The XCKU085-1FLVA1517C is a high-performance Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) from AMD Xilinx, part of the Kintex® UltraScale™ family. Built on 20nm process technology, this device delivers exceptional signal processing bandwidth, advanced transceiver capabilities, and ultra-efficient power consumption — making it a premier choice for engineers designing next-generation systems in networking, data centers, medical imaging, and wireless infrastructure. If you are sourcing a mid-range Xilinx FPGA with maximum logic density and proven UltraScale architecture, the XCKU085-1FLVA1517C deserves your full attention.

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What Is the XCKU085-1FLVA1517C?

The XCKU085-1FLVA1517C is a monolithic Kintex UltraScale FPGA produced by AMD (formerly Xilinx). The part number breaks down as follows:

• XC – Xilinx Commercial device
• KU085 – Kintex UltraScale, density grade 085
• -1 – Speed grade 1 (standard)
• FLVA – Flip-chip BGA package variant
• 1517 – 1517-pin ball count
• C – Commercial temperature range (0°C to +85°C)

This device is housed in a 1517-pin FCBGA (Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array) package and operates with a core supply voltage of approximately 0.95V, keeping power consumption lean for its capability class.

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XCKU085-1FLVA1517C Key Specifications

General Device Parameters

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Logic and Compute Resources

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I/O and Transceiver Capabilities

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Memory and Connectivity

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XCKU085-1FLVA1517C Package and Physical Details

The 1517-pin FCBGA package offers a compact footprint relative to the device’s logic density, enabling efficient PCB routing in high-density designs. Engineers should consult the AMD UltraScale PCB Design Guide for recommended land patterns and signal integrity guidelines.

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Why Choose the Kintex UltraScale XCKU085 Over Competing FPGAs?

Superior Price-Performance-Power Ratio

The Kintex UltraScale family was engineered specifically to deliver the best price/performance/watt balance at 20nm. With over 1 million logic cells, 2,760 DSP slices, and 58 Mb of on-chip block RAM, the XCKU085 gives design teams substantial processing headroom without crossing into the significantly more expensive Virtex UltraScale territory.

Next-Generation Transceiver Architecture

The XCKU085-1FLVA1517C integrates 32 GTH transceivers running at up to 16.3 Gbps, supporting a wide range of high-speed protocols including 100G Ethernet, Interlaken, CPRI, and PCIe Gen3. These are true hardened transceivers with embedded CDRs, equalization, and pre-emphasis for superior signal integrity.

ASIC-Like Clocking with UltraScale Architecture

AMD’s UltraScale architecture features a highly efficient clock network with fine-granular clock gating. The 20 Clock Management Tiles (CMTs), each containing an MMCM and PLL, provide flexible, low-jitter clocking to every region of the device — enabling ASIC-like performance predictability without the NRE cost.

Up to 40% Lower Power vs. Previous Generation

Compared to Kintex-7 FPGAs, the UltraScale generation provides up to 40% lower power consumption at equivalent performance levels. This is critical for thermally constrained applications such as wireless base stations, embedded computing, and rack-mounted servers where heat dissipation directly impacts system reliability.

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Target Applications for the XCKU085-1FLVA1517C

The XCKU085-1FLVA1517C is optimized for — but not limited to — the following application domains:

100G Networking and Data Center Infrastructure

With hardened PCIe Gen3 blocks and high-throughput GTH transceivers, this FPGA is well-suited for 100G line-card processing, deep packet inspection, network function virtualization (NFV), and FPGA-accelerated SmartNIC designs.

DSP-Intensive Signal Processing

The device’s 2,760 DSP48E2 slices make it a powerhouse for digital signal processing workloads. Applications include radar signal processing, Software-Defined Radio (SDR), OFDM baseband processing, and real-time waveform analysis.

Medical Imaging and Diagnostics

The XCKU085 has been validated for use in next-generation CT scanners, MRI reconstruction engines, and ultrasound beamforming platforms where its massive parallelism, deterministic latency, and high RAM bandwidth are mission-critical.

8K4K Video Processing

With enough DSP and logic resources to handle real-time 8K ultra-high-definition video pipelines, including color space conversion, scaling, and compression offload, the XCKU085 is a strong fit for broadcast and professional video applications.

Heterogeneous Wireless Infrastructure

The device supports CPRI and eCPRI front-haul protocols natively and is used extensively in Remote Radio Head (RRH) designs, TD-LTE base stations, and 5G Distributed Unit (DU) implementations.

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XCKU085-1FLVA1517C vs. Related Kintex UltraScale Variants

The XCKU085-1FLVA1517C (speed grade -1, 1517 pins, commercial temp) is the entry-level commercial variant of the KU085 die, offering the lowest cost entry point with full logic resources. Designs requiring higher I/O counts can migrate to the 1760-pin or 1924-pin package variants with the same silicon.

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Design Tools and Development Support

AMD Vivado Design Suite

All Kintex UltraScale FPGAs, including the XCKU085, are supported by the AMD Vivado Design Suite, which provides a complete RTL-to-bitstream flow including synthesis, implementation, timing analysis, and simulation. Vivado ML editions offer AI-assisted place-and-route for further timing closure acceleration.

MicroBlaze Soft Processor

The XCKU085-1FLVA1517C supports the MicroBlaze™ soft-core processor, which can be synthesized within the FPGA fabric to run embedded software applications. MicroBlaze delivers over 200 DMIPS and supports DDR3/DDR4 memory interfaces at up to 800 Mbps.

High-Level Synthesis (HLS) and AI Engine Compatibility

Vivado HLS enables C/C++ to RTL translation, shortening development cycles for algorithm designers who prefer software-centric workflows. Xilinx IP Catalog provides pre-verified cores for PCIe, Ethernet, DDR memory, and video processing.

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Ordering, Compliance, and Export Information

Export Notice: The XCKU085-1FLVA1517C carries an ECCN classification of 3A001.a.7.b, meaning U.S. export licensing may be required for shipments to certain countries. Always consult your export compliance team before fulfillment.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the XCKU085-1FLVA1517C used for? It is used in 100G networking, data center FPGAs, DSP signal processing, medical imaging, 8K video processing, and wireless infrastructure designs.

What is the difference between speed grade -1 and -2 in Kintex UltraScale? Speed grade -2 offers higher maximum operating frequencies and tighter timing margins compared to -1. Speed grade -1 is more cost-effective for designs with relaxed timing requirements.

Is the XCKU085-1FLVA1517C RoHS compliant? Yes, this part is fully RoHS compliant.

What package does the XCKU085-1FLVA1517C use? It uses a 1517-pin FCBGA (Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array) package with a 1.0mm ball pitch.

What design tools are used with this FPGA? AMD Vivado Design Suite is the primary tool, supporting synthesis, implementation, simulation, and hardware debugging.

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Summary

The XCKU085-1FLVA1517C is a purpose-built, high-density Kintex UltraScale FPGA that bridges the gap between cost-optimized mid-range devices and flagship high-end FPGAs. With 1,088,325 logic cells, 32 GTH transceivers at 16.3 Gbps, 2,760 DSP slices, and 58 Mb of block RAM — all fabricated at 20nm — this device provides exceptional compute density and I/O bandwidth for the most demanding real-time applications. Its commercial-grade temperature rating, proven UltraScale architecture, and full Vivado tool support make it a reliable and scalable platform for production designs in networking, wireless, video, and medical markets.