FMC daughter card Fibre Channel

FMC daughter cards can provide high-speed fiber connectivity for FPGA prototyping, supporting multiple channels and protocols like Aurora, with data rates up to 10–28 Gb/s per channel.

Overview of FMC Daughter Cards

FMC (FPGA Mezzanine Card) daughter cards are modular I/O expansion boards that connect to FPGA carrier boards via standard FMC connectors (Vita 57.1 or 57.4). They allow designers to add high-speed serial interfaces, ADCs, DACs, or fiber channels without redesigning the main FPGA board . FMC+ (Vita 57.4) modules extend the number of serial transceivers, supporting up to 24 channels compared to 10 channels on standard FMC .

Fibre Channel and High-Speed Fiber Support

For Fibre Channel or similar high-speed optical applications, FMC daughter cards provide multiple fiber transmit and receive channels. For example, the FMC607-based card supports 12 receive and 12 transmit fiber channels, each capable of 10 Gb/s, and can operate in X4, X8, or X12 modes using the Aurora protocol . These cards are compatible with Xilinx FPGA development boards and can be adapted to other FPGA carriers with proper clocking and interface support.

Other FMC cards, like the FMC-QSFP, provide QSFP28 or SFP+ interfaces with data rates up to 27.8125 Gb/s per channel, enabling over 100 Gb/s per connector, suitable for high-performance computing, data centers, or networking applications . These cards can interconnect multiple FPGA boards for large-scale prototyping or high-bandwidth communication.

Key Features and Considerations

• Channel Count: Depending on the card, FMC modules can provide 10–24 serial transceivers or multiple fiber channels .
• Data Rates: Typical rates range from 10 Gb/s (FMC607) to 28 Gb/s per channel (FMC-QSFP), .
• Protocols: Aurora protocol is commonly used for FPGA-to-FPGA high-speed links; QSFP cards support Ethernet standards like 100GbE .
• Compatibility: FMC cards must match the carrier board standard (FMC/Vita 57.1 or FMC+/Vita 57.4) and voltage levels (VADJ) for proper operation .
• Applications: High-performance computing, data center interconnects, FPGA prototyping of ASICs, and low-latency trading systems .

Conclusion

FMC daughter cards provide a flexible and high-speed solution for adding fiber connectivity to FPGA systems. For Fibre Channel or similar optical applications, cards like the FMC607 or FMC-QSFP offer multiple channels, high data rates, and protocol support, making them suitable for HPC, networking, and FPGA prototyping environments. When selecting a card, ensure compatibility with the FPGA carrier board, required data rates, and the number of fiber channels needed for your application .