Actel preps tools for Igloo
Actel Corp. is offering sub-$50 starter kits to help drive development efforts using the company’s new Igloo nano FPGAs. The kits, aimed at low-power portable system design, can also be used for the ProASIC3 nano series.
This is not the first development tool Actel has offered for Igloo. The more extensive Icicle development environment, complete with daughter cards, was rolled out to distribution approximately a year ago. Igloo nano starter kit is a wise recognition that in tight economic times, designers may need a very basic platform to try the ultra-low-power (5-microwatt) Igloo.
The nano versions of Igloo and ProASIC3 were introduced last October, offering packages as small as 3 mm x 3 mm. Since then, the two Actel families have won such accolades as “best overall FPGAs” from Electronic Design. Still, like all semiconductor companies in 2009, Actel is facing profitability pressures that may lead to cutbacks in headcount. Hence the drive to seed the market with low-cost starter platforms.
The new starter kit is centered on a development board populated with an AGLN250V2-ZVQG100 FPGA, and also includes a programming stick, user’s guide, design examples, and a tutorial . The programming stick allows device programming through a USB interface, and the board includes a second USB port for UART links. The Igloo nano starter kit can be used with Actel’s Libero development tools.
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