Spartan 3AN starter kit is a totally new type of FPGA development board. It packs a wide range of features, including the new integrations of power-saving Suspend mode and the MultiBoot mode.
It also serves as the platform upon which prototypes of the Spartan 3A and Spartan 3AN FPGAs are developed. Rest assured that you can use this board to make prototypes of several applications.
In this blog post, you will learn more about some of the Spartan 3AN starter kit’s capabilities and design advantages.
Readied Use Design
Just open your Spartan 3AN starter kit and get started almost immediately. The board is ready for use, right out of the box. It also features a plethora of configured components that can be utilized at a go to make your prototypes.
The Spartan 3AN starter kit spices the design process by adding a demonstration design. By default, the demonstration design is equipped with a range of output information options that can be configured, based on the display devices or I/O ports it is connected to.
Features of the Spartan 3AN Starter Kit
Here are some of the features making up the Spartan 3AN starter kit.
1. Self-Contained Design
The design of the Spartan 3AN starter kit is self-contained, thus, boosting its design security. What this means is that it would be quite hard to take out the design or get an idea of what has been programmed inside the board.
2. Configuration Options
The Spartan 3AN starter kit is the first nonvolatile Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) development board to support MultiBoot. This allows for flexible device configurations, including the support for multiple configuration files and alternative configuration options.
The MultiBoot also aligns with the kit’s support for single configuration bitstream. To boost it the more, it works with the MicroBlaze processor’s code shadowing and the nonvolatile data storage method.
3. Zero Support for External Memory
To help put everything in a box, the Spartan 3AN starter kit doesn’t support external memory. This is quite unlike the typical use of a single, nonvolatile memory to store configuration images in traditional FPGAs.
By removing the support for external memory, Spartan 3AN starter kit replaces that with the integration of four (4) different configuration memory interfaces. By this integration, the FPGA design process becomes less complicated. At the same time, the Spartan 3AN starter kit enables the multifunctioning of the different configuration memory sources.
4. Ideal for Space-Constrained Applications
Spartan 3AN starter kit lives up to the expectations of FPGAs, which is to save space, while providing valuable connection options.
It is ideal for use when working with space-constrained devices. Examples of these devices are GPS, Blade Servers and Medical Devices. Others are Telematics, Automotive Infotainment and a wide range of other small consumer devices.
5. Increased System Reliability
The Spartan 3AN starter kit is also utilized to increase the reliability of the system, while minimizing the circuit traces and chip counts. These are enabled via the combination of the Flash Technology and Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).
Conclusion
Invest in the Spartan 3AN starter kit you are looking to work with an FPGA development board that packs a lot of space-saving features and reliable performance.
