Technical Article

Presentation of HiRel Microprocessor Innovative Data Converter and SiP Solutions

June 13, 2019 by Roland R. Ackerman

This article highlights Teledyne e2v space microprocessors that enable increased on-board data processing and an increased Quality of Service.

During a press briefing in Grenoble, Laurent Monge, President and Site Director, Evelyne Tur and Thierry Bissuel, Business Unit Directors, and colleagues gave an interesting update of the data and signal processing as well as the integrated microelectronics offerings of Teledyne e2v.

Teledyne, founded in 1960, provides enabling technologies for industrial growth markets. The company with a revenue of around 2.9 billion USD and approximately 11,000 employees serves multiple markets that require advanced technology and high reliability. Business is growing through new technology development and acquisitions; e2v in Grenoble, France, founded in 1955, with an annual turn-over of around 140 M Euros and 400 employees (200 engineers) was acquired in March 2017 to create Teledyne e2v, which i.a. is a leading European competence center for System in Package (SiP) solutions.

Teledyne e2v’s innovations lead developments in healthcare, life sciences, space, transportation, defence and security and industrial markets. It is a world leader in reengineering and up-screening commercial technologies and has held a strategic partnership with NXP for over 30 years to develop space, military and industrial grade versions of NXPs commercial processors. With access to original test vectors, Teledyne e2v offers guaranteed extended reliability versions of a broad line of the QorIQ Power Architecture based portfolio and is developing solutions based on NXPs Layerscape Series.

 

Taking HiRel microprocessors to a higher standard

In 2015, Teledyne e2v has introduced Qormino, a common computer platform concept ideally suited for the aerospace and defence markets. In 2017, the first lead customers have successfully started their design on the first generation of Qormino. In 2019, leveraging on the success of its space microprocessors, the company will introduce two new disruptive space solutions for LEO and GEO environments (LS1046-Space and QLS1046-4GB-Space).

From the design up to the delivery of the first flight models, Teledyne e2v will continue to guarantee the highest level of quality and reliability for space customers and applications. Teledyne e2v recently has qualified and released the first upscreened processor from NXPs new Layerscape Series, the LS1046A, part of NXPs 64-bit Arm Layerscape portfolio that implements a quad-core Arm Cortex A72 design providing unparalleled performance in the smallest form factor possible while enabling access to the vast ecosystem of software services, applications and tools compatible with Arm technology.

The LS1046A from NXP is a 1.8GHz processor integrating packet processing acceleration with high-speed peripherals and is recognized for its high-performance architecture and market-leading compute density. Offering more than 45,000 CoreMarks of compute performance, paired with dual 10Gb Ethernet, PCIe Gen3, SATA

 

Laurent Monge, President and Site Director, Teledyne e2v
Laurent Monge, President and Site Director, Teledyne e2v

 

Gen3 it is suitable for a range of high reliability mil-aero applications. The Teledyne e2v military qualification of this device assures its functionality between -55°C and 125°C and is available in both RoHS and leaded packages. In addition, as part of Teledyne e2v’s Semiconductor Lifecycle Management program, SLiM, the lifetime of this device can be supported for 15+ years, avoiding common and costly obsolescence issues.

Processors produced in Grenoble are tailored to support PowerArchitecture (legacy) for the next decades; they are ready for the next steps with ARM based processors, facilitate make/buy decisions with Qormino Common Platform solutions and reduce time to market. Highlights of the Space Microprocessors, available in ceramic and in organic package solutions:

  • GHz class for compute intensive applications
  • Space portfolio with flight heritage
  • Radiation tolerant devices
  • De-risking the introduction of ARM Cortex A72 based solutions.

The next Space Microprocessors are to enable increased on-board data processing, a higher level of data selection, higher accuracy level of data transmitted, an increased Quality of Service, increased autonomy and increased observation capabilities – all at an equivalent level of reliability.

 

Data Converters Innovation Update

Having started in 1995, the company is now in its 3rd decade of GHz class data converters. Starting with the world first GHz class data converter 24 years ago, and followed by further world firsts since, Teledyne e2v has grown and kept working hard to deliver further historical landmarks in data conversion technology, such as:

  • First Ka-Band capable data converters, supporting ever-increasing higher signal and RF bandwidths.
  • First controlled synchronization of multiple data converters in antenna arrays.
  • ESIstream: An open source serial interface protocol, enabling controlled synchronization and other benefits.
  • Enabling array antennas with digital interface instead of RF on coaxial cables.

 

The product portfolio covers all bands – the Rx ADCs from base band through L and S to C band with the EV12AQ600 quad channel 6GSPS ADC leading this section, and the Tx DACs up to the Ka band, here with the EV12DD700 dual channel 12GSPS DAC with extended dynamic range in Ka as the newest and most innovative offering. Target applications of the portfolio are

Space Systems: High throughput comms satellites, telecommunication constellations, SAR radar imaging, GNSS systems, data links and telemetry, tracking and command.

Defence Systems: HTS military SatCom, SAR radar imaging from space, airborne SAR imaging, SAR/GMTI, EW and ECM.

Industrial Systems: Precision lab instruments, radar target simulator, industrial testing, telecom T&M, fiber optic sensing and LiDAR.

Telecom Systems: Microwave backhaul, microwave base station, Gigabit passive optical network and high frequency trading.

 

The innovations the company is working for, and their target markets are

  • Interstellar H2020 Update; project partner here is Fraunhofer Institut IIS – Erlangen, Germany;
  • Simplification of the RF signal chain with the goal to help system designers move RF hardware to the digital side;
  • Direct conversion up to Ka-Band without intermediate frequencies in L-, S-, C-, X-, Ku- and Ka-Band, opening ways to unprecedented frequency agility.
  • Evolutions of implementations of data converters: The way GHz class ADCs and DACs are implemented is changing significantly. Innovating in multi-ADC synchronization for antenna arrays, and setting the ground for distributed data converters in antennas – #ESIstream, #SYNC, #Ka-Band.
  • From old space to new space – supporting the evolutions of the space industry.

 

Teledyne e2v ́s areas of innovation and the resulting benefits to system designers are

a. More digitization of the RF domain – ensuring significant transition of RF circuitry from unflexible analog hardware to reconfigurable digital replacement, reduction of component counts and SWaP savings.

b. More frequency bands supported with direct conversion L-, S-, C-, X-, Ku- and Ka, resulting in removal of frequency conversion stages in RF systems plus no intermediate frequencies in the supported bands.

c. Simultaneous operation in multiple band, offering more possibilities to use the restricted available RF spectrum, more performance with increased bandwidths over several bands and better radar imagery with rich multi-bands sensing – from B&W to colour.

d. Enabling more flexibility – on-the-fly software reconfiguration of entire RF system for frequency of operation, beamforming. Flexibility on physical location of antenna elements, so distance no longer matters on fiber.

e. Enabling system simplification: RF hardware is done in the smallest possible form factor: digital code. Heavy RF harnesses of coaxial cable and waveguide to be replaced by digital data on fiber.

f. Enabling future architecture – array antennas with no RF interface, but digital interface on fiber.

 

Latest News

On April 8th this year, Teledyne e2v, Wind River and CoreAVI announced that they will provide key technologies for BAE Systems’ new mission computer. A mission computer is the central hub that processes all mission critical data on an aircraft: Receiving information from various external subsystems, it processes the data and presents it to the pilot on various displays in the cockpit.

The joint solution includes Wind River VxWorks RTOS running on Teledyne e2v Qormino Common Computer Platform, and CoreAVI supplying its temperature-screened AMD Embedded Radeon E8860 GPUs as well as its safety critical ArgusCore SC1 OpenGL1.0.1 graphics drivers. Qormino QT1040-4GB is a smart, small and powerful common computer platform from Teledyne e2v designed to respond to SWaP constraints (Size, Weight and Power). It combines a T1040 Quad PowerArchitecture e5500 core running at 1.4GHz, 4GB of DDR4 memory, on a custom Teledyne e2v substrate, with a 64-bit memory bus and 8 bits of ECC (Error Correction Code), and will run VxWorks on BAE Systems’ platform.

 

About the Author

Roland R. Ackermann has been a technology journalist since 1957, covering electronics, engineering and manufacturing/automation. He has been a freelance journalist 1996, publishing work in Elektronik Journal, was editor in chief of Electronik Embedded System and verlagsweltMAGAZIN, and also wrote numerous articles in German and English publications and newspapers. He was a regular column writer in E&E Faszination Elektronik and is now a correspondent for Bodo's Power Systems. Ackermann holds talks at international venues, moderates panel discussions, and organizes events.

 

This article originally appeared in the Bodo’s Power Systems magazine.