User guide

Hardware guide

Hardware configuration

The AD57xx evaluation boards (EVAL-AD5780ARDZ, EVAL-AD5781ARDZ, or EVAL-AD5791ARDZ) connect to FPGA carrier boards through an Arduino shield connector. These evaluation boards provide the necessary connections for interfacing the precision, high-resolution DACs (AD5780, AD5781, AD5790, AD5791, AD5760) to various FPGA platforms.

Refer to the respective quickstart guides for the exact jumper and switch settings corresponding to your selected FPGA carrier and boot mode:

Power supply

The AD57xx evaluation boards feature on-board dual power supplies generated by ADP5070-based power circuits. Each board can also accept external linear power supplies through dedicated on-board connectors.

Refer to the specific evaluation board user guide for detailed power supply specifications, connector pinouts, and configuration options:

  • UG-2209 for the EVAL-AD5780ARDZ

  • UG-2225 for the EVAL-AD5781ARDZ and EVAL-AD5791ARDZ

Analog outputs

The AD57xx evaluation boards provide buffered analog output connections for the DAC through on-board output connectors. The DAC output signals are routed directly to external connectors, allowing connection to measurement equipment or downstream signal processing circuits.

Each evaluation board supports a wide bipolar output voltage range. Link options and jumper settings are provided for signal routing configuration. Refer to the evaluation board user guide and schematic for detailed information on output signal conditioning and optional filtering networks.

Digital interface

The digital interface uses the SPI serial protocol for device control and data transfer:

  • SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) for DAC register configuration and data loading (SDIN, SDO, SCLK, SYNC signals)

  • GPIO signals for LDAC, CLR, and RESET control

The Arduino shield connector provides access to all digital interface signals required for FPGA integration and system control.

Schematic, PCB Layout, Bill of Materials

Design files (schematics, PCB layout, and BOM) are available from the respective product pages:

Software guide

The evaluation board is supported by multiple software environments:

Linux Software

The AD57xx evaluation board is supported on FPGA carriers running Linux distributions. The board integrates with the IIO (Industrial I/O) subsystem, providing user-space applications for device control and data capture through standard Linux interfaces.

No-OS Software

For bare-metal or embedded applications, the AD57xx evaluation board can be controlled using the no-OS embedded software framework. This approach provides direct hardware control with minimal overhead, suitable for real-time applications and resource-constrained systems.

PC-Based Tools

The AD57xx can be evaluated using PC-based software tools including:

  • Scopy - graphical waveform generator and oscilloscope application

  • IIO Oscilloscope - advanced data acquisition and analysis tool

For a step-by-step walkthrough of connecting and using these tools with the AD57xx on various FPGA carriers, see the quickstart guides: