The XCKU115-2FLVB1760I is a high-performance Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) from AMD Xilinx, belonging to the flagship Kintex UltraScale family. Manufactured on TSMC’s advanced 20nm process node, this device delivers an exceptional blend of logic density, DSP throughput, and high-speed transceiver capability — all in a mid-range FPGA package optimized for price-to-performance efficiency. Whether you are designing next-generation telecom infrastructure, 100G networking equipment, or advanced radar signal processing systems, the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I is engineered to handle it.
What Is the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I?
The XCKU115-2FLVB1760I is part of AMD Xilinx’s Xilinx FPGA portfolio — specifically the Kintex UltraScale series, which represents the highest-density member of the mid-range UltraScale FPGA generation. The part number breaks down as follows:
| Part Number Segment |
Meaning |
| XC |
Xilinx Commercial Silicon |
| KU115 |
Kintex UltraScale, Density Grade 115 |
| -2 |
Speed Grade 2 (mid performance tier) |
| FLVB |
Fine-Line BGA, Low Voltage, B package variant |
| 1760 |
1760-pin package |
| I |
Industrial temperature grade (–40°C to +100°C) |
This naming convention makes it straightforward to identify the device’s speed, package, pin count, and operating temperature range at a glance.
XCKU115-2FLVB1760I Key Specifications
Core Device Parameters
| Parameter |
Value |
| Manufacturer |
AMD (formerly Xilinx) |
| Family |
Kintex UltraScale |
| Device |
XCKU115 |
| Process Node |
20nm |
| System Logic Cells |
1,451,100 |
| CLB Flip-Flops |
1,326,720 |
| CLB Look-Up Tables (LUTs) |
663,360 |
| Block RAM (Total) |
75.9 Mb |
| DSP Slices |
5,520 |
| MMCM / PLL |
12 / 6 |
| Max User I/O |
702 |
| GTH Transceivers |
64 |
| VCCINT Core Voltage |
0.95V |
| Speed Grade |
-2 (mid speed) |
| Temperature Grade |
Industrial (–40°C to +100°C) |
Package & Physical Specifications
| Parameter |
Value |
| Package Type |
FCBGA (Fine-pitch Column BGA) |
| Package Designator |
FLVB1760 |
| Total Pin Count |
1,760 |
| Package Body Size |
45 × 45 mm |
| Mounting Type |
Surface Mount Technology (SMT) |
| RoHS Compliant |
Yes |
XCKU115-2FLVB1760I Speed Grade & Temperature Explained
Understanding Speed Grade -2
The -2 speed grade positions the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I in the mid-tier performance range within the Kintex UltraScale family. Xilinx offers the KU115 in -3 (highest performance), -2, -1, and -1L speed grades. The -2 grade operates at a core voltage (VCCINT) of 0.95V and delivers a maximum system clock performance of approximately 661 MHz, making it well-suited for demanding real-time processing applications without the power premium of the -3 grade.
Industrial Temperature Range (I Suffix)
The “I” suffix designates the Industrial temperature grade, specifying reliable operation from –40°C to +100°C junction temperature. This is critical for deployments in harsh or outdoor environments, including:
- Automotive electronics and ADAS systems
- Military and defense platforms
- Outdoor telecommunications base stations
- Industrial automation and control systems
- Avionics and aerospace applications
Logic Resources: Deep Dive
CLBs, LUTs, and Flip-Flops
The XCKU115 is built around Xilinx’s UltraScale Configurable Logic Block (CLB) architecture. Each CLB contains eight 6-input LUTs and sixteen flip-flops, enabling dense and efficient design implementation. With 663,360 LUTs and 1,326,720 flip-flops, the XCKU115 supports extremely complex RTL designs, including multi-core processor implementations, complex state machines, and large encryption engines.
DSP Slice Architecture
One of the most distinguishing features of the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I is its 5,520 DSP58E2 slices — the highest DSP count in the Kintex UltraScale family. Each DSP58E2 slice supports:
- 27×18-bit signed multiplier
- 48-bit accumulator
- Pre-adder for symmetric filter support
- Pattern detect for overflow and convergent rounding
This makes the device ideal for FIR/IIR filter banks, FFT engines, matrix multiplication accelerators, and radar/sonar signal processing pipelines where multiply-accumulate (MAC) throughput is the key bottleneck.
Block RAM
| Resource |
Quantity |
| 36Kb Block RAM Tiles |
2,160 |
| Total Block RAM Capacity |
75.9 Mb |
| Max Distributed RAM |
~9.3 Mb |
The large on-chip memory capacity reduces the need for external memory in many bandwidth-constrained applications, helping designers achieve better latency and lower BOM cost.
High-Speed Transceivers: GTH 16.3 Gbps
The XCKU115-2FLVB1760I features 64 GTH (Gigabit Transceiver, High-Speed) channels, each capable of operating at line rates up to 16.3 Gbps. These transceivers support a wide range of serial protocols:
| Supported Protocol |
Max Line Rate |
| PCIe Gen3 x16 |
Up to 8 Gbps/lane |
| 100GbE / OTU4 |
10.3125 Gbps |
| Interlaken |
Up to 12.5 Gbps |
| CPRI / OBSAI |
Multiple rates |
| SATA / SAS |
1.5 / 3 / 6 Gbps |
| Custom Serial Links |
Up to 16.3 Gbps |
With 64 transceivers available in the 1760-pin FLVB package, the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I is positioned as a powerhouse for multi-port 100G networking, wireless backhaul, and high-bandwidth data center interconnect designs.
I/O Banks and SelectIO Resources
The device provides 702 user I/O pins organized across multiple I/O banks. The UltraScale SelectIO technology supports a comprehensive range of I/O standards:
| I/O Standard Category |
Examples |
| Single-Ended (HP Banks) |
LVCMOS 1.2V / 1.5V / 1.8V / 2.5V / 3.3V |
| Differential (HP Banks) |
LVDS, LVDS_25, DIFF_HSTL |
| Single-Ended (HR Banks) |
LVCMOS 3.3V, LVTTL |
| Differential (HR Banks) |
DIFF_SSTL, LVPECL |
High-Performance (HP) I/O banks support on-chip DCI (Digitally Controlled Impedance), eliminating the need for external termination resistors and simplifying PCB design. This is particularly valuable in high pin-count designs where termination network complexity can add significant board cost.
Clocking Architecture
The XCKU115-2FLVB1760I includes a robust, flexible clocking architecture:
| Resource |
Count |
| Mixed-Mode Clock Managers (MMCMs) |
12 |
| Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs) |
6 |
| Global Clock Buffers |
128 |
| Regional Clock Buffers |
96 |
MMCMs support frequency synthesis, phase shifting, and duty-cycle correction, enabling precise clock management for complex multi-clock-domain designs common in 5G, video processing, and mixed-signal systems.
Target Applications for the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I
Given its combination of massive DSP resources, dense logic fabric, 64 high-speed transceivers, and industrial temperature rating, the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I is deployed in a wide range of high-value markets:
Telecommunications & Wireless Infrastructure
- 4G/5G RRU (Remote Radio Unit) and BBU (Baseband Unit) processing
- 100G/400G line card processing
- CPRI/eCPRI fronthaul aggregation
- Massive MIMO beamforming engines
Data Center & Cloud Computing
- SmartNIC accelerators
- High-frequency trading (HFT) FPGA platforms
- AI/ML inference acceleration
- NVMe-oF / PCIe switching
Defense & Aerospace
- Radar and electronic warfare signal processing
- Software-Defined Radio (SDR) platforms
- Secure communications and encryption
- Satellite communications payload processing
Medical Imaging
- 8K/4K medical display processing
- CT/MRI/PET scanner signal chains
- Real-time ultrasound beamforming
Industrial & Scientific
- High-speed machine vision systems
- Particle accelerator trigger/DAQ systems
- Industrial motor control and robotics
Comparison: XCKU115-2FLVB1760I vs. Other KU115 Package Options
| Part Number |
Package |
I/O Pins |
Temperature |
| XCKU115-2FLVB1760I |
FCBGA-1760 |
702 |
Industrial |
| XCKU115-2FLVB1760E |
FCBGA-1760 |
702 |
Extended (0–100°C) |
| XCKU115-2FLVA1517I |
FCBGA-1517 |
624 |
Industrial |
| XCKU115-2FLVB2104I |
FCBGA-2104 |
702 |
Industrial |
| XCKU115-1FLVB1760I |
FCBGA-1760 |
702 |
Industrial (–1 speed) |
| XCKU115-3FLVB1760E |
FCBGA-1760 |
702 |
Extended (–3 speed) |
The XCKU115-2FLVB1760I sits at the intersection of the most common I/O-optimized package (1760-pin FLVB) and the industrial temperature grade (-I), making it one of the most widely used configurations in the KU115 family for production deployments.
Development Tools & Software Support
The XCKU115-2FLVB1760I is fully supported by the AMD Vivado Design Suite, the industry-standard EDA toolchain for UltraScale device design. Key tool capabilities include:
- Vivado HLS (High-Level Synthesis) — C/C++ to RTL hardware accelerator generation
- Vivado IP Integrator — Block diagram-based system integration
- Xilinx Power Estimator (XPE) — Accurate pre-implementation power estimation
- ChipScope / ILA — In-system hardware debugging
- Partial Reconfiguration (PR) — Dynamic FPGA region reprogramming
- PCIe IP Core (Gen3 x16) — Hardened PCIe endpoint/root complex IP
Vivado supports the XCKU115 from version 2014.3 onwards, and AMD continues to provide regular updates and IP library expansions for the UltraScale family.
Power Considerations
Operating at VCCINT = 0.95V on a 20nm node, the XCKU115 delivers a significantly improved power efficiency profile compared to its 28nm predecessors. Designers should account for:
| Power Rail |
Typical Voltage |
Purpose |
| VCCINT |
0.95V |
Core logic power |
| VCCAUX |
1.8V |
Auxiliary I/O and config |
| VCCO (HP Banks) |
1.0V – 1.8V |
High-performance I/O banks |
| VCCO (HR Banks) |
1.2V – 3.3V |
High-range I/O banks |
| MGTAVCC |
1.0V |
GTH transceiver core power |
| MGTAVTT |
1.2V |
GTH transceiver termination |
The Xilinx Power Estimator (XPE) tool is strongly recommended to model static and dynamic power budgets before hardware bring-up.
Ordering Information
| Field |
Value |
| Manufacturer Part Number |
XCKU115-2FLVB1760I |
| Manufacturer |
AMD (Xilinx) |
| Series |
Kintex UltraScale |
| Package |
1760-BBGA, FCBGA |
| Tray / Reel |
Tray |
| RoHS Status |
Compliant |
| ECCN |
EAR99 (verify with distributor) |
| Lead-Free |
Yes |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the difference between XCKU115-2FLVB1760I and XCKU115-2FLVB1760E? A: The only difference is the temperature grade. The “I” suffix is Industrial (–40°C to +100°C), while the “E” suffix is Extended (0°C to +100°C). All logic, DSP, and I/O resources are identical.
Q: Is the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I footprint-compatible with UltraScale+ devices? A: Yes. Xilinx designed UltraScale and UltraScale+ families to share footprint compatibility within the same package designator. The FLVB1760 package is compatible with corresponding UltraScale+ devices in the same footprint, allowing design migration with minimal PCB changes.
Q: What is the maximum transceiver line rate for the XCKU115? A: The GTH transceivers on the XCKU115 support line rates up to 16.3 Gbps per channel.
Q: Does the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I support partial reconfiguration? A: Yes. AMD Vivado fully supports Partial Reconfiguration (PR) for the XCKU115, enabling runtime reprogramming of designated reconfigurable partitions while the rest of the device continues to operate.
Q: How many PCIe lanes does the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I support? A: The XCKU115 supports PCIe Gen3 with up to x16 lane configurations using the integrated hardened PCIe block.
Conclusion
The XCKU115-2FLVB1760I stands as one of the most capable mid-range FPGAs available for industrial-grade applications requiring massive parallel processing, high-speed serial connectivity, and production-ready reliability. With 1.45 million system logic cells, 5,520 DSP slices, 64 GTH transceivers, and a robust –40°C to +100°C operating range, it addresses the demanding requirements of 5G, 100G networking, defense, and high-performance computing markets in a cost-effective 20nm platform.
For engineering teams seeking the right FPGA for high-bandwidth, compute-intensive applications, the XCKU115-2FLVB1760I delivers the performance headroom, I/O flexibility, and tool maturity needed to bring complex designs to market with confidence.
