RTL-DFP-RICE Kratos Digital Front End Processor

The Kratos / RT Logic's Digital Front-End Processor (RTL-DFP) is a high-performance, reconfigurable hardware module. RTL-DFP has the flexibility and versatility to implement many standard front-end functions for satellite ground, spacecraft test, and range/flight test applications. A full range of firmware and software personalities for processing telemetry, commands, and IRIG, and for controlling cryptographic equipment are available. Multiple personalities can be combined on a single RTL-DFP.

The Kratos / RTL-DFP provides a modular, programmable platform for high-performance digital processing functions. The PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) is designed for use in PCI, cPCI, and VME systems. The RTL-DFP has multiple on-board Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that provide nearly one million logic gates for the downloaded firmware. In addition, the board has a high-speed Reed-Solomon encoding/decoding ASIC, a phase-locked loop (PLL) clock multiplier, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and 256K Bytes of dual-port memory. The RTL-DFP provides multiple TTL, RS-422, and LVDS signal lines to support a wide variety of signal interfaces and data rates. RT Logic provides firmware personalities for the RTL-DFP that support telemetry and command processing functions such as frame synchronization, PCM simulation, command formatting, and echo checking. KG controller interfaces are available for most encryptors and decryptors. Other functions include the AFSCN ADCCP interface and IRIG time decoding.