Specifications

Introduction:

FPGA & Altera’s DE270 FPGA Development Board

A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is an integrated circuit designed to be configured by the

customer or designer after manufacturing ,hence called field-programmable. The FPGA configuration is

generally specified using a hardware description language(HDL). FPGAs can be used to implement any

logical function. The ability to update the functionality after shipping, partial re-configuration of the portion

of the design

and the low non-recurring engineering costs r offer advantages for many applications.

FPGAs contain programmable logic components called logic blocks, and a hierarchy of reconfigurable

interconnects that allow the blocks to be wired. Logic blocks can be configured to perform

complex combinational functions, or merely simple logic gates like AND and XOR. In most FPGAs, the

logic blocks also include memory elements, which may be simple flip-flops or more complete blocks of

memory.

The DE2-70 board features a powerful Cyclone R II FPGA chip. All important components on the board

are connected to the pins of this chip, allowing the user to configure the connection between the

various components as desired. For simple experiments, the DE2 board includes a sufficient

number of switches (of both toggle and pushbutton variety), LEDs, and 7-segment displays. For

more advanced experiments, there are SRAM, SDRAM, and Flash memory chips. For experiments

that require a processor and simple I/O interfaces, it is easy to instantiate Altera’s Nios II

processor and use interface standards such as RS-232 and PS/2. For experiments that involve

sound or video signals, there are standard connectors provided on the board. For large design

projects, it is possible to use the SD memory card. Finally, it is possible to connect other user-designed

boards to the DE2-70 board by means of two expansion headers. Software provided with the DE2-70

board features the Quartus II web edition design tools. It also includes a simple monitor program that

allows the student to control various parts of the board in an easily understandable manner.