AMD introduces Versal RF Series SoCs: Uniting Unmatched Compute Power and Integrated Direct RF-Sampling

AMD, the semiconductor company, has just announced the expansion of its AMD Versal adaptive system-on-chip (SoC) portfolio with the introduction of the impressive Versal RF Series. This new series boasts the highest compute performance in a single-chip device, featuring integrated direct radio frequency (RF)-sampling data converters. This is big news for the industry!

The Versal RF Series is specifically designed for RF systems and test equipment applications in the aerospace and defense (A&D) and test and measurement (T&M) markets. It offers precise, wideband-spectrum observability and up to 80 TOPS (tera operations per second) of digital signal processing (DSP) performance. This means it can handle complex tasks with ease, making it ideal for demanding applications.

What sets the Versal RF Series apart is its impressive integration of various components. It combines high-resolution RF data converters, hard IP DSP compute blocks, and AI Engines for DSP, along with adaptive SoC programmable logic and an ARM subsystem. All of this is packed into a single-chip device, making it a highly efficient and powerful solution.

Salil Raje, the senior vice president and general manager of AMD’s Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group, explains the significance of this development. He says, “Today’s advanced RF systems require high resolution and high sample-rate RF data converters that use massive amounts of DSP compute resources to process data quickly and adapt to changing requirements, shifting workloads, and mission profiles. AMD Versal RF Series adaptive SoCs meet these requirements in a single chip, offering leadership RF-sampling resolution and more DSP compute than multiple SoCs combined.”

One of the standout features of the Versal RF Series is its ability to capture and analyze wideband-spectrum with high-resolution, multi-channel RF-converters and low-Latency processing. This is made possible by the monolithically integrated, high-resolution (14-bit with calibration), 32 gigasamples-per-second (GSPS), 18 GHz RF analog-to-digital converters (RF-ADCs). These converters enable accurate and fast signal characterization and analysis across a wide observable spectrum, making them perfect for mission-critical A&D applications like phased array radar, electromagnetic spectrum operations, signals intelligence, and military and satellite communication terminals.

For T&M applications such as high-speed oscilloscopes and wideband spectrum analyzers and generators, the Versal RF Series offers a highly integrated solution with multiple RF channels up to Ku band. It also enables advanced T&M signal processing functions like arbitrary resampling and spectral analysis. With direct RF sampling up to 18 GHz and up to 32 GSPS, it can digitize multi-GHz of RF bandwidth on multiple channels simultaneously.

The Versal RF Series truly shines when it comes to DSP compute. It delivers up to 80 TOPS of DSP compute, which is a significant improvement compared to the previous generation AMD Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC device. In fact, in channelizer mode, it offers up to 19 times more DSP compute. This means it can handle complex calculations and processing tasks with ease.

To further enhance its performance, select DSP functions are implemented in dedicated hard IP blocks. These include 4 GSPS FFT/iFFT, channelizer, polyphase arbitrary resampler, and LDPC decoder. By using dedicated hard IP blocks, the Versal RF Series reduces dynamic power consumption by up to 80 percent compared to an AMD soft logic implementation. This is a significant power-saving feature that contributes to the overall efficiency of the device.

The Versal RF Series is also optimized for size, weight, and power (SWaP). By combining direct RF-sampling data converters, DSP hard IP blocks, AI Engines, and adaptive SoC logic in a monolithic implementation, it offers a flexible device with optimized SWaP. This is crucial for advanced signal processing applications in the A&D and T&M markets. Additionally, the implementation of key DSP functions in dedicated IP blocks results in significant power and area savings compared to soft logic implementations. This allows for more compute power in the same physical area, meeting the constrained form factor requirements.

If you’re excited about the Versal RF Series, you’ll be pleased to know that the development tools are already available. Silicon samples and evaluation kits are expected to be available in Q4 2025, with production shipments set to begin in the first half of 2027. So, keep an eye out for this technology that is set to revolutionize RF systems and test equipment applications!

Background Information

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About AMD:

AMD, a large player in the semiconductor industry is known for its powerful processors and graphic solutions, AMD has consistently pushed the boundaries of performance, efficiency, and user experience. With a customer-centric approach, the company has cultivated a reputation for delivering high-performance solutions that cater to the needs of gamers, professionals, and general users. AMD's Ryzen series of processors have redefined the landscape of desktop and laptop computing, offering impressive multi-core performance and competitive pricing that has challenged the dominance of its competitors. Complementing its processor expertise, AMD's Radeon graphics cards have also earned accolades for their efficiency and exceptional graphical capabilities, making them a favored choice among gamers and content creators. The company's commitment to innovation and technology continues to shape the client computing landscape, providing users with powerful tools to fuel their digital endeavors.

  

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About ARM:

ARM, originally known as Acorn RISC Machine, is a British semiconductor and software design company that specializes in creating energy-efficient microprocessors, system-on-chip (SoC) designs, and related technologies. Founded in 1990, ARM has become a important player in the global semiconductor industry and is widely recognized for its contributions to mobile computing, embedded systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. ARM's microprocessor designs are based on the Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) architecture, which prioritizes simplicity and efficiency in instruction execution. This approach has enabled ARM to produce highly efficient and power-saving processors that are used in a vast array of devices, ranging from smartphones and tablets to IoT devices, smart TVs, and more. The company does not manufacture its own chips but licenses its processor designs and intellectual property to a wide range of manufacturers, including Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, and NVIDIA, who then integrate ARM's technology into their own SoCs. This licensing model has contributed to ARM's widespread adoption and influence across various industries.

  

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Technology Explained

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Latency: Technology latency is the time it takes for a computer system to respond to a request. It is an important factor in the performance of computer systems, as it affects the speed and efficiency of data processing. In the computer industry, latency is a major factor in the performance of computer networks, storage systems, and other computer systems. Low latency is essential for applications that require fast response times, such as online gaming, streaming media, and real-time data processing. High latency can cause delays in data processing, resulting in slow response times and poor performance. To reduce latency, computer systems use various techniques such as caching, load balancing, and parallel processing. By reducing latency, computer systems can provide faster response times and improved performance.

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SoC: A System-on-Chip (SoC) is a highly integrated semiconductor device that encapsulates various electronic components, including processors, memory, input/output interfaces, and often specialized hardware components, all on a single chip. SoCs are designed to provide a complete computing system or subsystem within a single chip package, offering enhanced performance, power efficiency, and compactness. They are commonly used in a wide range of devices, from smartphones and tablets to embedded systems and IoT devices, streamlining hardware complexity and facilitating efficient integration of multiple functions onto a single chip.

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