Similar to a Pmod, A Zmod is an expansion module, about the size of a business card. They are designed for use with FPGA prototyping and development boards. The “Z” in Zmod comes from within the word SYZYGY (pronounced sizz-uh-jee), which is an open standard for high-performance peripheral connectivity. The SYZYGY standard provides a higher speed and bandwidth interface than Pmods, while taking up less space and fewer pins than FMC.
At the time of this post, Digilent has two Zmods available: the Zmod ADC 1410 and Zmod DAC 1411. These Zmods offer an analog-to-digital converter and a digital-to-analog converter, respectively, each with 14 bits of resolution and a maximum sample rate of 100MS/s. Digilent also offers three FPGA development boards with SYZYGY Standard Zmod connectors. The Eclypse Z7 has two such connectors, and the Genesys ZU and USB104 A7 both have one. We think Zmods are great for high speed control and software-defined radio projects.
Check out these other blog posts for the SYZYGY Origin Story and how Digilent is adopting the new standard.
