AMD EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J

Overview

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J 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 I/O pins for high-bandwidth prototyping in networking, radar, and data center acceleration.

For engineers reviewing the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J datasheet, pinout, applications, or equivalent options, this board provides validated hardware for PCIe Gen3 x16, dual QSFP+ (28 Gb/s), DDR4/RLDRAM3 memory subsystems, FMC+/FMC expansion, and Vivado Design Suite integration with device-locked licensing.

Technical Context

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J implements a full-system reference platform for the XCVU9P FPGA, integrating SI5335A quad clock generator, Si570 programmable LVDS clock, and SI5328C jitter attenuator to support deterministic timing across GTY transceivers, DDR4 PHYs, and PCIe endpoints.

It supports hierarchical configuration via onboard JTAG over USB, QSPI flash, and microSD card, with MSP430 system controller managing PMBus-based power sequencing, clock switching, and I²C bus arbitration for multi-rail FPGA core/vccint (0.85 V), vccaux, and vccbram domains.

Key Specifications

Availability

EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J is available at Aetrix Electronics and suitable for 1+ Tb/s networking infrastructure, real-time radar/early-warning systems, and FPGA-accelerated data center workloads requiring stable component supply and long-term design validation support.

Supply support for EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J 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 high-performance computing, adaptive SoC, and FPGA solutions for data center, AI, networking, and embedded applications.

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J belongs to AMD's Virtex UltraScale+ evaluation kit product line, engineered to accelerate development of high-throughput, low-latency systems leveraging FinFET-based FPGA fabric, hardened transceivers, and integrated memory controllers.

FAQ

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

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J features the XCVU9P-L2FLGA2104E Virtex UltraScale+ FPGA, configured with 2,586K logic cells, 6,840 DSP slices, 345.9 Mb of block RAM, and 120 GTY transceivers operating up to 16.3 Gb/s. This device is factory-installed and fully soldered onto the board, enabling immediate use with Vivado Design Suite.

Does the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J include software licenses?

Yes, the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J ships with a node-locked and device-locked Vivado Design Suite: Design Edition voucher valid for one year, specifically licensed for the XCVU9P FPGA on this board. The license covers RTL synthesis, implementation, and bitstream generation - no additional purchase is required for initial development.

What high-speed connectivity options does the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J support?

The EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J supports PCIe Gen3 x16 as an endpoint, two 28 Gb/s QSFP+ interfaces, a 4×28 Gb/s Samtec FireFly interface, and a VITA 57.4 FMC+ connector with 24 GTY transceivers. These interfaces are electrically validated and mapped to dedicated I/O banks on the XCVU9P FPGA for deterministic signal integrity.

How is power managed on the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J?

Power management on the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J is handled by an MSP430 microcontroller using PMBus protocol to sequence and monitor VCCINT (0.85 V), VCCAUX, VCCBRAM, and auxiliary rails. Real-time telemetry includes voltage, current, temperature, and fault status - accessible via I²C or UART debug interface.

Can the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J be used for DDR4 memory interface development?

Yes, the EK-U1-VCU118-ES1-G-J integrates two independent 80-bit DDR4 component memory interfaces, each supporting 2.5 GB capacity using five 256 Mb × 16 devices. These interfaces are pre-characterized with calibrated PHYs and include reference designs in Vivado for JEDEC-compliant operation at 2400 MT/s.