How do I design a programmer to burn an Altera Ciclone 2 chip?

Question

Hi. I've been playing a while with VHDL and my Cyclone 2 development kit but now I was wondering how do I design a programmer (isp like) and a standalone circuit with Cyclone 2 so I could just buy the chip and add into my circuit. What is the basic layout? I've found a board with cyclone 2 welded into it and various pinouts but nothing else, how can I program into it? I've been through the design guide lines but I couldn't find a straight answer.

Thank you very much.

altera_forum · Answer

Have a good look through Chapter 13 of the Cyclone II Handbook - configuring cyclone ii devices (https://www.altera.com/content/dam/altera-www/global/en_us/pdfs/literature/hb/cyc2/cyc2_cii51013.pdf). Cyclone II devices are volatile parts that need programming each time they are powered up. You can't 'burn an Altera Cyclone 2 chip'...

Arguably, the most cost effective solution is to use a serial configuration device connected to the FPGA for 'Active Serial Configuration' (AS Configuration). Look at the appropriate section of the above document, page 13-6, for details. The serial configuration device can be programmed using some sort of ISP solution, typically a usb-blaster (https://www.altera.com/content/dam/altera-www/global/en_us/pdfs/literature/ug/ug_usb_blstr.pdf) (but there are plenty of options here), or prior to being assembled onto the board.

Cheers,

Alex

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How do I design a programmer to burn an Altera Ciclone 2 chip?

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