Goepel supports PCI Express, Altera USB-Blaster
-- Test & Measurement World, 8/1/2006 4:27:00 AM
Goepel electronic has introduced the SFX/PCIe1149-(x) member of its ScanFlex boundary-scan hardware platform. The new family of ScanFlex controllers (SFX controller) provides a high-speed interface for PCI Express and consists of three modules in three performance classes. The company had previewed its PCI Express technology earlier this year. The company also announced that it has developed a new software option in its System Cascon software suite to support Altera's USB-Blaster.
“Because of its scalable architecture and extremely high performance, we view PCI Express as the standard PC bus system of the future,” explained Thomas Wenzel, managing director of Goepel electronic’s boundary scan product division. “This new controller family is a solution that combines the latest PC technology with the advantages of our market-leading hardware architecture ScanFlex. Our customers are now able to significantly increase productivity for board and system test as well as in-system programming of CPLD, FPGA, and flash. At the same time, PCI Express has the performance potential for new multifunction features we are going to implement very soon in terms of our philosophy of Extended Boundary Scan.”
The new controller family’s x1 configuration achieves transfer rates up to 264 MByte/s in zero-wait-state burst mode and is based on the PXI Express hardware specification 1.0a. In combination with additional modular ScanFlex components, such as ScanFlex TAP transceivers and ScanFlex I/O modules, PCI Express-controlled boundary-scan systems with up to eight Test Access Ports and 31 additional functional modules can be configured. All TAPs provide programmable input and output voltage and impedance, stepwise programmable TCK frequency, programmable delay compensation, read-back of the output signals, and a relay-controlled power signal. Furthermore, resources such as 32 dynamic I/O channels, two analog I/O channels, three static I/O channels, and trigger lines are standard features. All SFX controllers, SFX modules, and SFX TAP transceivers can be combined with each other, with cable lengths of five meters and more.
The company also announced that it has developed a new software option in its System Cascon software suite to support Altera's USB-Blaster download cable. The option enables the USB-Blaster download cable to be used as a native JTAG/boundary-scan controller throughout the entire product life cycle. Continued...
