 PCIE_HSI1_P P2 1.5-V PCML AC coupled
A22 PCIE_HSI1_N P1 1.5-V PCML AC coupled
A25 PCIE_HSI2_P K2 1.5-V PCML AC coupled
A26 PCIE_HSI2_N K1 1.5-V PCML AC coupled
A29 PCIE_HSI3_P F2 1.5-V PCML AC coupled
A30 PCIE_HSI3_N F1 1.5-V PCML AC coupled

SDRAM

LimeSDR-PCIe board has two 128MB (16bit bus) DDR2 SDRAM ICs (AS4C64M16D2-25BCN [link]) connected to double data rate pins on Cyclone IV GX 1.8V Bank 3, 4 and 5. RAM chips (IC11, IC12) are connected to separate memory controllers so RAM chips works in dual channel mode. The memory can be used for data manipulation at high data rates between transceiver and FPGA. Pin connection and corresponding signal names are listed in Table 5 and Table 6.

Table x. DDR2 memory (IC11 - DDR2_1 BOT_L) pins
RAM reference RAM pin Schematic signal name FPGA pin FPGA I/O standard Comments
A0 M8 DDR2_1_A0 W20 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A1 M3 DDR2_1_A1 AA19 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A2 M7 DDR2_1_A2 AA21 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A3 N2 DDR2_1_A3 AB19 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A4 N8 DDR2_1_A4 V21 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A5 N3 DDR2_1_A5 AB20 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A6 N7 DDR2_1_A6 W22 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A7 P2 DDR2_1_A7 AA20 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A8 P8 DDR2_1_A8 V22 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A9 P3 DDR2_1_A9 AB21 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A10 M2 DDR2_1_A10 AB17 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A11 P7 DDR2_1_A11 U22 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A12 R2 DDR2_1_A12 Y22 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
DQ0 G8 DDR2_1_DQ0 AB10 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ1 G2 DDR2_1_DQ1 AB14 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ2 H7 DDR2_1_DQ2 AB15 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ3 H3 DDR2_1_DQ3 Y13 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ4 H1 DDR2_1_DQ4 Y14 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ5 H9 DDR2_1_DQ5 W13 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ6 F1 DDR2_1_DQ6 W14 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ7 F9 DDR2_1_DQ7 W15 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ8 C8 DDR2_1_DQ8 AB18 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ9 C2 DDR2_1_DQ9 AA16 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ10 D7 DDR2_1_DQ10 AA18 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ11 D3 DDR2_1_DQ11 Y15 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ12 D1 DDR2_1_DQ12 Y16 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ13 D9 DDR2_1_DQ13 Y18 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ14 B1 DDR2_1_DQ14 Y19 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ15 B9 DDR2_1_DQ15 W17 SSTL-18 Class I
BA0 L2 DDR2_1_BA0 T20 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
BA1 L3 DDR2_1_BA1 R20 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
BA2 L1 DDR2_1_BA2 U20 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
CKE K2 DDR2_1_CKE T19 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
CK J8 DDR2_1_CK_P R9 SSTL-18 Class I Termination resistor R73
CK# K8 DDR2_1_CK_N T9 SSTL-18 Class I Termination resistor R73
WE# K3 DDR2_1_WEn V20 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
CAS# L7 DDR2_1_CASn P22 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
RAS# K7 DDR2_1_RASn T21 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
CS# L8 DDR2_1_CSn T22 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
ODT K9 DDR2_1_ODT R21 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
LDM F3 DDR2_1_DM0 R13 SSTL-18 Class I
UDM B3 DDR2_1_DM1 U15 SSTL-18 Class I
LDQS F7 DDR2_1_DQS0 T13 SSTL-18 Class I
LDQS# E8 DDR2_1_DQS0n - To GND via R76
UDQS B7 DDR2_1_DQS1 AA15 SSTL-18 Class I
UDQS# A8 DDR2_1_DQS1n - To GND via R77
VREF J2 VREF_DDR2 IC8 Banks 3, 4, 5 VREF
Table x. DDR2 memory (IC12 - DDR2_2 BOT_R) pins
RAM reference RAM pin Schematic signal name FPGA pin FPGA I/O standard Comments
A0 M8 DDR2_2_A0 M13 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A1 M3 DDR2_2_A1 P14 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A2 M7 DDR2_2_A2 M14 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A3 N2 DDR2_2_A3 T11 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A4 N8 DDR2_2_A4 N13 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A5 N3 DDR2_2_A5 N15 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A6 N7 DDR2_2_A6 M15 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A7 P2 DDR2_2_A7 M16 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A8 P8 DDR2_2_A8 P13 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A9 P3 DDR2_2_A9 P15 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A10 M2 DDR2_2_A10 R15 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A11 P7 DDR2_2_A11 N14 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
A12 R2 DDR2_2_A12 N17 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
DQ0 G8 DDR2_2_DQ0 AB4 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ1 G2 DDR2_2_DQ1 AB5 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ2 H7 DDR2_2_DQ2 AA6 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ3 H3 DDR2_2_DQ3 Y5 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ4 H1 DDR2_2_DQ4 Y6 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ5 H9 DDR2_2_DQ5 Y7 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ6 F1 DDR2_2_DQ6 W5 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ7 F9 DDR2_2_DQ7 W6 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ8 C8 DDR2_2_DQ8 AB6 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ9 C2 DDR2_2_DQ9 W9 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ10 D7 DDR2_2_DQ10 Y9 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ11 D3 DDR2_2_DQ11 AA9 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ12 D1 DDR2_2_DQ12 AB8 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ13 D9 DDR2_2_DQ13 W11 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ14 B1 DDR2_2_DQ14 Y11 SSTL-18 Class I
DQ15 B9 DDR2_2_DQ15 AA10 SSTL-18 Class I
BA0 L2 DDR2_2_BA0 AB13 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
BA1 L3 DDR2_2_BA1 AA13 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
BA2 L1 DDR2_2_BA2 AA4 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
CKE K2 DDR2_2_CKE T14 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
CK J8 DDR2_2_CK_P W4 SSTL-18 Class I Termination resistor R79
CK# K8 DDR2_2_CK_N Y4 SSTL-18 Class I Termination resistor R79
WE# K3 DDR2_2_WEn T15 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
CAS# L7 DDR2_2_CASn R19 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
RAS# K7 DDR2_2_RASn U14 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
CS# L8 DDR2_2_CSn AB11 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
ODT K9 DDR2_2_ODT W18 SSTL-18 Class I Active termination
LDM F3 DDR2_2_DM0 W7 SSTL-18 Class I
UDM B3 DDR2_2_DM1 W12 SSTL-18 Class I
LDQS F7 DDR2_2_DQS0 Y8 SSTL-18 Class I
LDQS# E8 DDR2_2_DQS0n - To GND via R82
UDQS B7 DDR2_2_DQS1 Y10 SSTL-18 Class I
UDQS# A8 DDR2_2_DQS1n - To GND via R83
VREF J2 VREF_DDR2 IC8 Banks 3, 4, 5 VREF

Low speed interfaces

LimeSDR-PCIe board low speed interfaces is presented in Figure 4. More detailed information is provided in the following sections.

Figure x. Low speed interfaces block diagram


Indication LEDs

LimeSDR-PCIe board comes with 6 indication LEDs which can be controlled from FPGA. By default, two of them (FPGA_LED1 and FPGA_LED2) are trough-hole dual colour LEDs and are mounted on the back edge of the board using right-angle plastic holder. The remaining four LEDs (FPGA_LED3 to FPGA_LED6) are SMD single green colour LEDs. There is one SMD single green colour LED named VDD3P3_PWR which is hardwired to VCC3P3 power rail and lit up whenever the board is powered on.

Figure x. LimeSDR-PCIe indication LEDs
Table x. User defined LEDs connections
Board label Schematic reference Colour Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
FPGA_LED1 LEDS1 (LED1) Red/green FPGA_LED1_R E20 3.3V LEDS1 - trough-hole

LED1 - optional SMD

FPGA_LED1_G H21 3.3V
FPGA_LED2 LEDS1 (LED4) Red/green FPGA_LED2_R G21 3.3V LEDS1 - trough-hole
LED4 - optional SMD
FPGA_LED2_G G20 3.3V
FPGA_LED3 LED5 Green FPGA_LED3 K20 3.3V
FPGA_LED4 LED6 Green FPGA_LED4 K19 3.3V
FPGA_LED5 LED7 Green FPGA_LED5 K22 3.3V
FPGA_LED6 LED8 Green FPGA_LED6 H20 3.3V
VDD3P3_PWR LED9 Green - - Power LED

SPI interfaces

LimeSDR-PCIe board has four SPI interfaces with their own slave devices:

  • Flash for FPGA gateware: Flash memory (IC9 or IC10) is used to store FPGA gateware.
Table x. FPGA configuration flash interface pins
Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
FPGA_AS_DCLK D3 3.3V
FPGA_AS_ASDO D1 3.3V
FPGA_AS_DATA0 K4 3.3V
FPGA_AS_NCSO J4 3.3V SPI flash slave select
  • RFIC: RFIC is connected to FPGA_SPI0.
Table x. FPGA SPI0 interface pins
Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
FPGA_SPI0_SCLK B3 2.5V (3.3V)
FPGA_SPI0_MOSI C1 2.5V (3.3V)
FPGA_SPI0_MISO A3 2.5V (3.3V)
FPGA_SPI0_LMS_SS B1 2.5V (3.3V) IC1 (LMS7002) SPI slave select
  • Phase detector and DAC: phase detector with VCTCXO DAC are connected to FPGA_SPI1.
Table x. FPGA SPI1 interface pins
Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
FPGA_SPI0_SCLK B3 2.5V (3.3V)
FPGA_SPI0_MOSI C1 2.5V (3.3V)
FPGA_SPI0_MISO A3 2.5V (3.3V)
FPGA_SPI0_LMS_SS B1 2.5V (3.3V) IC1 (LMS7002) SPI slave select
  • Flash memory: flash memory is connected to FPGA_SPI2.
Table x. FPGA SPI2 interface pins
Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
FPGA_SPI2_SCLK J19 3.3V
FPGA_SPI2_MOSI H22 3.3V
FPGA_SPI2_MISO J21 3.3V
FPGA_SPI2_FLASH_SS J22 3.3V FPGA flash (IC13) slave select

I2C interfaces

Board has two independent I2C interfaces: FPGA_I2C and LMS_I2C.

  • FPGA_I2C: this interface has several slave devices temperature sensor, EEPROM and clock generator. Information for slave devices are provided in Table 12, signal connectivity information is in Table 13.
Table x. xx
2C slave device Slave device I2C address I/O standard Comment
IC14 Temperature sensor 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 RW 3.3V LM75
IC15 EEPROM 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 RW 3.3V M24128
IC20 Clock generator 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 RW 3.3V Si5351C


Table x. xx
Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
FPGA_I2C_SDA G16 3.3V
FPGA_I2C_SCL G17 3.3V
  • LMS_I2C: this interface has two EEPROMs. In Table 14 are listed all LMS_I2C slave devices and their information.
Table x. xx
I2C slave device Slave device I2C address I/O standard Comment
IC2 EEPROM for LMS7 MCU firmware 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 RW 3.3V M24128
IC3 EEPROM 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 RW 3.3V 24FC512

LMS_I2C interface (LMS_I2C_SCL, LMS_I2C_SDA) is connected via 0R resistors to FPGA pins for debugging purposes, see Table 15.

Table x. xx
Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
LMS_I2C_SCL G11 2.5V (3.3V) 0R resistor R51
LMS_I2C_SDA A2 2.5V (3.3V) 0R resistor R46

FPGA Switch

4 poles slide switch SW1 is connected to FPGA. Each switch line has external pull up resistors. When switch is in position “On”, it pulls down the line.

Figure x. FPGA switches
Table x. FPGA Switch connections
Switch pole Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard
1 FPGA_SW0 D22 3.3V
2 FPGA_SW1 E21 3.3V
3 FPGA_SW2 E22 3.3V
4 FPGA_SW3 G22 3.3V

RF loopback control

LimeSDR-PCIe v1.2 board contains RF loopback switches (IC4, IC5, IC6, IC7) for LMS7002M which are controlled from FPGA. By using loopback switches RF path TX1_2 can be connected to RX1_H and TX2_2 to RX2_H.

Table x. FPGA Switch connections
Loopback path Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard
TX1_2 TX1_2_LB_L A22 3.3V
TX1_2_LB_H A21 3.3V
TX1_2_LB_SH B20 3.3V
TX2_2 TX2_2_LB_L B22 3.3V
TX2_2_LB_H B21 3.3V
TX2_2_LB_SH C22 3.3V

FPGA GPIO connectors

There are J12 and J13 connectors (pinheaders) there 8 + 8 FPGA GPIOs are connected (3.3V IO compatible) with GND and power pins (3.3V). In Table 18 are listed connector J12 pins and in Table 19 are listed connector J13 pins, corresponding FPGA pins and other information.

Table x. FPGA GPIO connector (J12) pins
Connector pin Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
1 FPGA_GPIO0 B12 3.3V
2 FPGA_GPIO1 C16 3.3V
3 FPGA_GPIO2 B15 3.3V
4 FPGA_GPIO3 B13 3.3V
5 FPGA_GPIO4 A15 3.3V
6 FPGA_GPIO5 B16 3.3V
7 FPGA_GPIO6 A17 3.3V
8 FPGA_GPIO7 A16 3.3V
9 GND - Ground
10 VCC3P3 - Power net (3.3V)
Table x. FPGA GPIO connector (J13) pins
Connector pin Schematic signal name FPGA pin I/O standard Comment
1 FPGA_GPIO8 G15 3.3V
2 FPGA_GPIO9 G14 3.3V
3 FPGA_GPIO10 D14 3.3V
4 FPGA_GPIO11 D15 3.3V
5 FPGA_GPIO12 C14 3.3V
6 FPGA_GPIO13 C15 3.3V
7 FPGA_GPIO14 C12 3.3V
8 FPGA_GPIO15 C13 3.3V
9 GND - Ground
10 VCC3P3 - Power net (3.3V)

Board temperature control

LimeSDR-PCIe has integrated temperature sensor which can control FAN to keep board in operating temperature range. FAN must be connected to J14 (0.1” pitch) connector. FAN control voltage is 12V. Fan will be turned on if board will heat up to 55°C and FAN will be turned off if board will cool down to 45°C. FAN control temperature range is set by FPGA.

Figure x. FAN control temperature hysteresis


Temperature sensor output (LM75_OS) is connected to FPGA pin K14. FAN MOSFET can be controlled from FPGA pin K13 (FAN_CTRL). More detailed information about FAN control is presented in Figure 4. Measured temperature value can be read by using LMS7suite .

Clock Distribution

LimeSDR-PCIe board clock distribution block diagram is presented in Figure 8.

Figure x. LimeSDR-PCIe board clock distribution block diagram


LimeSDR-PCIe board has onboard 30.72 MHz ±250 ppb VCTCXO that is reference clock for LMS_PLLs. See block diagram of the clock distribution system in Figure 8.

VCTCXO can be tuned by onboard phase detector (IC19, ADF4002 [link]) or by DAC (IC18). The onboard phase detector is used to synchronize onboard VCTCXO with external equipment (via J16 U.FL connector) to calibrate frequency error. At the same time only ADF or DAC can control VCTCXO. DAC and ADF is controlled by FPGA and selection between ADF and DAC is done automatically. When board is powered, by default VCTCXO is controlled by DAC.

J16 connector (REF_CLK_IN) can also be used to supply external reference clock (fitting R117, removing R107, C345).

J15 connector (REF_CLK_OUT) can be used to feed clock to another board for synchronization purposes. For this purpose R121 resistor has to be fitted.

The programmable clock generator (IC20, Si5351C [link]) can generate any reference clock frequency, starting from 8 kHz – 160 MHz, for FPGA and LMS PLLs.

How to configure clocks using LMS7Suite read in chapter 7.4 Clock configuration.

Table x. LimeSDR-PCIe clock pins
Source Schematic signal name I/O standard FPGA pin Description
Programmable clock generator (IC20) SI_CLK0 2.5V (3.3V) M7
SI_CLK1 2.5V (3.3V) N7
SI_CLK2 2.5V (3.3V) N8
SI_CLK3 2.5V (3.3V) J10
SI_CLK4 3.3V - Can be used as reference clock
SI_CLK6 3.3V L22
Clock buffer (IC16) LMK_CLK 3.3V B9 Reference clock (30.72 MHz)
RF transceiver (IC1) LMS_MCLK1 2.5V (3.3V) K10
LMS_FCLK1 2.5V (3.3V) H9
LMS_MCLK2 2.5V (3.3V) M8
LMS_FCLK2 2.5V (3.3V) C5
FPGA (IC8) FPGA_CLK_OUT 3.3V C18 Can be used as reference clock

Power Distribution

LimeSDR-PCIe board power distribution block diagram is presented in Figure 9.

Figure x. LimeSDR-PCIe board power distribution block diagram


LimeSDR-PCIe board is powered from PCIe port (12V). Switching and linear regulators are used to make other required voltages.

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