Heard in the Channel: Avnet Introduces Alternative to Chip-Down SoC

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PicoZed, an SOM, is based on the Xilinx Zynq -7000 All Programmable SoC (Courtesy of Avnet)

Avnet Electronics Marketing has released its PicoZed and PicoZed Carrier Card. Part of its System-On Modules (SOMs) based on the Xilinx Zynq -7000 All Programmable SoC, PicoZed allows designers to migrate between Zynq 7010, 7015, 7020, and 7030 All Programmable SoC devices in a pin-compatible footprint. The PicoZed Carrier Card gives the necessary interfaces and access to user I/O from the PicoZed SOM. PicoZed is intended for industrial control, embedded vision, test and measurement, motor control, and software-defined radio applications. The device allows designers to get to market faster by the Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC sub-system.

PicoZed has the common functions needed to support most SoC designs, such as memory, configuration, Ethernet, USB, clocks, and power. Additionally, it provides access to more than 100 user I/O pins through three I/O connectors on the back of the module. The connectors can access interfaces for Ethernet, USB, JTAG, power, and other control signals, with GTP/GTX high-speed serial transceivers on the Zynq 7015 and 7030 All Programmable SoC models. These models are a superset of the Zynq 7010 and 7020 All Programmable SoC versions, having an additional four transceiver ports to the I/O connectors.

The PicoZed Card Carrier allows for connector interfaces for the on-module Gigabit Ethernet PHY and USB PHY, and supports common processor system interfaces like a microSD card slot and USB-UART port. Included is an HDMI output port, a second Gigabit Ethernet port, and several peripheral module connectors—with many of the PicoZed’s programmable logic I/O available through a Low-Pin Count (LPC) FMC connector. More information and pricing can be found at picozed.org.

In other industry news:

EmTech MIT is coming up in Cambridge, Mass., from September 23-25. The conference features Rodney Brooks, founder of Rethink Robotics; Francis deSouza, president of Illumina; Yoky Matsuoka, vice president of Technology at Nest Labs; and, Andrew Ng, chief scientist at Baidu.
ECIA’s Quality and Reliability Technical Symposium (QRTS) will take place March 23-25, 2015 in Mesa, Arizona. The electronic components forum is calling for technical paper submissions, which can be submitted to [email protected]. The conference will focus on four market segments: military/aerospace, medical, automotive, and energy exploration.
Mouser has signed a global distribution agreement with Broadcom Corporation. Mouser is Broadcom’s first eCommerce distributor and will offer same-day shipping on many products. Additionally, Mouser also has signed a global distribution agreement with GaN Systems to distribute its Gallium Nitride high power transistors.
Allied Electronics has received its AS9102A certification, which is a quality management standard for companies that supply products to the aerospace industry.