Introduction
The Xilinx XC7K70T-2FBG484i is a mid-range Kintex-7 series field programmable gate array (FPGA) by Xilinx featuring high performance, low power consumption and abundant resources for implementing digital circuits and systems.
This article provides an overview of the XC7K70T FPGA including:
- Architecture and internal structure
- Available resources and specs
- Pinout and package details
- Applications and use cases
- Design considerations
- Comparison with other Xilinx FPGAs
Understanding the capabilities and design factors for this versatile Kintex-7 FPGA enables leveraging it efficiently in various embedded, networking, industrial, automotive and interfacing applications needing programmable logic.
XC7K70T FPGA Architecture
The Xilinx XC7K70T belongs to the high performance mid-range Kintex-7 family built on a 28nm fabrication process. The FPGA architecture consists of:
Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs)
- Basic logic building blocks for implementing logic and arithmetic functions
- Slice based architecture with two LUTs and two flip-flops per slice
- 217,600 CLB slices, each with four 6-input LUTs and 8 flip-flops
Block RAM (BRAM)
- 1020 dual-port 36 Kb block RAMs for on-chip data storage
- Total 36.7 Mb memory
- Configurable as single or dual-port RAM or ROM
DSP Slices
- 360 DSP slices with 25 x 18 multipliers and 48-bit accumulators
- High performance signal processing
Clock Management Tiles (CMTs)
- 12 mixed-mode clock managers (MMCM)
- Low jitter clock generation and frequency synthesis
- Phase aligned clock division/multiplication
Multi-gigabit Transceivers (MGTs)
- 16 serial transceiver blocks supporting up to 12.5 Gbps
- Serializer/deserializer, clock correction, and data recovery
Input/Output Blocks (IOBs)
- High speed selective I/O supporting standards like LVCMOS18, LVDS, HSTL
PCI Express Block
- Gen2 x8 lane PCIe interface block
This combination of flexible CLBs, abundant memory, DSP slices, clocking, high-speed transceivers and I/O enables implementing a wide range of system-level functionality on the XC7K70T FPGA.
XC7K70T-2FBG484i Resources and Specifications
The commercial grade XC7K70T-2FBG484i device has the following key features and resources:
Logic Cells
- 217,600 CLB slices with 6-input LUTs and flip-flops
Block RAM
- 1020 x 36 Kb block RAM bits
- Total 36.7 Mb
DSP Slices
- 360 DSP slices with 25×18 multipliers
Transceivers
- 16 x 12.5 Gbps transceiver channels
Maximum User I/O
- 378 I/O pins
Clock Management Tiles
- 12 MMCM and 13 DCM blocks
PCI Express
- Gen2 x8 lane endpoint block
Memory Interface
- DDR3, DDR2, LPDDR2, DDR controller blocks
Configuration
- 667 Mb/sec SelectMAP interface
- JTAG, SPI and BPI flash loading
Power Consumption
- Maximum junction temperature of 100°C
- 10 W typical power
The abundant programmable resources enable implementing a wide range of complex digital systems leveraging the high speed, low power and small form factor benefits of the Kintex-7 FPGA.
XC7K70T Pinout and Package
The XC7K70T-2FBG484i comes in a 484 pin fine-pitch BGA package with dimensions of 23×23 mm offering a compact footprint.
The BGA484 package ball positions are shown below:
XC7K70T BGA484 package and pinout (Source: Xilinx)
The pins include:
- 180 signal I/O pins
- 16 transceiver lanes over 32 differential pairs
- 150 power and ground pins
- JTAG pins for debug and configuration
- Clock pins for various clock inputs
- DDR memory interface pins
- Quad-SPI flash pins
- PCIe interface pins
This high density pinout enables connecting to a large number of external signals for interfacing the XC7K70T FPGA to other devices.
Applications of XC7K70T FPGA
With its blend of programmable logic, memory, DSP, transceivers and interfaces, the Xilinx XC7K70T FPGA is well suited for a wide range of applications including:
- Wired communications – Telecom protocols, encryption, network processors
- Wireless infrastructure – Baseband processing, MAC, PHY layer
- Automotive – ADAS, vision systems, engine control units
- Industrial – Motor drives, robotics, Industry 4.0 systems
- IoT and edge computing – Signal processing, sensor aggregation
- Video and imaging – Encoder/decoder, codecs, filters
- Medical – Diagnostic systems, ultrasound, tomography
- Aerospace and defense – Navigation, guidance systems
- High performance computing – Algorithm acceleration
For small form factor embedded applications needing FPGA programmability, the XC7K70T provides a compelling solution. The low power consumption enables battery operated portables and handheld devices as well.
XC7K70T Design Considerations
To effectively harness the capabilities of the Xilinx XC7K70T FPGA, designers should keep in mind:
Team Expertise
- Prior experience with Xilinx 7-Series FPGAs recommended
- Proficiency with Vivado Design Suite tools and flows
Cooling
- Max junction temperature is 100°C
- Utilize heat sinks, airflow for cooling in high power use cases
Pin Planning
- Map external interfaces and connections to suitable pins
- Plan for clocking, power schemes early
IP Integration
- Xilinx Core Generator and IP catalogue enables integrating blocks for PCIe, Ethernet, Interlaken etc.
- Verify functionality through Vivado simulation before implementation
Team Collaboration
- Use RTL source control and incremental team development
Accounting for thermal design, simulation needs, IP integration strategies early in the development cycle enables capitalizing on the XC7K70T capabilities for targeted application requirements.
XC7K70T vs other Xilinx FPGAs Comparison
XC7K70T vs XC7K160T
- The XC7K160T offers higher capacity with ~1.5x more CLB slices
- 16x 12.5 Gbps transceivers same as XC7K70T
- Package options up to 780 pin count vs 484 pin for XC7K70T
- XC7K160T suited for more complex logic, higher pin count needs
XC7K70T vs XC7K325T
- XC7K325T has much higher capacity – almost 3x more CLB slices
- 25x more BRAM blocks and 2.5x more DSP slices compared to XC7K70T
- 28x 12.5 Gbps transceivers, 686 user I/O pins
- XC7K325T fits very dense logic, high speed applications
XC7K70T vs Artix-7 100T
- Artix-7 is low-cost, low power optimized family
- XC7K70T has 4x more CLB slices than 100T; also more BRAM and DSP
- Both have 16 transceivers; XC7K70T offers faster 667 Mb/s configuration
- XC7K70T suited for more complex logic and performance needs
XC7K70T vs Zynq 7020
- Zynq 7020 combines Cortex-A9 ARM cores with programmable logic
- 7020 has 85k logic cells vs 217k in XC7K70T but adds dual core CPU
- 7020 has 2.5x less BRAM; both have 16 transceivers
- Zynq best suited for processing+logic applications vs pure FPGA needs
The Xilinx XC7K70T hits a sweet spot between capability and cost for mid-range applications compared to smaller or larger 7-series FPGAs.
Conclusion
The Xilinx XC7K70T FPGA provides an optimal blend of high performance programmable logic fabric along with abundant memory, DSP, transceivers, PCIe, memory interfaces and I/O in a power-optimized low cost package.
The Kintex-7 based architecture enables implementing a wide gamut of embedded, connected and high speed systems for applications across communications, industrial, automotive, datacenter and interfacing domains.
Adopting suitable design practices in terms of thermal management, pin planning, simulation, IP integration and expert design flows enables fully harnessing the XC7K70T capabilities for accelerated development.
What is Xilinx XC7K70T-2FBG484i FPGA? – FQA
Q1. What FPGA family does the Xilinx XC7K70T device belong to?
The XC7K70T is a member of the mid-range Kintex-7 family of FPGAs featuring high performance and low power consumption.
Q2. What are the key components in the architecture of the XC7K70T FPGA?
Key components are the CLB slices, 36Kb BRAM blocks, DSP slices, clock management tiles, multi-gigabit transceivers and flexible I/O blocks.
Q3. What applications is the XC7K70T FPGA suitable for?
It suits applications like telecom, wireless, automotive, industrial, imaging, defense, HPC needing mid-density programmable logic.
Q4. What package is used for the XC7K70T-2FBG484i device?
It uses a fine-pitch 484-pin BGA package to provide a compact 23x23mm footprint with 16 transceiver lanes.
Q5. How does the XC7K70T compare to the higher density 7-series XC7K325T FPGA?
The XC7K325T offers 3x higher programmable logic capability, 25x more BRAMs along with more transceivers and I/O suited for very complex designs.
