VITA 57.4 FMC+ Extender
Application Note
SEPTEMBER 2019
© Samtec, Inc.
VITA 57.4 FMC+ Extender Card
For VITA 57.4 Applications
Samtec Inc.
520 Park East Boulevard
New Albany, IN 47151-1147
1-800-SAMTEC-9
info@samtec.com
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1 Abstract
FPGA carrier card developers require easy-to-use options to confirm the operation of the VITA 57.4 FMC+
expansion connector typically found on these platforms. In some cases, the mating height of the standard
FMC+ connectors may prevent fully leveraging the connectivity options of all FMC+ modules.
The VITA 57.4 FMC+ Extender Card (REF-212564-01) has been designed for placement between FPGA
Carrier Cards and FMC+ Modules. This increased space can be used for additional I/O expansion during
development. The FMC+ Extender Card also provides a cost-effective option for extending the life of the
FPGA Carrier Card HSPC connectors used as test platforms. It is ideal for benchtop testing, system
debugging, probing, or FPGA development.
The card provides FPGA designers an easy to use option for testing low-speed interfaces and high-speed
multi-gigabit transceivers on any FPGA development board or FPGA carrier card. It can run system data
or BER testing on all channels in parallel. This makes evaluation and development with an FPGA much
easier.
This paper will explore the following details of the FMC+ Extender Card:
• Mechanical Dimensions and Assembly Features
• Connector Pin Assignments and Block Diagrams
• Qualification testing set-up and test results
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2 Mechanical Dimensions
The FMC+ Extender Card provides a variant of the mechanical dimensions of an FMC+ card defined within
ANSI/VITA 57.4-2019 Section 3. The electromechanical interface between the mating HSPC connectors
conforms to ANSI/VITA 57.4-2019 Section 3. Specific mechanical dimensions of the card are highlighted
below.
Figure 1 - Mechanical Dimensions for FMC+ Extender Card
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3 Mechanical Design Features
Since many of the applications that involve VITA 57.4 systems are on highly populated with sensitive
components, it is important to have an easy way to access the FMC+ carrier. The FMC+ Extender Card
provides several mechanical features that ease mating and unmating.
The FMC+ Loopback Cards feature:
• The FMC+ Loopback cards have been designed to work in conjunction with the Micro Jack Screw
• Use JSOMs to carefully mate and unmate the FMC+ Loopback Cards to the FPGA carrier to avoid
• An Allen-key unscrews and expands the jack screw, dividing the PCBs in a steady, even motion
until the mezzanine is safely separated from its host.
Standoff (JSOM).
damages.
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4 Connector Pin Assignments
The FMC+ Extender Card conforms to the Connector Pin Assignments of the HSPC connector as defined
within ANSI/VITA 57.4-2019 Section 5. The FMC+ Extender Card provides direct pass-through connectivity
for all 560 pins from the HSPC male to HSPC female connectors. Specific pin assignments are highlighted
below.
Figure 2 - HSPC Connector Pin Assignments
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5 Block Diagrams
The FMC+ Extender Card provides basic throughput functionality for testing general FPGA carrier cards
that contain the HSPC interface. Signals routed include:
• Gigabit data signals (MGTs)
• Gigabit reference clocks
• Control lines including JTAG (including IPMI support), I2C, addressing, and reserved signals
• All required power rails, sequencing, and control lines
Specific high-level signal routing for both cards are highlighted below.
Figure 3 - FMC+ Extender Card Block Diagram
Additional signal routing and circuitry details are contained in the schematics for the FMC+ Extender.
Schematics are available from Samtec under NDA. Please e-mail KitsAndBoards@samtec.com for more
details.
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