Adafruit DE0-Nano - Altera Cyclone IV FPGA starter board

For everyday projects, microcontrollers offer a low-cost and easy-to-use solution. For tasks demanding raw power and high speed, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) serve as the sophisticated alternative. FPGAs are akin to raw chips that you can design manually, excelling in speed and efficiency. They're especially adept at mass-parallel execution, making them ideal for managing numerous I/O pins in real-time video, audio, or emulation applications.

FPGAs also provide an enjoyable design experience, letting users delve into chip architecture. For those new to this technology, the Altera starter pack represents an excellent entry point. It's a compact, feature-rich board offered at an attractive price. Included in the package is a DE0 Nano development board and a USB cable, enabling programming and power supply directly via USB.

Although a physical manual is absent, the comprehensive Altera FPGA training curriculum available online can guide users through a self-directed educational journey. The required software for compiling and uploading code to the board is available for download on the website, compatible with Windows and Linux systems.

The module itself hosts a suite of accessories, including the Altera Cyclone IV FPGA with:

• 22,320 Logic Elements (LEs)
• 594 Kbits Embedded memory
• 66 Embedded 18 x 18 multipliers
• 4 General-purpose PLLs
• 153 Maximum FPGA I/O pins
• 50 MHz clock oscillator
• 8-channel 12-bit Analog/Digital converter (NS ADC128S022)
• 32 MB SDRAM

Additional features include an on-board USB blaster programming interface, USB mini-AB port, 2Kb I2C EEPROM, 4 DIP switches, 8 green LEDs, and an ADXL345 3-axis accelerometer. The board features two 40-pin IDC-compatible headers providing 72 general purpose I/O pins, as well as one 26-pin header offering 16 digital I/O and 8 analog input pins for external sensor connectivity. A 40-pin female/female socket cable is recommended for connecting external sensors once onboard accessories reach their limit.