Alchitry Cu FPGA Development Board (Lattice iCE40 HX)

The Alchitry Cu FPGA Development Board is a perfect choice for those who are embarking on their FPGA journey or are in search of a more economical option. This unique offering from Sparkfun is a less powerful version of the Alchitry Au, yet it is a great starting point into the fascinating world of FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays). The board is an epitome of the increasing affordability and power of FPGA boards. It is also equipped with a Qwiic connector for effortless I2C integration.

The Alchitry Cu is powered by the Lattice iCE40 HX FPGA with 7680 logic cells and is supported by the open-source tool chain Project IceStorm. The board boasts 79 IO pins, eight general-purpose LEDs, a 100MHz onboard clock that can be internally manipulated by the FPGA, a USB-C connector for configuration and power, and a USB to serial interface for data transfer.

The Alchitry Cu's capabilities can be expanded with the addition of stackable expansion boards, similar to shields or HATs, known as "Elements". These can add prototyping spaces, buttons, LEDs and more to the board.

The SparkFun Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields, and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. All Qwiic-enabled boards use a common 1mm pitch, 4-pin JST connector, which reduces the amount of required PCB space, and polarized connections mean you can’t hook it up wrong.

Features of the Alchitry Cu FPGA Development Board include a Lattice iCE40-HX8K FPGA with 7680 logic elements, 79 IO pins with 3.3V logic level, a USB-C connector for configuration and power, eight general-purpose LEDs, a 100MHz onboard clock that can be internally multiplied by the FPGA, and a USB to serial interface for data transfer up to 12Mbaud. The board is powered with 5V through a USB-C port, 2.54mm holes, or headers and has a Qwiic Connector. The board measures 65mm x 45mm.