Using Cyclone 3 chip on PCB - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Gerrit151
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 19, 2020, 08:57:51 am
content: Hi,I am pretty new into IC stuff and due to the corona have less and less students to discuss how things work.Currently I am trying to design a PCB board with an accelerometer and a readout IC and need to do the digital part on an FPGA.But due to the PCB space and have everything on one PCB board it seems a better way to have the cyclone iii chip on the PCB and communicate.Instead of having the whole FPGA as in:https://www.digikey.nl/product-detail/nl/terasic-inc/P0037/P0037-ND/2138840As this occupies a lot of space and in the measurement test setup the FPGA does not fit anymore, so long wires have to be used.Does someone know if there is a guideline on how to do this? As in only use the Cyclone iii on a PCB board?I have heard about JTAG which could be used? But at this moment I have no clue on how to start using only the chip instead of the whole development board.Best regards,Gerrit

author: Daixiwen
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2020, 09:50:28 am
content: You will need to read a lot of documentation to be sure you cover everything needed for the component. You can start with the design guidelines:https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/programmable/us/en/pdfs/literature/an/an466.pdfBut you will also need to read the handbook.The FPGA requires several power supplies, so you will need some DC/DC converters. You also need good decoupling and a good ground plane. The PCB needs to be at least 4 layers but if you are using a BGA FPGA and don't have a lot of experience routing FPGA boards it will be easier with 6/8 layers.The JTAG interface will make it a lot easier to debug and program the board, so you should include it. You will also need a flash configuration component if you want the final board to be automatically configured during power up without requiring a PC connected to the JTAG interface.You can have a look at the development board schematic, it is a very good starting point for a custom PCB.

author: Scrts
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2020, 08:51:09 pm
content: I'd say go for a development kit that allows interfacing "shields". E.g. this one:https://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?Language=English&CategoryNo=218&No=708Then put accelerometer Arduino shield on it and that's it. Once done - you can try another shields.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2020, 08:25:09 am
content: This is bare minimum example , The chip can't work alone, need clock and flash to store the bit streamhttp://electrobist.com/product/fpga-cyclone-ii-ep2c5t144-minimum-system-development-board/

author: Scrts
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2020, 02:01:54 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on August 24, 2020, 09:12:59 amOr MAX10.

author: Daixiwen
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2020, 06:43:45 am
content: Yes the Max10 is a good alternative. It's an FPGA inside, but it also includes the configuration flash so you don't need to put one on the PCB. I think it is also easier to supply power to than the Cyclones.