Microsemi SmartFusion2 FPGA maker board

Microsemi has announced the SmartFusion2 system-on-chip (SoC) field programmable gate array (FPGA) maker board, said to lower the barrier for hardware and firmware engineers to develop embedded applications for the ARM Cortex-M3 and 12K logic elements (LE) FPGA fabric in the SmartFusion2 device. Contents include the SmartFusion2 board, a USB cable to provide power, programming and communication, and a QuickStart Guide.

The board family is suitable for jumpstarting designs using the Microsemi SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA. It offers several resources in low-density FPGAs, all while delivering low power, security and single event upset (SEU) FPGA configuration immunity.

The key features of the SmartFusion2-010 SoC FPGA are an ARM Cortex-M3 processor, GigE MAC, USB OTG, built-in DDR2/3 controller, numerous other peripherals, 12K FPGA LEs and high levels of security to protect customers’ IP. The board also features a 1000BASE-T PHY and connector, two unpopulated interfaces for the ESP32 and the ESP8266 (not included), USB connectivity and more.

The evaluation board enables firmware and design engineers to leverage the power of Microsemi’s SmartFusion2 architecture. It is suitable for prototype applications such as Internet of Things gateways, medical instruments, handheld industrial/test products, motor control, secure connectivity designs, etc.