Cyclone III FPGA Development Kit
from Altera Corporation
Altera’s Cyclone® III FPGA Development Kit combines the largest density low-cost, low-power FPGA available with a robust set of memories and user interfaces. The kit dramatically reduces the design and verification portion of your project, whether it’s for automotive, consumer, wireless communications, video processing, or another high-volume, cost-sensitive application.
The low-cost Cyclone III FPGA family—the industry’s first family of low-cost, 65-nm devices—offers an unprecedented combination of low power, high functionality, and low cost. Cyclone III devices are ideal to complement or replace ASSPs or ASICs. Inside this development kit, you’ll find everything you need, including design examples, all the hardware, software, and documentation to begin Cyclone III FPGA development, and a European Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)-compliant board.
If you are an experienced FPGA designer checking out the Cyclone III architecture, you'll love building systems leveraging the 60 percent (on average) faster performance and 50 percent lower power that Cyclone III FPGAs offer over the competition.
Ordering Information
| Table 1. Cyclone III FPGA Development Kit Ordering Code and Pricing Information (1) |
| Ordering Code |
Price |
Ordering Information |
| DK-DEV-3C120N |
$1,495  |
Buy online via Altera's eStore or contact your local Altera® distributor to place your order. |
Note:
-
Cyclone III FPGAs and Nios II 32-Bit Soft IP Processor
Cyclone III FPGAs are perfectly suited as embedded processors or microcontrollers when combined with Altera's 32-bit Nios® II embedded processor intellectual property (IP) cores. You can add many other functions to the Cyclone III FPGA with additional IP cores available from Altera and Altera's partners. Two Cyclone III FPGA-based kits specifically bundled with and targeted for Nios II embedded processing applications are planned, one available now and another coming soon.
HSMC Interface
Altera developed the specification for the HSMC, which is based on the Samtec mechanical connector, to define and standardize the interface between optional daughtercards and host boards. This specification outlines both the electrical and mechanical properties of the interface between daughtercard and host. You can also create your own HSMC interface compatible daughtercards.
Development Kit Contents
The Cyclone III FPGA Development Kit is RoHS compliant and features:
- Cyclone III development board (see Figure 1)
- Cyclone III EP3C120F780 FPGA
- Embedded USB-Blaster™ circuitry (includes an Altera MAX® II CPLD) allowing download of FPGA configuration files via the flash device or the host computer
- Memory
- 256 Mbytes of dual-channel DDR2 SDRAM with ECC
- 8 Mbytes of synchronous SRAM
- 64 Mbytes of flash
- Communication ports
- 10/100/1000 Ethernet
- USB 2.0
- Clocking
- 50-MHz and 125-MHz on-board oscillators
- SMA inputs/outputs
- Inputs/outputs for the two HSMCs
- Various buttons, switches, and indicators
- Display
- 128 x 64 graphics LCD
- 2-line x 16-character LCD
- Connectors
- Debug tools
- Three HSMC debug cards (two loop-back and a debug header)
- Cables and power/analog
- 14-V – 20-V DC input
- On-board power measurement circuitry
- 19.8 W per HSMC interface
- Power cord with plug adapters (US, UK, EU)
- Cyclone III FPGA Development Kit, CD-ROM (download all CD contents via FTP)
- Design examples for the Cyclone III FPGA development board
- Complete documentation
- User guide
- Reference manual
- Board schematic and layout
- Bill of materials
- Product and partner information
- Altera Complete Design Suite DVD
- Quartus® II design software
- Subscription Edition (optional feature, available for purchase)
- Web Edition (no charge, Windows only)
- ModelSim®-Altera® software
- Altera Edition (optional feature, available for purchase)
- Web Edition (no charge, Windows only)
- MegaCore® IP Library - OpenCore Plus evaluation
- Includes Nios II processor (evaluation license)
- Nios II Embedded Design Suite, Evaluation Edition (no charge)
- DSP Builder (optional feature, available for purchase)
- Video demos of Quartus II software and Nios II embedded processor
Figure 1. Cyclone III FPGA Development Board
Available Documentation
| Table 2. Documents Available for the Cyclone III FPGA Development Kit |
| Document |
File Format |
Download |
Language |
| User Guide |
Adobe PDF |
Via FTP |
English |
| Reference Manual |
Adobe PDF |
| Board Assembly |
Adobe PDF |
| Board Mechanicals |
Adobe PDF |
| Board Schematic |
Adobe PDF |
| Bill of Materials |
Microsoft Excel |
Related Links
|
Literature
> 
