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Altera_Forum
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13 years ago

PCB Design using Cyclone III (EP3C120) concerns

Hello, I'm a bit concerned about PCB specifications for a Cyclone III EP3C120. My goal is to build a PCB with an EP3C120 and being able to download a configuration (initially using a .sof file ...
Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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13 years ago

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In a few words, i just want some guidelines and critical components needed to build a minimum system for an FPGA. Is it good just to start with some power sources, the FPGA, appropiate bypass capacitors, a JTAG header, and watch for trace impedance matching?

I hope I'm not asking too much, as you may know this is my first project using these type of devices... Maybe I'm just freaking out.

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The first thing I place when doing an FPGA PCB design is the config prom and the JTAG header and get these as close

to the device as possible (within the limitations of the design).

If you keep these interfaces short you won't have to worry about track impedances/ reflections etc.

Nial.