Intel Agilex 5 SoC FPGA embedded SoM targets 5G equipment, 100GbE networking, Edge AI/ML applications

Hitek Systems eSOM5C-Ex is a compact embedded System-on-Module (SOM) based on the mid-range Intel Agilex 5 SoC FPGA E-Series and a pin-to-pin compatible with the company’s earlier eSOM7C-xF based on the Agilex 7 FPGA F-Series.

The module exposes all I/Os, including up to 24 transceivers, through the same 400-pin high-density connector found in the Agilex 7 FPGA-powered eSOM7-xF and the upcoming Agilex 5 FPGA D-Series SOM that will allow flexibility from 100K to 2.7 million logic elements (LEs) for the whole product range.

Hitek eSOM5C-Ex specifications:

SoC FPGA – Intel Agilex 5 E-series group A and Group B FPGAs in B32 package
- Supported variants: A5E065A/B, A5E043A/B and A5E043A/B
- Hard Processing System (HPS) – Dual-core Cortex-A76 and dual-core Cortex-A55
- FPGA
  - Up to 656,080 Logic elements
  - 24 x transceivers up to 28Gbps
System Memory
- Up to 2x 8GB LPDDR4 for FPGA
- 2 or 4GB DDR4 for HPS
Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, 1 Gbit QSPI flash, 64Mbit flash, 4 or 8KB EEPROM
Host connector – 400-pin K-2 socket mezzanine connector
- Up to 24x transceivers (XCVRs) up to 28Gbps (A) or 17Gbps (B) NRZ
- Up to 42x SE 1.2V and 12x true-diff LVDS I/Os
- Gigabit Ethernet
- USB – USB3.1/USB2.0
- UART, SPI, I3C/I2C interfaces
- GPIOs
Max10 Board Module Controller (BMC) for I2C, UART, JTAG interfaces, current and temperature sensors
Option for integrated Skyworks Si1518 timing synchronizer-based PTP/1588 with JESD clocking for wireless systems
Dimensions – 110mm x 82.5mm form factor
Temperature Range – -40°C to 85°C

Intel Agilex 5 SoC FPGA embedded SoM block diagram — Block diagram

Hitek provides Linux BSP, APIs for board management, Quartus Prime reference projects, and a carrier board design guide for custom carrier designs. The company also offers a kit with a SOM with a carrier board designed for wireless and networking-centric applications. But public information about software and the devkit is rather limited, although the image below gives an idea of what to expect.

The eSOM5C-Ex targets 5G/ORAN and Satcom wireless systems, embedded high-performance edge AI/ML systems, edge AI/ML image and signal processing, and 100G/50G/40G/25G/10G networking platforms. It’s not the first FPGA module based on the Agilex 5 E-Series SoC FPGA, as we wrote about the iWave Systems iW-RainboW-G58M module and Agilex 5 devkit at the beginning of the year.

Hitek did not provide pricing and availability information for the new Intel Agilex 5 SoC FPGA SoM. More details can be found on the product page and in the press release. Hitek’s eSOM5C-Ex development platform will also be showcased at Intel/Altera’s booth (H5-135) at Embedded World 2024 this week, and more specifically Xiphera will be demonstrating the “Quantum-secure cryptographic key exchange with PQC” IP on the platform.

Thanks to TLS for the tip.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.