Xilinx spartan-3a User Manual

Also see for Spartan-3A DSP FPGA Series: Datasheet User guide Getting started Technical reference guide User guide

Contents

Spartan-3A/3AN FPGA Starter Kit Board User Guidewww.xilinx.com 21UG334 (v1.1) June 19, 2008Design Trade-OffsRDesign Trade-OffsA few system-level design trade-offs were required in order to provide the Spartan-3A/3AN Starter Kit board with the most functionality.Configuration Methods Galore!A typical FPGA application uses a single, nonvolatile memory to store configurationimages. A typical Spartan-3AN nonvolatile FPGA application would not require anyexternal memory. To demonstrate new Spartan-3A and Spartan-3AN FPGA capabilities,the starter kit board has four different configuration memory sources that all must functionwell together. The extra configuration functions make the starter kit board more complexthan typical FPGA applications.The starter kit board also includes an on-board USB-based JTAG programming interface.The on-chip circuitry simplifies the device programming experience. In typicalapplications, the JTAG programming hardware resides off-board or in a separateprogramming module, such as the Xilinx Platform USB cable.Voltages for all ApplicationsThe Spartan-3A/3AN FPGA typically operates with two supply rails, 1.2V and 3.3V. TheSpartan-3A/3AN Starter Kit board showcases a quadruple-output regulator developed byNational Semiconductor specifically to power Spartan-3 generation FPGAs. This regulatoris sufficient for most standalone FPGA applications.Spartan-3A/3AN FPGA Starter Kit Design ExamplesVisit the Spartan-3A/3AN FPGA Starter Kit Design Examples web page to download anduse the latest applications that specifically target the starter kit board:• Spartan-3A/3AN Starter Kit Design Examples Web Pagewww.xilinx.com/products/boards/s3astarter/reference_designs.htmThe list of designs is ever growing and the applications are often updated to the latestsoftware releases. The following list provides a sample of design examples:• Spartan-3A/3AN Starter Kit Demo Design Overviewwww.xilinx.com/products/boards/s3astarter/reference_designs.htm#demoThis describes the out-of-the box demo design shipped with the board. Includes howto set up and operate the demonstration, evaluate MultiBoot and Suspend, andprovides demo technical details.• Restoring the “Out of the Box” Flash Programmingwww.xilinx.com/products/boards/s3astarter/reference_designs.htm#outProvides a short overview of what the starter kit board does “out of the box” andincludes instructions on how to restore the board to the original “out of the box” state.The ZIP file includes the “golden” MCS files that are pre-programmed into Flashmemory before the board is shipped. The PDF file contains instructions for restoringthe board to its original settings using these MCS files in case any of the configurationmemories were overwritten during normal use.