'Unprecedented performance' for pfft cores on an fpga

According to BEEAs nominated RF Engines (RFEL), the HyperSpeed Plus cores have been proven to process complex data streams in continuous real time at data rates in excess of 52GS/s for a 2048 point fft implemented on a Xilinx Virtex-6 fpga device. The cores are designed for applications where extreme processing speed is required within minimum silicon resources, such as wideband surveillance and scientific or test instrumentation. RFEL claims that, when coupled with the latest a/d converters, the HyperSpeed fft can analyse tens of GHz of bandwidth continuously in real time. The device has been architected to run on Xilinx fpgas with lengths from 32 to 128K point and with longer lengths available by request. Bit widths and internal memory partitioning are adjustable and the fft is backed up by a Matlab model used to verify operation and tune performance. John Summers, RFEL's ceo, pictured, said the speed increases from the previous HyperSpeed device were achieved via a combination of factors. "We constantly research and develop within our product range to extract the maximum possible performance from the very latest technology that the fpga vendors like Xilinx have to offer," Summers noted. "RFEL's detailed and extensive knowledge of the silicon resources of the target fpga, at the most detailed level, continues to give our product's designs the edge on our competitors' offerings. Importantly, these new cores were created within our tried and tested design flow, so that they are robust, reliable and flexible."