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Altera_Forum
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14 years ago

Configuration Of FPGA

Hi i am new to FPGA. i am developing hardware using EP2C5T144C8 FPGA but i don't know about the configuration of FPGA. why we need to configure FPGA. what we need in hardware for configuration....
Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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14 years ago

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i have seen some Dev board. they use external CMOS SRAM with cycone FPGA. is it necessary to add external SRAM or configuration file can be stored in FPGA itself.

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The external SRAM on those boards is not for configuration storage, its likely for code for a soft-core processor.

The configuration storage has to be non-volatile, i.e., it needs to keep its data when the power is removed. Configuration devices are either serial flash or parallel flash. The FPGA can be configured directly from these devices using Active Serial and Active Parallel mode, or the FPGA can be configured by another device, eg., a MAX II CPLD (which is a non-volatile device) plus flash can load an FPGA in Passive Serial or Passive Parallel mode.

Cheers,

Dave