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Maxim > Design Support > Technical Documents > Subsystem Boards > APP 5561
Keywords: Santa Fe, MAXREFDES5#, subsystem reference design, analog front end, AFE, industrial sensors,
isolated power and data, industrial automation, PLC, medical, MAXREFDESS#, MAXREFDE55#,
MAXREFDESS, MAXREFDE55, isolation
SUBSYSTEM BOARD 5561
Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#): 16-Bit High Accuracy
Multi-Input Isolated Analog Front End (AFE)
Jan 11, 2013
Abstract: This document explains how the Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#) subsystem reference design meets the
higher resolution, higher voltage, and isolation needs of industrial control and industrial automation applications.
Hardware and firmware design files as well as FFTs and histograms from lab measurements are provided.
On February 28, 2014, the name of MAXREFDES5# was changed from Cupertino to Santa Fe. Maxim made this
change in an effort to distinctly identify MAXREFDES5# as a design focused on industrial applications. Other
than the name change, the design remains the same, with similar high performance analog functionality.
Introduction
Today's field programmable gate
arrays (FPGAs) and microcontrollers
with internal analog-to-digital
converters (ADCs) are capable of low-
resolution and low-voltage analog
inputs. However, they fall short on
being able to meet the needs of
industrial control and industrial automation applications, where isolation, higher resolutions, and higher voltage
system solutions are often needed. The Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#) subsystem reference design is a 16-bit high-
accuracy industrial analog front end (AFE) that accepts -10V to +10V, 0 to 10V, and 4–20mA current loop signals
with isolated power and data integrated into a small form factor. The Santa Fe design integrates low-noise high-
impedance analog buffers (MAX9632); a highly accurate ADC with innovative on-chip attenuation (MAX1301); an
ultra-high precision 4.096V voltage reference (MAX6126); 600VRMS data isolation (MAX14850); and
isolated/regulated +12V, -12V, and 5V power rails (MAX256/MAX1659). This AFE solution can be used in any
application that needs high-accuracy analog-to-digital conversion, but it is mainly targeted for industrial sensors,
industrial automation, process control, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and medical applications.
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Figure 1. The Santa Fe subsystem design block diagram.
Features Applications
High accuracy
±10V, 0 to 10V, and 4–20mA Inputs
Isolated power and data
Small printed circuit board (PCB) area
Device drivers
Example C source code
Pmod™-compatible form factor
Industrial sensors
Process control
Industrial automation
PLCs
Medical
Detailed Description of Hardware
The Pmod specification allows for both 3.3V and 5V modules as well as various pin
assignments. This module is designed only for a supply voltage of 3.3V and uses the
SPI pin assignments as illustrated on the right.
The power requirements are shown in Table 1. The currently supported platforms
and ports are shown in Table 2.
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Table 1. Power Options for the Santa Fe Subsystem Reference Design
Power Type Jumper Shunt Input Voltage (V) Input Current (mA, typ)
On-board isolated power
JU3: 1-2
JU4: 2-3
JU5: 1-2
3.3 221
External power
JU3: 2-3
JU4: 1-2
JU5: 2-3
3.3 6.3
+12 30.4
-12 7.3
Table 2. Supported Platforms and Ports
Supported Platforms Ports
Nexys™ 3 platform (Spartan®-6) JB1
ZedBoard™ platform (Zynq®-7020) JA1
The Santa Fe hardware design is specifically optimized for applications that use -10V to +10V, 0 to 10V, and 4–
20mA signals. Depending on the application requirements, certain portions of the circuit may be omitted. A
complete discussion of what portions are needed or may be omitted follows. See the file for the schematic under
the All Design Files section.
The MAX1301 (U3) is a 16-bit, successive-approximation register (SAR) ADC with unique multirange inputs
capable of accepting input voltage signals up to +12.288V to -12.288V. The ADC also has integrated analog
input buffers with a 17k½ input resistance.
The first MAX9632 amplifier (U1) is optimized for low-noise, -10V to +10V input voltages. The second MAX9632
amplifier (U2) is optimized for low-noise, 4–20mA input currents. Both U1 and U2 provide high input impedance
for input signals that have a large source resistance, or in the case of the 4–20mA loop, a 250½ load resistance.
Large source resistances often attenuate signals by an undesirable factor. Add an optional 500½ series resistor
in front of both MAX9632 amplifiers if input protection is desired while the Santa Fe design is not powered. The
500½ series resistor prevents the input current from exceeding the maximum input current specification when
10V is applied at the input and the Santa Fe board has no power.
If the signal source has a significantly low source resistance compared to 17k½, or in the case of the 4–20mA
loop, if the parallel combination of 250½ and 17k½ provides acceptable accuracy in the application, then U1 and
U2 can be eliminated. ADC channels AIN1 and AIN3 are examples of using only the internal 17k½ analog input
buffers.
Although the MAX1301 ADC has an internal 4.096V voltage reference, for highest accuracy use the external
MAX6126 (U4) voltage reference with 0.02% initial accuracy and a 3ppm/°C maximum temperature coefficient
(tempco).
The MAX256 (U5) provides an isolated, functional insulation class power solution that accepts 3.3V and converts
it to ±12V using an off-the-shelf TGM-H281NF Halo® transformer with a 1:2.6 primary to secondary turns ratio
plus an external on-board voltage-doubler circuit. Post-regulation is accomplished using the MAX1659 low
dropout (LDO) regulators. The ±12V isolated power solution is optional and is only needed for applications that
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require the MAX9632 amplifiers to provide a high input impedance or when power isolation is required. If the
MAX9632 amplifiers are not needed, then a single +6V isolated supply can power the entire circuit. Data isolation
is also optional depending on the application and is accomplished using the MAX14850 (U9) digital data isolator.
The combined power and data isolation achieved is 600VRMS.
Detailed Description of Firmware for Nexys 3 Platform
The Santa Fe firmware design was initially released for the Nexys 3 development kit and targeted a MicroBlaze™
soft core microcontroller placed inside a Xilinx® Spartan-6 FPGA. Support for additional platforms may be added
periodically under Firmware Files in the All Design Files section. The currently supported platforms and ports are
shown in Table 2.
The firmware is a working example of how to interface to the hardware, collect samples, and save them to
memory. The simple process flow is shown in Figure 2a. The firmware is written in C using the Xilinx SDK tool,
which is based on the Eclipse™ open source standard. Custom Santa Fe-specific design functions were created
utilizing the standard Xilinx XSpi core version 3.03a. The SPI clock frequency is set to 3.125MHz.
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Figure 2a. The Santa Fe firmware flowchart for Nexys 3 platform.
The firmware accepts commands, writes status, and is capable of downloading blocks of sampled data to a
standard terminal program via a virtual COM port. The complete source code is provided to speed up customer
development. Code documentation can be found in the corresponding firmware platform files.
Detailed Description of Firmware for ZedBoard Platform
The Santa Fe firmware design supports the ZedBoard kit and targets a hardcore ARM® Cortex®-A9 processor
inside the Xilinx Zynq system-on-chip (SoC).
The firmware is a working example of how to interface to the hardware, collect samples, and save them to
memory. The simple process flow is shown in Figure 2b. The firmware is written in C using the Xilinx SDK tool,
which is based on the Eclipse open source standard. Custom Santa Fe-specific design functions were created
utilizing the ARM’s internal SPI peripheral instead of the standard AXI Xilinx XSpi core to increase the maximum
sampling rate to 90ksps. The SPI clock frequency is set to 3.57MHz.
Figure 2b. The Santa Fe firmware flowchart for ZedBoard platform.
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The firmware accepts commands, writes status, and is capable of downloading blocks of sampled data to a
standard terminal program via a virtual COM port. The complete source code is provided to speed up customer
development. Code documentation can be found in the corresponding firmware platform files.
Quick Start
Required equipment:
Windows® PC with two USB ports
Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#) board
Santa Fe-supported platform (i.e., Nexys 3 development kit or ZedBoard kit)
Industrial sensor or signal source
Download, read, and carefully follow each step in the appropriate Santa Fe Quick Start Guide:
Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#) Nexys 3 Quick Start Guide.
Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#) ZedBoard Quick Start Guide.
Lab Measurements
Equipment used:
Audio Precision® SYS-2722 signal source or equivalent
Windows PC with two USB ports
Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#) board
Nexys 3 development kit
+12V power supply (for external power testing only)
-12V power supply (for external power testing only)
Special care must be taken and the proper equipment must be used when testing the Santa Fe design. The key
to testing any high-accuracy design is to use sources and measurement equipment that are of higher accuracy
than the design under test. A low distortion signal source is absolutely required in order to duplicate the results
presented below. The input signal was generated using the Audio Precision SYS-2722. The analog inputs should
be driven with a source and not be left floating. The FFTs were created using the FFT control in SignalLab from
Mitov Software. Table 3 provides a quick reference for the AC and DC performance of each channel for both on-
board isolated power and external power shown in Figures 3 through 18. All lab measurements were done at
room temperature.
Table 3. Quick Reference Guide for AC Performance (FFTs) or DC Performance (Histograms) in
Figures 3 through 18
Channel Power Type Input Type Test Type Figure Number
Channel 0 (AIN0) On-board isolated ±10V, High AC - FFT Figure 3
Channel 0 (AIN0) On-board isolated ±10V, High DC - histogram Figure 4
Channel 0 (AIN0) External ±10V, High AC - FFT Figure 5
Channel 0 (AIN0) External ±10V, High DC - histogram Figure 6
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Channel 1 (AIN1) On-board isolated ±10V, 17k½ AC - FFT Figure 7
Channel 1 (AIN1) On-board isolated ±10V, 17k½ DC - histogram Figure 8
Channel 1 (AIN1) External ±10V, 17k½ AC - FFT Figure 9
Channel 1 (AIN1) External ±10V, 17k½ DC - histogram Figure 10
Channel 2 (AIN2) On-board isolated 4–20mA, 250½ AC - FFT Figure 11
Channel 2 (AIN2) On-board Isolated 4–20mA, 250½ DC - histogram Figure 12
Channel 2 (AIN2) External 4–20mA, 250½ AC - FFT Figure 13
Channel 2 (AIN2) External 4–20mA, 250½ DC - histogram Figure 14
Channel 3 (AIN3) On-board isolated 0 to 10V, 17k½ AC - FFT Figure 15
Channel 3 (AIN3) On-board isolated 0 to 10V, 17k½ DC - histogram Figure 16
Channel 3 (AIN3) External 0 to 10V, 17k½ AC - FFT Figure 17
Channel 3 (AIN3) External 0 to 10V, 17k½ DC - histogram Figure 18
Figure 3. AC FFT for channel 0 (AIN0) using on-board isolated power, a ±10V 1kHz sine wave input signal, high-
impedance input, a 20ksps sample rate, and a Blackman-Harris window.
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Figure 4. DC histogram for channel 0 (AIN0) using on-board isolated power; a 0V input signal; high-impedance
input; a 20ksps sample rate; 65,536 samples; a code spread of 7 LSBs with 97.57% of the codes falling within
the three center LSBs; and a standard deviation of 0.693.
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Figure 5. AC FFT for channel 0 (AIN0) using external power, a ±10V 1kHz sine wave input signal, high-
impedance input, a 20ksps sample rate, and a Blackman-Harris window.
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Figure 6. DC histogram for channel 0 (AIN0) using external power; a 0V input signal; high-impedance input; a
20ksps sample rate; 65,536 samples; a code spread of 7 LSBs with 97.74% of the codes falling within the three
center LSBs; and a standard deviation of 0.692.
Figures 7 to 10: Channel 1 (AIN1) (PDF)
Figures 11 to 14: Channel 2 (AIN2) (PDF)
Figures 15 to 18: Channel 3 (AIN3) (PDF)
All Design Files
Download all design files.
Hardware Files
Schematic
Bill of materials (BOM)
PCB layout
PCB Gerber
PCB CAD (PADS 9.0)
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Firmware Files
Nexys 3 platform (Spartan-6)
ZedBoard platform (Zynq-7000)
Buy Reference Design
Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#)
ARM is a registered trademark and registered service mark of ARM Limited.
Audio Precision is a registered trademark of Audio Precision, Inc.
Cortex is a registered trademark of ARM Limited.
Eclipse is a trademark of Eclipse Foundation, Inc.
Halo is a registered trademark of Halo Electronics, Inc.
MicroBlaze is a trademark of Xilinx, Inc.
Nexys is a trademark of Digilent Inc.
Pmod is a trademark of Digilent Inc.
Spartan is a registered trademark of Xilinx, Inc.
Windows is a registered trademark and registered service mark of Microsoft Corporation.
Xilinx is a registered trademark and registered service mark of Xilinx, Inc.
ZedBoard is a trademark of ZedBoard.org.
Zynq is a registered trademark of Xilinx, Inc.
Related Parts
MAX1301 8- and 4-Channel, ±3 x VREF Multirange Inputs, Serial 16-Bit
ADCs
Free Samples
MAX14850 Six-Channel Digital Isolator
MAX1659 350mA, 16.5V Input, Low-Dropout Linear Regulators Free Samples
MAX256 3W Primary-Side Transformer H-Bridge Driver for Isolated
Supplies
Free Samples
MAX6126 Ultra-High-Precision, Ultra-Low-Noise, Series Voltage
Reference
Free Samples
MAX9632 36V, Precision, Low-Noise, Wide-Band Amplifier Free Samples
MAXREFDES5 Santa Fe (MAXREFDES5#): 16-Bit High Accuracy Multi-Input
Isolated Analog Front End (AFE)
More Information
For Technical Support: http://www.maximintegrated.com/support
For Samples: http://www.maximintegrated.com/samples
Other Questions and Comments: http://www.maximintegrated.com/contact
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