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Altera_Forum
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9 years ago

Powering FPGA During Programming

Hi everyone- I am finalizing a PCB layout using a Max10 FPGA. This PCB will (hopefully) go into production in our small electronics business, and it will usually be programmed by technicians o...
Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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9 years ago

If you supplied 3.3V to your board via the VCC pin of the JTAG header, would your board and FPGA power up correctly?

If it will, then yes - you could "intercept" VCC and supply 3.3V to both your board and the USB-Blaster. You could create an adapter board with a 2x5 way socket to plug onto your board and a 2x5 way header to take a USB-Blaster (all header/socket pins could be connected 1-1, 2-2 etc.). The adapter board would also have a connector through which you'd supply 3.3V.

If your design relies on other rails, to either generate the 3.3V (and/or other) rail(s), then the solution is going to be more involved and will, almost certainly, amount to you making a board to 'host' and power your daughter board.

When designing with FPGAs always consider - as early as possible - the practicalities of programming it and putting the thing to use, both in the lab and in production.

Cheers,

Alex