EVALUATING THE AD6688 RF DIVERSITY and 1.2 GHz BANDWIDTH OBSERVATION RECEIVER
Preface
This user guide describes the AD6688-3000EBZ evaluation board which provides all of the support circuitry required to operate the ADC in its various modes and configurations. This guide entails both the hardware and software setup needed to acquire data capture from the evaluation board. This guide assumes the usage of the accompanying ADS7-V2 EBZ High Speed Evaluation Board. The user guide for the ADS7-V2 provides additional information available for consultation during usage. Documents and software tools, where available, can be found at the HS-ADC Eval Board homepage. For additional information or questions, post a question on Engineer Zone, or send an email to highspeed.converters@analog.com.
Typical Setup
Tip: Click on any picture in this guide to open an enlarged version.
Tip: The AD6688-3000EBZ is the export-controlled version of the
AD9208-3000EBZ. To see the wiki page for the 9208, click
here.
Features
-
JESD204B coded serial digital outputs with support for lane rates up to 16Gbps/lane.
Wide full power bandwidth supports IF sampling of signals up to 9GHz (-3dB point).
Four Integrated wide-band decimation filter and NCO blocks supporting multi-band receivers.
Fast NCO switching enabled through
GPIO pins.
Flexible
SPI interface controls various product features and functions to meet specific system requirements.
Programmable fast over range detection and signal monitoring.
On-chip temperature diode for system thermal management.
Helpful Documents
Software Needed
ACE ,
Analysis | Control | Evaluation (ACE) Software
Design and Integration Files
Equipment Needed
Getting Started
This section provides quick start procedures for using the AD6688 evaluation board.
Connector Layout
Warning: The AD6688-3000EBZ is Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) sensitive. Handle the device with care, and employ conducting wrist straps or antistatic bags when handling the board.
Configuring the Board
Before using the software for testing, configure the evaluation boards as follows:
Before connecting the AD6688 to the ADS7-V2, jump the following pins: P304, P305, P307, P308, P309, P311, and P312. Do not jump P7 (Temperature Sensor Enable) or P100 (Power Down / Standby). Jump P401 towards the inside of the board, to power the board via FMC. See Figure 6 for all jumper connections.
Ensure that the data capture board is switched to “OFF.” (
S1 on the data capture board) Connect the evaluation board to the data capture board via the FMC connector found on the underside of the board, as shown in Figure 1. Connect the power supply and
USB cable to the data capture board.
-
The
ADS7-V2EBZ should appear in the Device Manager as shown in Figure 7.
If the Device Manager does not show the
ADS7-V2EBZ listed as shown in Figure 7, unplug all
USB devices from the PC, uninstall and re-install ACE and restart the hardware setup from step 1.
On the AD6688 evaluation board, provide a clean, low jitter 3
GHz clock source to connector
J201 (preferably via a shielded RG-58 50 Ω coaxial cable) and set the amplitude to
10 dBm. This is the ADC Sample Clock.
On the ADS7-V2, provide a clean, low jitter clock source to connector
J3 and set the amplitude to
10 dBm. This is the Reference Clock for the gigabit transceivers in the FPGA. The REFCLK frequency can be calculated using the following empirical formulae:
bps/lane, where
(Default Nprime = 16; DCM = Chip Decimation Ratio (DCM = 1 for Full Bandwidth Mode); M = Virtual Converters; L = Lanes)
On the AD6688 evaluation board, connect a clean signal generator with low phase noise to J101 or J104 via coaxial cable for channels A and B respectively. It is recommended to use a narrow-band, band-pass filter with 50 Ω terminations and an appropriate center frequency.
ACE Setup
Download and install
ACE if it is not already installed.
The AD6688 ACE plug-in can be found under the
AD6688 Evaluation Board Software Section or through ACE's Plug-In Manager
(Tools → Manage Plug-Ins).
Tip: Some browsers (Such as Internet Explorer) may save the file as a .zip file instead of an .acezip file. If this happens, simply download and rename the file with an .acezip file extension.
Once the .acezip file has been downloaded from the Analog Devices website, right click on it and install the plug-in, or double click to install.
Click Start → All Programs → Analog Devices → ACE → ACE.
The AD6688 plug-in should appear as in Figure 8. If the AD6688 plug-in does not appear, or no board is detected, make sure the
ADS7-V2 is powered on and the evaluation board is properly connected. Make sure that ACE has been updated to the most recent version and the necessary plug-ins have been installed.
Figure 8. ACE - AD6688 Plug-in
Note: Differences may occur between ACE plug-in versions, including the version number seen in Figure 8 above or components in any of the other images below - however, these will not affect the performance of the part nor the fundamental features described in this user guide.
In the
Attached Hardware section, double-click the evaluation board icon that will directed to the
Board View as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9. ACE - AD6688 Board View
In the
Board View section, double-click the
AD6688 icon and it will direct you to the
Chip View that will automatically program the FPGA.
Figure 10. ACE - AD6688 Chip View
Warning: Programming the FPGA will power the AD6688 evaluation board via the FMC connector. Removing any of the board's power jumpers (as seen in Figure 6) while the board is on or in operation may cause damage to the board, board components, and/or the chip. Removing the board while it is being powered via the FMC connector may also cause damage to the board.
Obtaining a Full Bandwidth Capture
Tip: The AD6688-3000EBZ is the export-controlled version of the
AD9208-3000EBZ. Because of this, the AD6688-3000EBZ is only able to operate in 7-bit mode for full bandwidth captures. To take full captures with the AD6688-3000EBZ, see
the section below on DDCs. To see the 14-bit full bandwidth operation, see
the page for the 9208.
Obtaining a DDC Capture
This section explains the steps needed to setup the AD6688-3000EBZ in a
DDC (Decimal Down Converter) setup as shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11. AD6688 DDC Setup Block Diagram
Under Initial Configuration, set the Chip Operating Mode for
two DDCs. The DDC settings will become available, and automatically set up for Decimate-by-4 mode. For the decimation, select
HB1_HB2_HB3 Complex - three half-band filters, i.e. Decimate-by-8. Set the number of
lanes (L) to 4, the number of
converters (M) to 4, and the number of
Octets per Frame (F) to 2. Click
Apply.
Figure 12. AD6688 - Initial Configuration Settings
The chip view will update to reflect the changes made to the board. If any changes are made, the chip can be read by clicking the
Read All button. Then, the device view will be as shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13. AD6688 - Device View
Issue a data path reset to the AD6688 by clicking its checkbox and clicking
Apply Changes. The data path reset bit will automatically self clear. Note: Both the
PLL Locked and
PLL Lock Lost will turn green. Sequence is shown below.
Figure 14. AD6688 - Data Path Reset Sequence
To reset the
PLL Lock Lost, reset the JESD204B link by clicking the
Link Control dropdown box and choose
JESD204Bx Serial Transmit Link Powered Down. Click
Apply Changes.
Figure 15. AD6688 - JESD204B Serial Link Power Down Sequence
To enable the JESD204B link again, click the
Link Control dropdown box and choose
JESD204x Serial Transmit Link Enabled. Click
Apply Changes. Note:
PLL Lock Lost indicator should be unlit after the applied changes.
Figure 16. AD6688 - JESD204B Serial Link Enable Sequence
Set to
DDC 0 Block and click the
NCO block to change the NCO frequency to
455 MHz, DDC mixer to
Real Mixer, and DDC gain to
6dB from the dropdown menu. Click
Apply Changes.
Figure 17. AD6688 - NCO Frequency and DDC Gain Setting for DDC 0 Block
Navigate to the
second DDC (DDC1) and make the same changes.
Figure 18. AD6688 - DDC Block Selection
After setting the changes for DDC0 and DDC1, and for JESD204B Link, on the Device View, click
Proceed to Analysis.
Figure 19. AD6688 - Proceed to Analysis
On the
Analysis section, uncheck the
Waveform and check the
FFT box.
Figure 20. AD6688 - Analysis Section
Tip: Capturing data using another program (
e.g. VisualAnalog, proprietary code, etc.) while using ACE concurrently may cause errors in ACE's data capture. If this occurs, the best solution is to restart the evaluation boards and work solely via ACE, or to setup the part in ACE then capture solely in the other program.
Click the
Run Once. A successful capture is shown below, with a filtered 400
MHz at -2
dBFS signal inputted on Channel A/DDC0.
Figure 21. AD6688 - FFT Results of 400MHz Input in Channel A.
Troubleshooting Tips
EVALUATION BOARD ISN'T FUNCTIONING PROPERLY
It is possible that a board component has been rendered inoperable by
ESD, removing a jumper during powered operation, accidental shorting while probing, etc. Try checking the supply domain voltages of the board while it is powered. They should be as follows:
Domain | Jumper | Test Point | Approx. Voltage |
AVDD_1 | P307 | TP303 | 0.975 V |
AVDD_2 | P308 | TP304 | 1.90 V |
AVDD_3 | P309 | TP305 | 2.50 V |
DRVDD_1 | P304 | TP301 | 0.975 V |
DRVDD_2 | P311 | TP306 | 1.90 V |
DVDD | P305 | TP302 | 0.975 V |
SPI_VDD | P312 | TP307 | 1.90 V |
If a short is detected between any of the supply domains and ground, or an open is detected across fuse chip F401 (next to P401), a component may have been damaged. This may have occurred from jumper or board removal while being actively powered (See the warning in the
ACE Setup section). See the
Design Integration Files section for the schematic and/or bill of materials for the relevant components to test and/or replace.
EVALUATION BOARD IS NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE ADS7-V2 / NO SPI COMMUNICATION
Make sure that the FPGA on the
ADS7-V2 has been programmed - a lit LED
DS15 (FPGA_DONE) on the top of the
ADS7-V2 and a powered fan are good indicators of the FPGA being programmed.
Check the common mode voltage on the JESD204B traces. On the evaluation board, the common mode voltage should be roughly two-thirds of DRVDD_1. On the
ADS7-V2, the common mode voltage should be around 1.2 volts.
Check
Test Point 307 - test point for the
SPI_VDD supply domain, jumper P312 - and make sure it is around 1.9 volts.
To test
SPI operation, attempt to both read and write to
register 0x000A using ACE's Register Debugger (see Figure 23). This register is an open register available for testing memory reads and writes. If the value written to this register does not reset after writing it,
SPI is operational.
All registers reading back as either all ones or all zeros (
i.e., 0xFF or 0x00) may indicate no
SPI communication.
Register 0x0000 (
SPI Configuration A) reading back 0x81 in ACE may indicate no
SPI communication as a result of the FPGA on the ADS7-V2 not being programmed.
EVALUATION BOARD FAILS TO CAPTURE DATA
Ensure that the board is functioning properly, and that
SPI communication is successful - see previous troubleshooting tips.
Check the Clock Detect register 0x011B to see if the inputted clock is being detected. 0x01 indicates detection, 0x00 indicates no clock detected. Check the signal generator inputting on connector J201. Try checking the common mode voltage on the clock pins, which should be roughly two-thirds of AVDD_1. Try placing a differential oscilloscope probe on the clock pins to see if the clock signal is reaching the chip.
Check the
PLL Locked indicator (see Figure 16) or
register 0x056F (PLL Status). If the light is green / if the register reads back 0x80, the
PLL is locked. If it is not locked:
Check the clock being inputted to connector J201 (in this guide, 3
GHz).
Check the JESD settings under the Initial Configuration. Reference the AD6688 datasheet for supported lane options.
Check the reference clock and make sure it matches your JESD settings.
Make sure P100 (Power Down / Standby Jumper, see Figure 6) is not jumped.