Zeta (top) "A" Model baseboard layout and baseboard bottom (below).

Zeta provides a wide variety of on-board PC-type I/O, including:

		2 Gigabit Ethernet ports
		4 RS-232/422/485 serial ports with programmable protocol selection port-by-port and programmable 120-ohm line termination for RS-422/485
		4 USB 2.0 ports + 1 USB 3.0 port
		VGA and LVDS display outputs
		16-27 GPIO lines with 3.3V/5V logic level configurability
		Wide range 6-36V input power supply

A PCIe minicard socket and an expansion connector (see below) provide the ability for further I/O expansion using industry standard I/O modules.

Data Acquisition Circuit

Zeta baseboard with integrated analog and digital data acquisition circuit

Zeta is available with two different data acquisition circuits, denoted by either A or D in the model number. Both circuits are available with any processor option.

All digital and analog I/O features are supported by Diamond's industry-leading Universal Driver software, which provides a C language programming library that supports all features in an easy-to-use, high-level fashion. Demo programs with source code and executables are included to demonstrate the use of each library function. A graphical monitor and control program provides easy access to all the I/O features and lets you prototype your application quickly as well as debug problems. Universal Driver is available as a free download from our website upon acceptance of our software license agreement.

"A" Model Full Data Acquisition

Zeta "A" models include a complete data acquisition circuit with a combination of analog and digital I/O features. The circuit controller is an FPGA that interfaces to the host CPU via the LPC bus.

A/D Features

• 16 analog voltage inputs
• 16-bit resolution (1 part in 65536)
• Programmable input ranges: 0-5V, 0-10V, +/-5v, +/-10V
• Single-ended and differential input configuration options
• Precision, low-drift 2.5V reference voltage
• 100KHz maximum total A/D sample rate (all active channels combined)
• Integrated 2048-sample FIFO and interrupt service for efficient high-speed sampling

D/A Features

• 4 analog voltage outputs
• 16-bit resolution (1 part in 65536)
• Single-channel and multi-channel simultaneous update modes
• Programmable output range: 0-5V, 0-2.5V
• 30KHz update rate capability
• Waveform generator on 1 to 4 outputs with user-defined waveforms and 2048-sample waveform buffer

Digital I/O features

• 27 digital I/O lines
• User-selectable 3.3V / 5V logic levels
• User-selectable 10K pull-up / pull-down resistors
• Programmable direction in 8-bit and 1-bit groups
• 8-bit programmable edge detection circuit
• Buffers for protection and higher current drive
• 8 32-bit counter/timers with up counting, down counting, pulse output, and interrupt features
• 4 24-bit pulse-width modulators with programmable duty cycle and output polarity
• Interrupt support on ISA bus for A/D, digital I/O, and counter/timer circuits

"D" Model Digital I/O

Zeta "D" models include a digital I/O (GPIO) circuit based on the popular PCA9535 GPIO expander chip with the following features:

• 16 digital I/O lines
• User-selectable 3.3V / 5V logic levels
• User-selectable 10K pull-up / pull-down resistors
• Programmable direction in 8-bit groups
• Buffers for protection and higher current drive

Mass Storage Options

Systems which do not require any additional I/O beyond the baseboard features may use the baseboard's MiniCard/mSATA socket to contain the system bootable mass storage. For Linux operation, the Micro SD socket may also be used for bootable mass storage, leaving the MiniCard socket available for expansion. A system running Windows which requires additional I/O must use the optional daughterboard. In this case the designer has the choice of either the baseboard mSATA socket or the daughterboard's M.2 socket for the bootable mass storage. If the M.2 socket is used,then both the baseboard and the daughterboard minicard sockets are available for I/O module installation.

Zeta Daughterboard

Zeta includes an expansion connector which supports the installation of a daughterboard with additional I/O and expansion features:

		Full/half-size MiniCard socket with PCIe x1 and USB2.0 connectivity
		M.2 M-keying SSD connector for 2242 size M.2 SATA flashdisk
		HD Audio with Line In, Mic In, Line Out
		16 Digital IO lines with configurable 3.3V/ 5V logic levels and Pull-up/down resistors

Zeta daughterboard expansion connector

Zeta SBC with full-feature daughterboard and modules installed

ZETA-DB-01 full-feature daughterboard with expansion sockets, audio and GPIO

ZETA-DB-02 low-cost daughterboard with minicard and M.2 sockets only

Block Diagram