Controller Board
About the Controller Board
Controller Board is an open source FPGA PCB design by MichalVarsanyi, published on GitHub under the MIT license. It is a 6-layer board measuring 85 × 85 mm, with 291 components from 65 distinct parts.
Its main chip is the XC7A35T-CSG324, from the FPGA family. Other key parts include the TDS5311P, LTC4368, XT30, TPS82084 and LT8645S. By type, the board carries 138 capacitors, 78 resistors, 44 ICs, 15 diodes, 6 inductors and 4 crystals.
It belongs with the sensors designs in this gallery.
From the project
VoxLink is a high-speed solution that allows interfacing of up to 100 sensors using a single high-speed host device. The communication protocol is agnostic to the sensor board, freeing the user from handling low-level communication. This project is part of my Bachelor's thesis at the Czech Technical University in Prague.
- During programming, exceeding internal clocking speeds of 100MHz on the iCE40UL1K-CM36AI FPGA proved to be virtually impossible. In the future, instantiating the hard IP I2C blocks in the FPGA silicon may increase the speed. Realistically, however, switching to a higher speed grade of FPGAs will probably be the best option.
It may seem that 50-100 MHz is unreasonably fast; however, just 40 sensors at 9 kHz get very close to this ballpark. It is difficult to determine what may increase the bandwidth in the future, so it's better to have an excess than to have too little bandwidth.…
Main components on the Controller Board
Controller Board bill of materials (BOM)
291 components, 65 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.
| Qty | Part | Footprint | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TDS5311P Semtech | DFN-6-1EP_2x2mm_P0.65mm_EP1x1.6mm | U101 |
| 1 | LTC4368 ADI | DFN-10-1EP_3x3mm_P0.5mm_EP1.65x2.38mm | U102 |
| 1 | XT30 Amass | AMASS_XT30PW-M_1x02_P2.50mm_Horizontal | U103 |
| 4 | TPS82084 TI | Texas_SIL0008C_MicroSiP-8-1EP_2.8x3mm_P0.65mm_EP1.1x1.9mm | U201, U202, U204, U205 |
| 1 | LT8645S ADI | LQFN-32-6EP_6x4mm_P0.5mm_EP1.355x1.125mm | U203 |
| 1 | XC7A35T-CSG324 Xilinx | Xilinx_CSG324 | U301 |
| 1 | IS25LP256D ISSI | WSON-8-1EP_8.0x6.0mm_P1.27mm_EP4.7x4.6mm | U401 |
| 1 | SN74AXC4T774 TI | UQFN-16_1.8x2.6mm_P0.4mm | U501 |
| 2 | FT232H FTDI | QFN-48-1EP_8x8mm_P0.5mm_EP6.2x6.2mm | U502, U601 |
| 2 | 93LC56B Microchip | TDFN-8-1EP_3x2mm_P0.5mm_EP1.3x1.4mm | U503, U602 |
| 1 | ESD122 TI | X2SON-3 | U701 |
| 1 | USB2512B Microchip | QFN-36-1EP_6x6mm_P0.5mm_EP3.7x3.7mm | U702 |
| 9 | RJ45 TE | TE_RJ45 | U801, U802, U803, U810, U811, U812, U819, U820 +1 |
| 18 | TPD4E02B04 TI | USON-10_2.5x1.0mm_P0.5mm | U804, U805, U806, U807, U808, U809, U813, U814 +10 |
| 1 | SI7252ADP Si7252ADP Vishay | PowerPAK_SO-8_Dual | Q101 |
| 1 | DMN2400UFB-7 | Diodes_DFN1006-3 | Q201 |
| 3 | 12MHZ 12MHz ECS | Crystal_SMD_2520-4Pin_2.5x2.0mm | Y401, Y501, Y601 |
| 1 | 24MHZ 24MHz ECS | Crystal_SMD_2520-4Pin_2.5x2.0mm | Y701 |
| 1 | C5184243 USB-C GCT | USB_C_Receptacle_GCT_USB4105-xx-A_16P_TopMnt_Horizontal | J701 |
| 2 | 4.7K 4.7k Vishay | R_0201_0603Metric | Re401, Re402 |
Show 45 more
| Qty | Part | Footprint | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C202388 Reset Alps | SW_Push_SPST_NO_Alps_SKRK | SW401 |
| 3 | LED Broadcom | LED_0603_1608Metric | D201, D401, D704 |
| 1 | C5636538 Schottky Nexperia | D_SOD-323F | D701 |
| 11 | C1973340 TVS Littelfuse | D_0402_1005Metric | D702, D703, D801, D802, D803, D804, D805, D806 +3 |
| 1 | 600R/100MHZ 600R/100MHz Murata | L_0201_0603Metric | FB301 |
| 4 | 600R Murata | L_0402_1005Metric | FB501, FB502, FB601, FB602 |
| 1 | 2U2 2u2 Coilcraft | L_Coilcraft_XAL6030-XXX | L201 |
| 2 | 4.7U 4.7u Murata | C_1206_3216Metric | C101, C220 |
| 3 | 100N 100n Murata | C_0805_2012Metric | C102, C221, C222 |
| 4 | 10N 10n Murata | C_0402_1005Metric | C103, C224, C709, C711 |
| 32 | 100N 100n Murata | C_0402_1005Metric | C104, C402, C403, C502, C503, C504, C505, C506 +24 |
| 8 | 22U 22u Murata | C_0603_1608Metric | C201, C202, C213, C214, C225, C226, C229, C230 |
| 18 | 100U 100u Murata | C_1206_3216Metric | C203, C204, C205, C206, C207, C208, C209, C210 +10 |
| 1 | 22U 22u Murata | C_0805_2012Metric | C217 |
| 1 | 2.2P 2.2p Murata | C_0402_1005Metric | C223 |
| 46 | 100N 100n Murata | C_0201_0603Metric | C301, C302, C305, C306, C307, C308, C309, C310 +38 |
| 13 | 10U 10u Murata | C_0603_1608Metric | C303, C304, C317, C331, C333, C334, C345, C346 +5 |
| 1 | 1u Murata | C_0402_1005Metric | C401 |
| 3 | 10U 10u Murata | C_0805_2012Metric | C501, C601, C701 |
| 6 | 10P 10p Murata | C_0402_1005Metric | C514, C515, C614, C615, C713, C714 |
| 1 | C201283 17mOhm 1/2W Walter | R_1206_3216Metric_Pad1.30x1.75mm_HandSolder | R101 |
| 1 | C445774 1R Panasonic | R_0603_1608Metric | R102 |
| 1 | 22K 22k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R103 |
| 2 | 1.1MEG 1.1Meg Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R104, R105 |
| 1 | 280K 280k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R106 |
| 1 | 23.2K 23.2k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R107 |
| 4 | 499K 499k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R201, R204, R210, R214 |
| 1 | 12.4K 12.4k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R202 |
| 4 | 49.9K 49.9k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R203, R207, R212, R216 |
| 1 | 61.9K 61.9k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R205 |
| 1 | 1MEG 1Meg Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R206 |
| 1 | 243K 243k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R208 |
| 1 | 41.2K 41.2k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R209 |
| 2 | 154K 154k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R211, R215 |
| 1 | 280R Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R213 |
| 1 | 200R Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R401 |
| 1 | 100R Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R402 |
| 4 | 4.7K 4.7k Vishay | R_0201_0603Metric | R403, R404, R405, R406 |
| 4 | 4.7K 4.7k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R407, R408, R409, R410 |
| 4 | 22R Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R411, R507, R607, R711 |
| 22 | 1k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R501, R601, R701, R704, R801, R802, R803, R804 +14 |
| 9 | 12K 12k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R502, R503, R504, R505, R602, R603, R604, R605 +1 |
| 2 | 2K2 2k2 Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R506, R606 |
| 2 | 5K1 5k1 Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R702, R703 |
| 6 | 100K 100k Vishay | R_0402_1005Metric | R706, R707, R708, R709, R710, R712 |
Controller Board design files
The KiCad project lives in the MichalVarsanyi/VoxLink repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.
Controller Board: common questions
What microcontroller does the Controller Board use?
The Controller Board is built around the XC7A35T-CSG324, from the FPGA family.
How big is the Controller Board?
The Controller Board measures 85 × 85 mm, has 6 copper layers and is 1.5834 mm thick.
How many components are on the Controller Board?
291 components, from 65 distinct parts, with part numbers taken from the project's own BOM. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.
Where can I download the Controller Board design files?
From the MichalVarsanyi/VoxLink repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout, the schematic and the BOM; the links under Design files point to each one.
Can I use the Controller Board design in my own project?
Yes, under the terms of its MIT license, which MichalVarsanyi chose for the repository.
Can I test firmware for the Controller Board without the hardware?
Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug FPGA firmware against it before you order a PCB.
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FPGAVoxLink - Lattice Core Module
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VoxLink - BNO086 Sensor Module
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FPGACore Module Intel
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VoxLink - Shell Module - Daisy
54 × 29.5 mm9 parts4LMIT1
VoxLink Programmer Shell
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VoxLink - Shell Module Bus
54 × 29.5 mm4 parts4LMIT1
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