Xilinx XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I Datasheet and Specs: 16-Channel Gen3 RFSoC

The XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I is AMD’s (formerly Xilinx) top-of-stack Gen 3 Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC: a single-chip software-defined radio platform with 16 RF-ADCs, 16 RF-DACs, a quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor and roughly 930,000 logic cells of UltraScale+ programmable fabric, all in a 1760-ball flip-chip BGA. It targets 16-channel direct-RF systems such as phased-array radar, massive-MIMO radios, satellite payloads and high-channel-count test and measurement.

Here is the part most distributor pages skip: the chip’s rated RF performance is set by your PCB, not the silicon. Get the laminate, impedance control and converter power rails wrong and you will measure SNR well below the datasheet. This page gives you the complete spec sheet, the part-number decode, how the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I stacks up against the 8-channel parts, and what it actually takes to lay out and build a board around it.

Key specs at a glance:

• Device — Gen 3 Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC, 16-channel direct-RF sampling, 16 nm FinFET+
• RF — 16x 14-bit RF-ADC up to 2.5 GSPS, 16x 14-bit RF-DAC up to ~9.85 GSPS, analog input to ~6 GHz
• Fabric — ~930K logic cells, 4,272 DSP slices, 38.0 Mb block RAM, 22.5 Mb UltraRAM, 16 GTY transceivers to 32.75 Gb/s
• Processing — quad-core Cortex-A53 (to 1.333 GHz) plus dual-core Cortex-R5F (to 533 MHz)
• Package — FFVF1760, 1760-ball FCBGA, 42.5 x 42.5 mm, 1.0 mm pitch; speed grade -2, industrial (-40 to +100 C, TJ)
• No SD-FEC on this device — that is the ZU67DR (16-channel) or ZU48DR (8-channel)
• Indicative price ~US$36,000 per unit, allocation lead times, and a mandatory export End-Use Statement before shipment

What Is the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I?

The XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I is an RFSoC — a device that folds RF data converters, hardened DSP-class signal processing, an Arm processing system and FPGA fabric onto one 16 nm die. In a classic radio you would chain a discrete ADC and DAC to a JESD204 interface and then to an FPGA. The RFSoC removes that chain. AMD quotes roughly 50 to 75 percent power and footprint reduction versus the discrete approach, which is the whole reason these parts exist.

This is the 16-channel member of the Gen 3 line. Direct RF sampling lets you digitize and synthesize sub-6 GHz signals straight at the antenna, skipping external mixers and IF stages. The same silicon sits on the AMD ZCU216 evaluation board and on production system-on-modules such as the Avnet/Tria XRF16. It is part of the broader Xilinx FPGA portfolio, sharing the UltraScale+ fabric and toolflow (Vivado, Vitis) with the MPSoC devices.

One framing that helps at design-in: treat the part as a radio platform first and an FPGA second. The converters and their clocking dominate the hard engineering. The fabric is generous but conventional.

XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I Specifications

The table below consolidates the headline parameters. Always confirm anything safety- or contract-critical against the official AMD datasheet (DS889), since AMD revises figures across silicon steppings.

Parameter	XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I
Product family	Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC (Gen 3)
Process node	16 nm FinFET+
Application processor (APU)	Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53, up to 1.333 GHz
Real-time processor (RPU)	Dual-core Arm Cortex-R5F, up to 533 MHz
On-chip memory	256 KB with ECC
System logic cells	~930,000
DSP slices	4,272 (27 x 18 multiplier, 27-bit pre-adder)
Total block RAM	38.0 Mb (36 Kb blocks with FIFO/ECC)
UltraRAM	22.5 Mb
RF-ADC	16 channels, 14-bit, up to 2.5 GSPS, with DDC
RF-DAC	16 channels, 14-bit, up to ~9.85 GSPS (10 GSPS with factory sign-off), with DUC
Max RF analog input	~6 GHz
SD-FEC (LDPC / Turbo)	None on this device (use ZU67DR for 16-channel + SD-FEC)
GTY transceivers	16, up to 32.75 Gb/s
PS-GTR transceivers	4, up to 6 Gb/s
PCIe	2 x PCIE4C: Gen3 x16 / Gen4 x8, CCIX-capable
100G Ethernet MAC + RS-FEC	2
150G Interlaken	1
External memory	DDR4 / DDR3 / LPDDR4, Quad-SPI, NAND, eMMC
Package	FFVF1760, 1760-ball FCBGA, 42.5 x 42.5 mm, 1.0 mm pitch
Speed grade	-2 (high performance)
Temperature grade	Industrial (I), junction -40 C to +100 C
Lifecycle	Active production
Indicative unit price (qty 1)	~US$36,000 (distributor list, frequently zero stock)

Decoding the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I Part Number

Most listings never break this down, yet the suffix is where procurement mistakes happen. Here is what each field means.

Field	Code	Meaning
Prefix	XC	Commercial/standard grade. XQ is the defense-grade (ruggedized) variant; XA is automotive.
Device	ZU49DR	Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC, device 49. The DR suffix marks the RF data-converter (RFSoC) class.
Speed grade	-2	Highest-performance speed tier offered on this family. -1 is the slower, lower-cost grade; -2L screens for lower static power.
Package	FF…V	Flip-chip BGA package family and variant identifier.
Ball count	F1760	1760 solder balls.
Temp grade	I	Industrial, junction -40 C to +100 C. E (extended/commercial) runs 0 C to +100 C.

Practical takeaway: the part on your BOM, XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I, is the commercial-prefix, top-speed, industrial-temperature, 1760-ball version. The -L (low-power) and -E (extended) variants are separate orderable parts with separate prices and lead times, so do not assume a quote for one covers another.

XCZU49DR vs ZU47DR vs ZU48DR vs ZU28DR: Which RFSoC Do You Need?

Channel count is not the only axis. Going to 16 channels actually halves the per-channel ADC rate versus the 8-channel ZU47DR, and the 16-channel ZU49DR drops SD-FEC. Pick on the spec that gates your system, not the biggest number.

Part	Gen	RF-ADC	RF-DAC	SD-FEC	Best for
XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I	3	16x 14-bit @ 2.5 GSPS	16x 14-bit @ ~9.85 GSPS	No	Max channels: phased array, multi-beam
XCZU48DR-2FFVG1517I	3	8x 14-bit @ 5 GSPS	8x 14-bit @ ~9.85 GSPS	Yes (8)	8-ch with FEC: 5G NR, DOCSIS
XCZU47DR-2FFVE1156I	3	8x 14-bit @ 5 GSPS	8x 14-bit @ ~9.85 GSPS	No	Wideband 8-ch, top per-channel ADC rate
XCZU28DR-2FFVG1517I	1	8x 12-bit @ 4.096 GSPS	8x 14-bit @ 6.554 GSPS	Yes (8)	Cost-aware Gen 1 with FEC

The trade-off in one line: if you need wide instantaneous bandwidth per channel, the ZU47DR’s 5 GSPS ADC beats the ZU49DR’s 2.5 GSPS. If you need raw channel count for beamforming, the ZU49DR is the part. If you need on-chip LDPC or Turbo decode, the ZU49DR will not do it — you want the ZU48DR (8-channel) or ZU67DR (16-channel).

RF and Signal Integrity Design for the XCZU49DR

Direct RF sampling to 6 GHz puts your laminate squarely in the signal path. On standard FR-4, insertion loss runs around 0.8 to 1.0 dB per inch at 10 GHz; a low-loss laminate such as Rogers RO4350B is closer to 0.3 dB per inch. The difference comes from the dielectric: FR-4 sits around Dk 4.3 with Df near 0.02, while RO4350B is about Dk 3.66 with Df near 0.0037. Lower Df means less of your RF energy turns into heat in the board.

You rarely need an all-Rogers stack-up. The cost-effective answer is a hybrid: low-loss laminate (Rogers, or Panasonic Megtron 6/7) on the RF and high-speed transceiver layers, standard FR-4 cores everywhere else. That keeps the laminate spend on the layers that actually carry 2 to 6 GHz energy.

Two impedance targets dominate the design:

• RF-ADC inputs are differential — design for 100 ohm differential controlled impedance, balanced and length-matched.
• RF-DAC outputs and reference clocks are single-ended through baluns — design for 50 ohm single-ended.

Hold impedance to IPC Class 2 (typically +/-10 percent) for general digital, and tighten to +/-5 percent on the RF and converter clock nets where SFDR depends on it. Decide microstrip versus stripline early: microstrip is lower loss and easy to probe but radiates and couples to neighbors; stripline buries the trace between reference planes for isolation at the cost of extra dielectric loss and vias.

Counterintuitive insight 1: power integrity sets your SNR ceiling.

Engineers chase trace routing when the real culprit is usually the converter’s analog supply. The RF-ADC and RF-DAC analog rails (the AVCC and AVTT family) translate supply ripple directly into spurs and degraded SNR/SFDR. A few millivolts of switching noise riding on a converter rail can cost you several dB of dynamic range that no amount of trace tuning will recover. Isolate those rails with dedicated low-noise regulators and ferrite/pi filtering, keep their return paths clean, and place decoupling close to the balls per AMD’s PCB guidance — UG583 and the RF Data Converter user guide.

Real-world case.

A phased-array startup specified the ZU49DR for its 16 channels, then routed the RF lines on plain FR-4 to hold down board cost and shared the converter analog rails with the digital supply. At 3 to 4 GHz their measured SNR came in 6 to 8 dB under the datasheet. The fix was a re-spin onto a hybrid Rogers/FR-4 stack-up with isolated, individually filtered converter rails. Performance recovered, but the lesson cost them one board spin and roughly eight weeks. The silicon was never the problem.

Laying Out the 1760-Ball FCBGA: HDI, Via-in-Pad and Stack-Up

The FFVF1760 package is 42.5 x 42.5 mm with 1760 balls on a 1.0 mm pitch — roughly a 42 by 42 grid. That 1.0 mm pitch reads as forgiving on a datasheet, which is the trap.

Counterintuitive insight 2: 1.0 mm pitch does not mean easy fanout.

Pitch tells you the spacing between adjacent balls; ball count tells you how deep the array is. You can dogbone-escape the outer two or three rows of a 1.0 mm BGA with through-vias, but you cannot escape the inner rows of a 42-row array that way — there is simply nowhere to land the via. Inner-row escape forces via-in-pad (filled and capped, so the ball still sits flat) feeding microvias on an HDI build, or a very high through-via layer count. Either path changes your fab quote, so settle it before layout, not after.

A realistic stack-up for this device looks like:

• 14 to 20+ layers, depending on how many of the 16 GTY lanes and converter nets you break out simultaneously.
• HDI microvias (1 or 2 build-up layers each side) plus via-in-pad to escape the BGA core, or staggered/stacked vias on a sub-lamination.
• Back-drilling on the multi-gigabit GTY lanes — at 25 to 32 Gb/s, the unused via stub becomes a resonant stub that closes the eye; back-drilling removes it.
• Generous copper-plane allocation. The device carries many supply rails, and split or starved planes raise impedance and inductance on exactly the supplies you cannot afford noise on.

Qualify the bare board to IPC-6012 — Class 2 for commercial, Class 3 where reliability is non-negotiable, which is most aerospace, defense and instrumentation work that uses this part. Class 3 tightens copper plating, annular ring and via-fill acceptance, and it is worth stating on the fab drawing up front so the quote reflects it.

Power and Thermal Design for a 16-Channel RFSoC

Power delivery is a project in itself. Beyond the core VCCINT (0.85 V on -2, or 0.72 V on the -2L/0.72 V option), you are managing VCCINT_IO, VCCBRAM, VCCAUX, the PS rails and the sensitive analog converter rails. Sequencing and ramp order matter; follow AMD’s power-on sequence or the device may not configure. Size the regulators for transient current, not just average.

Thermally, a fully loaded 16-channel RFSoC is not a trickle. Real designs dissipate on the order of 30 to 60 W depending on fabric utilization, converter activity and clock rates. Because the package is flip-chip BGA, the die faces up and most heat leaves through the lid, so plan a top-side heatsink — vendors sell RFSoC-specific heatsinks for exactly this reason. For sealed or conduction-cooled enclosures, add a thermal path to the chassis and use thermal vias and heavier copper under the power stages to spread heat into the board.

Trade-off: speed grade versus watts.

The -2 grade gives you the highest fabric performance but draws more static power than the -2L low-power screen or the -1 grade. If your thermal or power budget is tight, dropping to -2L or -1 buys back watts at the cost of maximum clock frequency. On a deployed, conduction-cooled board that trade is often worth making.

Common XCZU49DR Design and Sourcing Mistakes

Send this list to a junior engineer before they start the board. Each item maps to a fix you can apply on Monday.

1. Routing RF traces on plain FR-4 above 2 to 3 GHz. Budget a hybrid low-loss laminate from the first stack-up draft, not after the first SNR measurement.
2. Sharing converter analog rails with digital supplies. Give the AVCC/AVTT rails dedicated low-noise regulators and filtering, or expect to lose several dB of SNR/SFDR.
3. Dogbone-only fanout on the 1760-ball BGA. Commit to via-in-pad and HDI microvias early; it changes layer count, fab process and cost.
4. Skipping back-drill on 25+ Gb/s GTY lanes. Specify back-drilling on the high-speed serial vias to kill stub resonance.
5. Assuming the ZU49DR has SD-FEC. It does not. If you need on-chip LDPC or Turbo, design in the ZU67DR or the 8-channel ZU48DR instead.
6. Designing in before checking lead time and the export End-Use Statement. These are allocation parts with an export gate; confirm both before you commit the schedule.
7. No X-ray plan for the BGA. Voids, opens and bridges under 1760 balls are invisible to optical inspection — require X-ray on first articles and ongoing sampling.

XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I Price, Availability and Lead Time

Budgeting around this part means treating it as an engineered procurement, not a catalog buy. Distributor list price for the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I sits near US$36,000 in single quantities, and authorized distributors frequently show zero on-hand stock — these move on order and allocation. The low-power -L variants list higher still, in the low-40,000s.

Two scheduling realities catch teams out. First, lead times on RFSoC silicon have historically run long during allocation windows, so quote and place early. Second, AMD requires the purchaser to complete an export End-Use Statement before an RFSoC part or kit ships — the family carries an export classification because of its RF and defense relevance. Build that paperwork step into your timeline; it is not optional and it is not instant.

If you are sourcing the device as part of a build, consolidating the chip purchase with your FPGA board fabrication and assembly avoids a second round of allocation risk and keeps the export and traceability paperwork in one place.

Frequently Asked Questions About the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I

How many RF channels does the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I have?

It has 16 RF-ADC channels and 16 RF-DAC channels (16T16R). Each ADC is 14-bit at up to 2.5 GSPS; each DAC is 14-bit at up to about 9.85 GSPS. The converters include on-chip digital down-conversion and up-conversion with NCO and complex mixing for direct RF sampling to roughly 6 GHz.

Does the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I have SD-FEC?

No. The ZU49DR does not include soft-decision FEC. If your design needs on-chip LDPC or Turbo decode, choose the 16-channel ZU67DR or the 8-channel ZU48DR, both of which carry eight SD-FEC blocks. This is a common spec mistake because the ZU49DR is the flagship channel-count part.

What is the package size of the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I?

The FFVF1760 package is a 1760-ball flip-chip BGA measuring 42.5 x 42.5 mm on a 1.0 mm ball pitch. With 1760 balls across a roughly 42 by 42 grid, escape routing the inner rows requires via-in-pad and HDI microvias or a very high through-via layer count.

What is the difference between the XCZU49DR and the XCZU47DR?

The ZU49DR is the 16-channel device (16 ADC, 16 DAC at 2.5 GSPS ADC) in a 1760-ball package. The ZU47DR is the 8-channel device (8 ADC, 8 DAC) but its ADCs run faster at 5 GSPS. More channels on the ZU49DR; more per-channel bandwidth on the ZU47DR. Neither carries SD-FEC.

What temperature range does the industrial-grade -2FFVF1760I support?

The I suffix denotes industrial grade, rated for a junction temperature of -40 C to +100 C. The alternative E (extended/commercial) grade covers 0 C to +100 C. Choose the I grade for deployed, outdoor or wide-temperature equipment, and confirm your thermal design keeps junction temperature inside the rating.

How much does the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I cost and is it in stock?

Distributor list price is around US$36,000 in single quantities, with the low-power -L variants higher. Authorized distributors often show zero stock; the part ships on order and allocation. Expect long lead times during allocation windows and a required export End-Use Statement before shipment.

Can the XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I be assembled on a standard FR-4 PCB?

Only partially. The digital sections tolerate FR-4, but RF traces above 2 to 3 GHz need a low-loss laminate, and the 1760-ball package needs HDI with via-in-pad. Most production boards use a hybrid stack-up with controlled impedance and X-ray-inspected BGA assembly to hit the chip’s rated RF performance.

Building Your XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I Board

The XCZU49DR-2FFVF1760I is a capable single-chip radio, but realizing its rated performance is a fabrication and assembly problem as much as a design one: a hybrid low-loss stack-up, 100 ohm and 50 ohm controlled impedance, back-drilled GTY lanes, via-in-pad HDI escape under a 1760-ball BGA, and X-ray-verified assembly to IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001. Get those right and the silicon delivers; get them wrong and you re-spin.

Send us your Gerber and BOM and we will return a DFM review and quote for your RFSoC board — flagging laminate, impedance, HDI and thermal risks before they reach the line.