Actel offers development kit for ARM7-enabled FPGAs

Dylan McGrath

EE Times

(02/28/2006 11:01 AM EST)

SAN FRANCISCO — Actel Corp. Tuesday (Feb. 28) introduced what the company described as a complete hardware and software development environment for the implementation of Actel`s CoreMP7 soft ARM7 processor core.

According to Actel (Mountain View, Calif.), the CoreMP7 development kit provides users with everything needed to evaluate and design FPGA-based system-on-chip (SoC) applications, including the CoreMP7, the Actel ARM7-enabled M7 ProASIC3 device and FPGA development tools.

``This kit is a comprehensive environment, including the tools required for assembly, simulation, synthesis, layout, programming and debug as well as the interfaces and I/Os needed to create a real-world, system-level design,`` said Mike Thompson, manager of intellectual property (IP) marketing at Actel, in a statement.

The development kit includes a standalone development board and the CoreConsole IP deployment platform, the Libero Gold integrated design environment, GNU software tools and a CoreMP7 debugger, Actel said. A FlashPro3 programmer is optionally available to provide programming and debug support for both the FPGA fabric and the ARM7 software, the company said.

The CoreConsole and the Libero provide integration to enable designers to assemble, simulate, synthesize, layout, program and debug a CoreMP7-based system, Actel said. The CoreConsole outputs a memory map and drivers that can be utilized with the GNU software tools, according to the company.

The board is available with either an M7A3PE600 or M7A3P1000 device in an FG484 package, Actel said, providing FPGA real estate for design implementation. It also includes Ethernet, RS232, USB and CAN interface connectors, PHY interfaces, up to 150 user-defined input/outputs for and 2M SRAM and 2M flash memory, Actel said.

The CoreMP7 development kit, available now, is priced at $695. The kit with the FlashPro3 programmer is priced at $795.