PCI1200 Xilinx chip damage, what is chip function, what could damage it.

[Phill Saxton]

Card PCI1200
Damage: - physical damage to Xilinx chip on board.
Question: - what is the chip used for and what are the possible causes of the physical damage?

[PNHorn]

Hi Phill,

It's Peter Horn from NIUK Tech Support department here. I've been looking into this query for you and am a little unclear as to what you mean by damage.

Has it been blown up by overloading on current or something like that. If you could give me some more detail about exactly what has happened then I will be in a better position to find the solution.

Best regards,

Peter H
Applications Engineer
National Instruments.

[Phill Saxton]

Hi Peter

I am trying to find out why the chip on the card has failed in service. The chip is showing signs of over heating, with a burn line across its surface. I have checked all the i/o attached to the card for voltage levels etc and everything seems fine. Obviously before installing another card we would like to get to the bottom of the problem (we have now changed the computer but would like to know more about the chip before risking another card)..

Regards

Phill Saxton.

[PNHorn]

Hi Phill,

It sounds like there are several possibilities. It could be that the card was faulty and this is what has caused the damage on the chip.

The chip on the PCI-1200 is a XC5204 which has a max input voltage of +-5.5v, damage would obviously occur if this is exceeded.

The max input current is also +-8mA. Also, the maximum operating temperature is 125 degree's C. If any of these limits are pushed beyond the specified limits, then this could obviously cause damage.

To find the exact cause I need to know a bit more detail about your application. What are you connecting the device to? Is there a risk of power spikes? What current are you drawing? Where is the computer operating (in a hot or cold environment)?

Anything you ca
n tell me in this area may help to track down the cause. There is no definite reason as to why the chip should blow up, and it must therefore either be down to a faulty card or the use of it being outside it's limits.

Best regards,

Peter H
Applications Engineer.
National Instruments.