High-speed data transfer with FPGAs and QSFP+ modules

TL;DR

This paper reports on the testing and characterization of a high-speed data transmission system using advanced FPGAs and QSFP+ modules, achieving signal integrity at up to 12 Gbps for potential high-bandwidth applications.

Contribution

The study demonstrates a complete testbench setup with a Stratix IV FPGA and QSFP+ modules, providing empirical data on signal integrity at high data rates.

Findings

Achieved signal integrity measurements up to 12 Gbps

Developed a complete testbench for high-speed data transfer

Validated the performance of QSFP+ modules with FPGA transceivers

Abstract

We present test results and characterization of a data transmission system based on a last generation FPGA and a commercial QSFP+ (Quad Small Form Pluggable +) module. QSFP+ standard defines a hot-pluggable transceiver available in copper or optical cable assemblies for an aggregated bandwidth of up to 40 Gbps. We implemented a complete testbench based on a commercial development card mounting an Altera Stratix IV FPGA with 24 serial transceivers at 8.5 Gbps, together with a custom mezzanine hosting three QSFP+ modules. We present test results and signal integrity measurements up to an aggregated bandwidth of 12 Gbps.