AMD EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G

Overview

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G from AMD is a production-grade evaluation kit built around the XCVU9P-L2FLGA2104E Virtex UltraScale+ FPGA, delivering 2,586K logic cells, 6,840 DSP slices, 345.9 Mb on-chip memory, 120 × 16.3 Gb/s transceivers, and 832 user I/O pins - enabling high-bandwidth prototyping for 1+ Tb/s networking, data center acceleration, and integrated radar/early-warning systems.

For engineers reviewing the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G datasheet, pinout, applications, or equivalent options, this board provides validated hardware infrastructure for PCIe Gen3 x16, dual QSFP+ (28 Gb/s), FMC+ HSPC (24–28 Gb/s GTY), DDR4/RLDRAM3 memory subsystems, and clocking with SI5335A/SI5328C/Si570 - critical for timing-critical, high-throughput FPGA system validation.

Technical Context

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G implements a full-system FPGA development platform centered on the XCVU9P-L2FLGA2104E device in a 2104-pin FLGA package, supporting VCCINT = 0.85 V and featuring 120 GTY transceivers with PAM4-ready 16.3 Gb/s operation. It integrates dual 80-bit DDR4 (2.5 GB each) and dual 36-bit RLDRAM3 (4 MB total) memory interfaces with MIG-generated controllers.

Board-level connectivity includes PCIe Gen3 x16 endpoint, two QSFP+ cages, Samtec FireFly 4×28 Gb/s interface, VITA 57.4 FMC+ and VITA 57.1 FMC headers, and micro-B USB-to-UART bridges - all routed to validated I/O banks with impedance-controlled traces and reference clock distribution via SI5335A quad generator and SI5328C jitter attenuator.

Key Specifications

Availability

EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G is available at Aetrix Electronics and suitable for high-performance networking, radar/early-warning system prototyping, and data center accelerator development requiring stable component supply, long-term design-in support, and traceable sourcing of FPGA evaluation platforms.

Supply support for EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G includes scheduled delivery planning, volume procurement assistance, BOM continuity management, traceable sourcing, and lifecycle availability coordination for OEM customers, industrial embedded developers, connected-device designers, and electronics production programs.

Manufacturer

AMD is a global semiconductor company designing adaptive computing platforms including FPGAs, adaptive SoCs, GPUs, and CPUs - focused on performance-per-watt leadership across data center, AI, embedded, and edge applications.

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G belongs to AMD's Virtex UltraScale+ evaluation kit product line, engineered to accelerate system-level validation of high-bandwidth, low-latency FPGA designs targeting networking, defense radar, and compute-intensive infrastructure.

FAQ

What FPGA is used on the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G evaluation board?

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G features the XCVU9P-L2FLGA2104E Virtex UltraScale+ FPGA - a 2104-pin FLGA package device with 2,586K logic cells, 6,840 DSP slices, 345.9 Mb on-chip memory, and 120 GTY transceivers operating up to 16.3 Gb/s. This FPGA is factory-configured and fully supported by Vivado Design Suite.

Does the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G support PCIe Gen4 or only Gen3?

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G implements a PCIe Gen3 x16 endpoint interface, not Gen4. Its physical layer and board routing are validated for Gen3 signaling (8 GT/s), and the XCVU9P FPGA on the board does not support Gen4 transceivers. System-level PCIe speed is constrained by both FPGA capability and board layout compliance with Gen3 specifications.

Can the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G be used with Vitis software tools?

Yes, the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G is supported by the Vitis Unified Software Platform for embedded software development, system debugging, and running reference designs targeting the XCVU9P FPGA. Vitis requires a compatible Vivado tier license to compile RTL and access device-specific IP after the initial one-year Vivado CORE subscription expires.

What memory types and capacities are onboard the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G?

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G includes two 80-bit DDR4 interfaces (2.5 GB each), two 36-bit RLDRAM3 interfaces (4 MB total), 1 GB Quad SPI Flash for configuration storage, and an 8 Kb I²C EEPROM for board identification and calibration data - all directly connected to the XCVU9P FPGA with MIG-verified controller IP.

Is the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G compatible with the standard VCU118 design files and reference projects?

Yes, the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G shares identical FPGA, memory topology, clocking architecture, and I/O pinout with the standard EK-U1-VCU118-G kit. All official AMD reference designs, constraint files, and example projects for the VCU118 platform are directly applicable to the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G without modification.