Evaluation Boards - Embedded - Complex Logic (FPGA, CPLD)

Part Number	Description / PDF	Quantity
102110277 Seeed	PERF-V BASED ON XILINX ARTIX-7 F	0
SLG46116V-DIP Dialog Semiconductor	20-PIN DIP PROTO BOARD. PERFECT	0
EK-U1-ZCU104-G-J Xilinx	XILINX ZYNQ ULTRASCALE+ ZCU104 P	0
CK-U1-KCU1250-G Xilinx	BOARD CHARACTERIZATION KCU1250	0
EK-U1-ZCU106-G-J Xilinx	XILINX ZYNQ ULTRASCALE+ MPSOC ZC	0
DK-SI-1SGX-H-A Intel	STRATIX 10 TRANSCEIVER SIGNAL IN	2
P0205 Terasic	DEV KIT DE5-NET FOR STRATIX V GX	0
P0058 Terasic	BOARD DEV/EDUCATION ALTERA DE4	0
EK-S6-SP601-G Xilinx	KIT EVAL SPARTAN 6 SP601	0
410-182P-KIT Digilent, Inc.	BOARD NEXYS3 FOR SPARTAN-6	0
P0139 Terasic	DE5-NET_QDRII 450 - STRATIX V	0
ICE40HX8K-DRAGON-EVN Lattice Semiconductor	BOARD EVAL FOR ICE40HX	0
P0122 Terasic	DE5-NET_QDRII 500 - STRATIX V	0
MPF300-SPLASH-KIT-ES Roving Networks / Microchip Technology	POLARFIRE SPLASH KIT WITH A MPF3	0
410-044-10P Digilent, Inc.	BOARD SPARTAN3 1000K	0
DK-N2EVAL-3C25N Intel	KIT DEV NIOS II CYCLONE III ED.	0
80-001201 Critical Link	ARRIA 10 SOC DEVELOPMENT KIT 270	0
UP3-DK-1C6/UNIV Intel	EDUCATION BOARD UP3 W/1C6	0
HW-SPAR3AN-SK-UNI-G Xilinx	KIT STARTER SPARTAN-3 AN	0
LF500-PAC-EV Lattice Semiconductor	BOARD EVAL ISPXPGA PAC PMGR 1208	0

Evaluation Boards - Embedded - Complex Logic (FPGA, CPLD)

1. Overview

Evaluation boards for Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs) are hardware platforms designed to test and develop embedded systems using reconfigurable logic. These boards enable engineers to prototype custom digital circuits without permanent integrated circuit fabrication. As key tools in modern electronics development, they support rapid iteration for applications ranging from aerospace systems to consumer electronics.

2. Main Types and Functional Classification

Type	Functional Features	Application Examples
FPGA Evaluation Board	High logic density, reconfigurable fabric, DSP blocks, high-speed transceivers	5G baseband processing, AI accelerators
CPLD Development Kit	Lower power consumption, non-volatile configuration, simpler architecture	Industrial motor control, protocol bridging
SoC Embedded Board	Combines FPGA fabric with hard processor cores (ARM, RISC-V)	Smart sensors, autonomous vehicle perception systems
Prototype Verification Platform	Multi-FPGA systems with clock/data synchronization	ASIC pre-validation, high-energy physics experiments

3. Structure and Components

Typical evaluation boards include: - FPGA/CPLD chip with BGA packaging - On-board memory (DDR4 SDRAM, QDR SRAM) - Communication interfaces (PCIe Gen4, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.2) - Power management circuits with multiple voltage rails - Debug interfaces (JTAG, UART, FTDI chips) - Expansion headers (FMC, PMOD) - Oscillators and clock distribution networks

4. Key Technical Specifications

Parameter	Description
Logic Elements Count	Defines design complexity capacity (e.g., 500K-2M LUTs for high-end FPGAs)
Max Clock Frequency	Determines processing speed (up to 1.6GHz for networking applications)
I/O Count & Standards	Supports LVDS, SSTL, HSTL (e.g., 1024 differential pairs)
Power Consumption	Thermal design power (TDP) range 5W-35W
Memory Bandwidth	Up to 256-bit AXI interfaces with 1866MT/s DDR4
Transceiver Speed	28Gbps/58Gbps serial links for optical communication

5. Application Areas

Major industries include: - Telecommunications (5G NR base stations, optical transport) - Industrial Automation (real-time motion control, machine vision) - Automotive (ADAS sensor fusion, autonomous driving) - Medical Imaging (ultrasound beamforming, MRI reconstruction) - Consumer Electronics (AR/VR video processing) - Scientific Research (particle detector data acquisition)

6. Leading Manufacturers and Products

Manufacturer	Representative Product
Xilinx (AMD)	Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC ZCU106
Intel (Altera)	Stratix 10 GX 10M Evaluation Board
Lattice Semiconductor	iCE40 UltraPlus Breakout Board
Microchip (Microsemi)	SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA Development Kit
Allwinner (China)	Tang Nano 9K FPGA Module

7. Selection Guidelines

Key considerations: - Match logic density to design complexity with 20% margin - Verify interface compatibility (e.g., PCIe Gen5 vs Gen4) - Assess power delivery capability for worst-case scenarios - Check toolchain support (Vivado, Quartus, Lattice Diamond) - Consider thermal management requirements - Evaluate available IP core ecosystem - Compare cost/performance ratio for production scalability

8. Industry Trends

Emerging trends include: - AI/ML acceleration with quantized neural networks - Heterogeneous integration (photonics, RF components) - Open-source toolchain development (e.g., Yosys, SymbiFlow) - Energy-efficient architectures for edge computing - Increased adoption in safety-critical systems (ISO 26262 compliance) - Growth of RISC-V based FPGA SoCs - China's domestic substitution initiatives (Huawei HiSilicon, Phytium)