EVAL-AD9434-FMC

The EVAL-AD9434 is an evaluation board for the AD9434, single 12-bit ADC. This reference design provides all the support circuitry to operate devices in their various modes and configurations. It is designed to interface directly with the EVAL-SDP-H1 data capture card, allowing users to download captured data for analysis. The Visual Analog software package, which is used to interface with the device’s hardware, allows users to download captured data for analysis with a user-friendly graphical interface. The SPI controller software package is also compatible with this hardware and allows the user to access the SPI programmable features of the AD9434. The EVAL-AD9434 evaluation board is also supported on ZedBoard and ZC706 using ADI’s HDL infrastructure.

The AD9434 is a 12-bit monolithic sampling analog-to-digital converter (ADC) optimized for high performance, low power, and ease of use. The part operates at up to a 500 MSPS conversion rate and is optimized for outstanding dynamic performance in wideband carrier and broadband systems. All necessary functions, including a sample-and-hold and voltage reference, are included on the chip to provide a complete signal conversion solution. This reference design includes a data capture interface and the external DDR-DRAM interface for sample storage. It allows programming the device and monitoring its internal status registers. The board also provides other options to drive the clock and analog inputs of the ADC.

Features:

• Full-featured evaluation board for the AD9434

• SPI interface for setup and control

• External, on-board oscillator, or AD9517 clocking option

• Balun/transformer or amplifier input drive option

• LDO regulator or switching power supply options

• VisualAnalog® and SPI controller software interfaces

Applications:

• Wireless and wired broadband communications

• Cable reverse path

• Communications test equipment

• Radar and satellite subsystems

• Power amplifier linearization

Recommendations

People who follow the flow that is outlined, have a much better experience with things. However, like many things, documentation is never as complete as it should be. If you have any questions, feel free to ask on our EngineerZone forums, but before that, please make sure you read our documentation thoroughly.

To better understand the AD9434, we recommend using the EVAL-AD9434 evaluation board.

Table of contents

1. Using the evaluation board/full stack reference design that we offer:

   1. User guide - what you need to know about the evaluation board

   2. Prerequisites - what you need to get started with the setup

   3. Quick start guides:

      1. Using the ZC706/Zynq-7000 SoC

      2. Using the ZedBoard/Zynq-7000 SoC

   4. Configure an SD Card with Kuiper

   5. Linux Applications

      1. IIO Oscilloscope

2. Design with the AD9434

   • Block diagram

     • AD9434 product page

   • Resources for designing a custom AD9434-based platform software

     1. For Linux software:

        1. About the device driver:

           • AXI ADC HDL

           • AXI DMAC

        2. About the device tree:

           • Customizing the device tree on the target

     2. AD9434-FMC HDL project which you must use in your FPGA.

   • AD9434 data sheet

3. Evaluating the AD9434 analog-to-digital converter using SDP-H1

4. Help and Support

Block diagram

Warning

All the products described on this page include ESD (electrostatic discharge) sensitive devices. Electrostatic charges as high as 4000V readily accumulate on the human body or test equipment and can discharge without detection. Although the boards feature ESD protection circuitry, permanent damage may occur on devices subjected to high-energy electrostatic discharges. Therefore, proper ESD precautions are recommended to avoid performance degradation or loss of functionality. This includes removing static charge on external equipment, cables, or antennas before connecting to the device.