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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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15 years ago

Protecting FPGA Configuration?

Hi everyone, I'm a hobbyist who is considering bringing a product to market and I have a few questions in regards to protecting IP I create. Due to the market I am targeting, the Cyclone seri...
Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
15 years ago

You are correct; the 1-wire SAMs will not protect your IP -- that is unless you use a part that can be programmed with an encrypted stream, in which case the SAM may or may not be needed.

You best bet is to move up to an Arria II GX - I believe that is the cheapest part that does support encrypted config streams. The Cy III does offer that feature, but only on the LS parts, which I believe are more expensive.

The Cy V claims to implement security, but the chips are still in the vapor phase and have not materialized yet.