The XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is a high-performance Xilinx FPGA from the Kintex® UltraScale™ family, manufactured by AMD (formerly Xilinx). Built on 20nm process technology, this device delivers an exceptional price/performance/watt ratio, making it an industry-leading choice for mid-range FPGA design across communications, data centers, video processing, and defense applications.
What Is the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I?
The XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) belonging to AMD’s Kintex UltraScale product family. It is packaged in a 1156-pin Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array (FCBGA) form factor, rated for industrial temperature operation. The “-1” suffix denotes speed grade 1, the standard performance tier for this device family.
This FPGA is designed for applications that demand high DSP bandwidth, large on-chip memory, and robust I/O capability — all within a cost-optimized package footprint.
XCKU040-1FFVA1156I Key Specifications
General Product Information
| Parameter |
Value |
| Manufacturer |
AMD (Xilinx) |
| Part Number |
XCKU040-1FFVA1156I |
| FPGA Family |
Kintex® UltraScale™ |
| Series |
XCKU040 |
| Process Technology |
20nm |
| Temperature Grade |
Industrial (I) |
| Speed Grade |
-1 |
Logic and Memory Resources
| Resource |
Specification |
| Logic Cells |
424,200 |
| CLB Logic Blocks |
242,400 |
| Look-Up Tables (LUTs) |
530,250 |
| Flip-Flops |
1,060,500 |
| Block RAM (Total Bits) |
21,100 Kbits |
| Block RAM Tiles |
600 |
| UltraRAM (URAM) Blocks |
0 (XCKU040) |
| DSP Slices |
1,920 |
I/O and Package Details
| Parameter |
Value |
| Total Package Pins |
1,156 |
| User I/O Count |
520 |
| Package Type |
FCBGA (Flip-Chip BGA) |
| Package Code |
FFVA1156 |
| I/O Supply Voltage |
Up to 3.3V |
| Differential I/O Pairs |
260 |
Power Supply and Electrical Characteristics
| Parameter |
Value |
| Core Supply Voltage (VCCINT) Min |
922 mV |
| Core Supply Voltage (VCCINT) Max |
979 mV |
| Nominal Core Voltage |
0.95V |
| I/O Voltage Support |
1.2V, 1.5V, 1.8V, 2.5V, 3.3V |
| Maximum Operating Frequency |
630 MHz |
| Clock Management Blocks |
MMCM, PLL |
High-Speed Transceivers
| Transceiver Feature |
Detail |
| GTH Transceiver Count |
20 |
| GTH Line Rate |
Up to 16.375 Gbps |
| PCIe Gen3 Support |
Yes (up to x8) |
| SATA / SAS Support |
Yes |
| Ethernet (100G) Support |
Yes |
Compliance and Ordering Information
| Attribute |
Detail |
| RoHS Compliant |
Yes |
| REACH Compliant |
Yes |
| Moisture Sensitivity Level (MSL) |
MSL 4 — 72 Hours |
| Operating Temperature Range |
-40°C to +100°C (Industrial) |
| DigiKey Part Number |
1176-XCKU040-1FFVA1156ICT-ND |
| Packaging |
Tray |
XCKU040-1FFVA1156I Part Number Decoder
Understanding the Xilinx part numbering system helps engineers quickly identify device characteristics:
| Segment |
Meaning |
| XC |
Xilinx Commercial product |
| KU |
Kintex UltraScale family |
| 040 |
Device size (040 = mid-range density) |
| -1 |
Speed grade (-1 standard, -2 faster, -3 fastest) |
| FF |
Flip-Chip package type |
| VA |
Package variant identifier |
| 1156 |
Pin count (1,156 balls) |
| I |
Temperature grade: Industrial (-40°C to +100°C) |
XCKU040-1FFVA1156I Features and Architecture
UltraScale Architecture Advantages
The Kintex UltraScale XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is built on AMD’s UltraScale architecture, which delivers ASIC-like clocking, routing, and logic capabilities. Key architectural innovations include:
- ASIC-like clocking with fine-grained clock gating for dynamic power reduction
- Next-generation transceivers (GTH) supporting up to 16.375 Gbps per channel
- Advanced DSP58E2 slices with pre-adders optimized for complex arithmetic operations
- Dedicated PCIe Gen3 hard blocks for minimal latency system integration
- High-speed memory interfaces supporting DDR4, DDR3, LPDDR3, and QDR II+
Power Efficiency at 20nm
Compared to previous-generation Kintex-7 FPGAs, the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I delivers up to 40% lower power consumption at equivalent performance levels. This is achieved through:
- Fine-grained sleep transistors in each CLB
- Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling support
- Multiple power domains with independent control
- Optimized 20nm TSMC process node
High-Performance DSP Processing
With 1,920 DSP slices, the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is engineered for signal-processing-intensive workloads. The DSP58E2 architecture supports:
- Cascaded DSP chains for FIR filters and FFT pipelines
- 27×18-bit multiplier with 48-bit accumulator
- Pre-adder for symmetric filter coefficient optimization
- Pattern detection for overflow and convergent rounding
XCKU040-1FFVA1156I Applications
The XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is well-suited for the following industries and use cases:
Networking and Data Centers
- 100G Ethernet line cards and switch fabrics
- Network packet processing and deep packet inspection
- Hardware accelerators for machine learning inference
Wireless and Communications Infrastructure
- 4G/LTE and 5G base station remote radio heads
- Digital Front-End (DFE) processing
- Massive MIMO beamforming algorithms
Video and Imaging
- 8K/4K Ultra-HD video encoding and transcoding
- High-speed camera frame grabbers
- Medical imaging (MRI, CT, ultrasound) signal processing
Defense and Aerospace
- Radar and sonar signal processing
- Secure communications with cryptographic acceleration
- Electronic warfare (EW) systems
Test and Measurement
- High-speed analog digitizer backends
- Protocol analyzers and logic analyzers
- Software-defined radio (SDR) platforms
XCKU040-1FFVA1156I vs. Related Kintex UltraScale Devices
| Feature |
XCKU025 |
XCKU040 |
XCKU060 |
XCKU095 |
| Logic Cells |
236,600 |
424,200 |
725,625 |
1,143,750 |
| DSP Slices |
1,080 |
1,920 |
2,760 |
4,320 |
| Block RAM (Kbits) |
11,700 |
21,100 |
38,000 |
64,800 |
| GTH Transceivers |
20 |
20 |
32 |
60 |
| Max User I/O |
312 |
520 |
520 |
600 |
| Process Node |
20nm |
20nm |
20nm |
20nm |
The XCKU040 occupies the sweet spot in the Kintex UltraScale lineup — significantly more capable than the entry-level KU025 while remaining more cost-effective than the larger KU060 and KU095 devices.
Development Tools for XCKU040-1FFVA1156I
AMD Vivado Design Suite
The primary design environment for the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is AMD Vivado Design Suite, which includes:
- Vivado HLS (High-Level Synthesis) — design in C/C++ or SystemC
- IP Integrator — block diagram design for subsystem integration
- Vivado Simulator — functional and timing simulation
- Power Estimator — accurate pre-implementation power analysis
Vitis Unified Software Platform
For heterogeneous compute acceleration and embedded applications, AMD’s Vitis platform enables:
- OpenCL-based hardware acceleration targeting
- Hardware/software co-design and debugging
- AI inference acceleration libraries (Vitis AI)
Supported IP Cores
- PCIe Gen3 x8 DMA subsystem
- 100G Ethernet MAC (CMAC)
- DDR4 memory controller
- JESD204B/C high-speed ADC/DAC interface
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I used for?
The XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is used in applications requiring high-performance programmable logic, including 100G networking, 5G wireless infrastructure, medical imaging, defense electronics, and high-performance computing acceleration.
What is the operating temperature range of the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I?
The “I” suffix designates the industrial temperature grade, supporting operation from -40°C to +100°C junction temperature, making it suitable for harsh industrial and outdoor environments.
What package does the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I use?
It uses a 1156-ball FCBGA (Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array) package with a 35mm × 35mm body size, using a 1.0mm ball pitch.
Is the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I RoHS compliant?
Yes. The XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is fully RoHS and REACH compliant, meeting global environmental regulations for lead-free electronics manufacturing.
What transceiver speed does the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I support?
The device includes 20 GTH transceivers capable of operating at up to 16.375 Gbps per channel, supporting protocols including PCIe Gen3, 100G Ethernet, SATA, Interlaken, and more.
What is the difference between XCKU040-1FFVA1156I and XCKU040-2FFVA1156I?
The only difference is the speed grade: the -1 variant is the standard speed grade while the -2 variant offers higher performance with tighter timing margins, at a higher price point.
Summary
The XCKU040-1FFVA1156I is a versatile, high-performance Kintex UltraScale FPGA offering an outstanding combination of logic density (424,200 logic cells), DSP performance (1,920 slices), memory bandwidth (21,100 Kbits block RAM), and high-speed serial connectivity (20× GTH at 16.375 Gbps). Its industrial temperature rating, RoHS compliance, and proven 20nm architecture make it a reliable choice for demanding applications across telecommunications, defense, data center, and video processing markets.
For design support, pricing, and availability of the XCKU040-1FFVA1156I, consult authorized AMD Xilinx distributors or contact your local sales representative.
