High Reliability Mini PCIe Modules - Expansion Designed for Extreme Environments

Author - Laura Biddiscombe

PCI Express Mini Card (also known as Mini PCI Express, Mini PCIe,  and mPCIe), based on PCI Express, is a replacement for the Mini PCI form factor, supporting both PCI Express and USB 2.0 connectivity. Each card may use either standard. Mini PCIe modules provide an economical and standardised way to add I/O and storage functions to embedded computer products. Unlike typical expansion boards, Mini PCIe allows additional functions to be added to a system with almost no increase in overall package size.

MiniPCIe cards are 30mm × 50.95mm. There is a 52-pin edge connector, consisting of two staggered rows on a 0.8 mm pitch, and each row has eight contacts, a gap equivalent to four contacts, then a further 18 contacts. The PCB itself has a thickness of just 1mm, excluding the components.

VersaLogic's new MiniPCIe modules are all designed for high reliability in demanding environments. They are all rated for operation across the full industrial temperature range (-40º to +85ºC), and for high shock and vibration (MIL-STD-202G).

VersaLogic's Mini PCIe modules are RoHS compliant and include VersaLogic's renowned 5+ year product life guarantee for long lifecycle applications. Customisation options include conformal coating, IPC Class 3 assembly, application-specific testing, BOM revision locks, etc.

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The latest product to join the MiniPCIe family is the VL-MPEe-V5 - a video expansion module which provides an easy and economical way to add VGA and LVDS display outputs to an embedded computing solution.

The VL-MPEe-V5 is compatible with a variety of popular x86 operating systems including Windows, Windows Embedded, and Linux.

Pricing starts at $218 for up to 49pcs.

Contact Sarsen Technology for more information - info@sarsen.net

FMC Cards available from BittWare

FPGA Mezzanine Cards (FMC) are being used to support a wide range of I/O interfaces in a variety of marketplaces and environments; from commercial spec to fully ruggedised and conduction cooled applications.

The new S5PE-F from BittWare includes an FMC site, which provides high-performance SerDes and LVDS, along with clocks, I2C, and JTAG connected to the Altera Stratix V FPGA. The site is based on the VITA 57 mezzanine standard for FPGA I/O, which allows designers to customise the S5PE-F to their individual needs with optional FMC I/O boards.

Vita 57 provides a specification describing "an I/O mezzanine module with connection to an FPGA or other device with reconfigurable I/O capability". The low profile FMC design gives you the option of which industry standard slot card, blade and motherboard form factors you want to work with, including VME, VPX, CompactPCI, and PCI, amongst others. FMC also compliments existing common low profile mezzanine technology such as PMC and XMC.

Benefits of FMC

• Technology Advantages
  With the ever increasing advances in I/O, new FMC modules can be interfaced to an existing FPGA carrier. And vice-versa - when next-generation FPGAs become available you can use your existing FMC modules with the new FPGA carrier to take advantage of the latest FPGA technology.
• Cost
  Being able to repurpose FMCs will help you reduce both your development costs and recurring costs across multiple programs. If you use a COTS FMC, like the range available from BittWare, you can make real cost savings as developers don't have to design their own boards.
• No Instructions Required
  You don't need to be an expert in standards like PCI or Serial RapidIO to use an FMC.
• Data Transfer
  To meet the demands of high-performance embedded computing, the FMC connector can support very high bandwidths. Individual signalling speeds up to 10 Gb/s are supported, with a potential overall bandwidth of 40 Gb/s between mezzanine and carrier card.

BittWare offers a range of Vita-57 FMC modules, which provide power supply and temperature monitoring as standard, and offer flexible control of clock source, sampling frequency, and calibration.

For more information please contact us on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email - info@sarsen.net

Have a great weekend!

SUMIT - I/O Expansion Module Development Made Easier....

Stackable Unified Module Interconnect Technology (SUMIT ™) is a stackable, form-factor independent expansion format that includes both high and low speed bus signals. The SUMIT spec is targeted for products using state-of-the-art serial buses and legacy chipset expansion buses all in the same form factor.

The specification is an I/O-centric approach, which defines the connector and stacking method, but it doesn’t address the specific location requirements for the connectors on any specific form factor boards. Only the location (placement) of one connector relative to the other is specified, to ensure proper routing of signals that are passed from one connector to another as they continue up the stack.

A SUMIT stack is designed to be processor independent, as it focuses on bus and interconnect technology rather than any single processor or DSP architecture. Two connectors are used on each module, SUMIT A and SUMIT B. These connectors carry multiple high-speed serial PCIe and USB 2.0 buses and include Low Pin Count (LPC), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), and SMBus/I2C for legacy requirements. While the optional SUMIT B connector carries mostly PCIe interfaces, the SUMIT A connector carries a single x1 PCIe and four USB 2.0 buses, as well as the legacy interfaces.

With no hardware configuration needed to route multiple interfaces, SUMIT gives designers a solution for creating embedded expansion modules that require high-speed interfaces as well as legacy support.

VersaLogic's EBX, EPIC and PC/104 SUMIT platforms are combined with an optional ISA connector to support legacy PC/104 expansion modules. The signals available on VersaLogic's CPU boards include PCI Express lanes, low speed signals such as LPC and SPI, and legacy USB and ISA signals. VersaLogic currently offer 3 SBCs featuring optional SUMIT expansion –

• Komodo - A dual core SBC on a SUMIT-EPIC™ platform. The Komodo features a very high performance Intel® Core™2 Duo processor, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and high performance integrated video.


• Ocelot - An Intel Atom™ based embedded computer in a SUMIT-104 format. The Ocelot uses an industrial temperature Atom version to provide high performance (1.6 GHz) at very low power (7 Watts). The Ocelot, at only 90 mm x 96 mm, is compatible with most SUMIT and PC/104 expansion boards, and is available in both standard (0º to +60ºC) and extended (-40º to +85ºC) temperature versions.


• 'Brand New' Copperhead - The Copperhead is a high-performance embedded computer powered by a 3rd Generation Intel Core i7 processor. Based on the industry-standard EBX format, the Copperhead is available in either quad- or dual-core models (17 to 45W power dissipation). It features several heat management configurations and offers options for I/O interfaces and interface connectors.

VersaLogic Komodo

For more information please give us a call on +44 1672 511166 or drop me an email and we'll answer any questions you might have.

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Len Crane Introduces the Iguana - Atom-based EPIC format SBC from VersaLogic

Back in March the VersaLogic 'Iguana' was unveiled to the public at Embedded World in Germany. In this video CEO Len Crane gives a 'Show and Tell' on the features and capabilities of the board.

Embedded World Iguana Release Video

The Iguana is a low power Intel Atom D525 (dual core) or D425 (single core) system with up to 2 GB RAM, dual GbE, six USB ports, dual SATA, analog and digital I/O, CompactFlash and eUSB flash storage, PCIe Mini Card with mSATA support, and SPX expansion.

The Iguana is now fully released, and is available in limited quantites. If you would like to take advantage of the VersaLogic 45 day Evaluation scheme to try the Iguana for yourself please give us a call on +44 1672 511166.