Versatile ICE40UP5K FPGA Development Board for Embedded Systems & Prototyping

Project Description

This project is a feature-rich FPGA development board based on the ICE40UP5K-SG48I. It is designed to provide a flexible and compact platform for embedded system prototyping, FPGA development, and digital design experiments. The board integrates essential communication interfaces, I/O peripherals, and storage options, making it suitable for a variety of applications, including IoT, hardware acceleration, and custom logic implementations.

Why Did we Create this ?

The motivation behind this project stems from the need for an affordable, open-source, and easy-to-use FPGA development platform. Many available FPGA boards are either expensive or lack the required peripherals for real-world applications. This board bridges that gap by offering:

1. USB-based SPI & UART communication via an FTDI chip for easy interfacing.
2. Integrated EEPROM and Winbond SPI Flash, enabling firmware storage and configuration.
3. Flexible power options (USB or external 5V), making it suitable for different use cases.
4. User-friendly debugging and interaction with status LEDs, push buttons, DIP switches, an RGB LED, and user LEDs.
5. Expandable connectivity with UART, I2C, SPI, and general-purpose I/Os, providing versatility for various projects.

This project is aimed at FPGA enthusiasts, researchers, and embedded system developers who need a powerful yet cost-effective prototyping platform.

How Does it Work ?

1. The ICE40UP5K FPGA acts as the central processing unit, executing user-defined logic and applications.
2. A USB interface with an FTDI chip allows communication via SPI and UART, enabling seamless data transfer between a computer and the FPGA.
3. The Winbond SPI Flash stores the FPGA bitstream or user data, allowing persistent configurations.
4. Status LEDs indicate power and operation states, while push buttons and DIP switches enable user input.
5. External headers provide access to UART, I2C, SPI, and additional GPIOs, allowing easy interfacing with external modules and sensors.
6. The board can be powered via USB or an external 5V source, making it adaptable to various development environments.

This versatile FPGA development board is a valuable tool for hardware developers, enabling rapid prototyping, real-time debugging, and custom FPGA applications.

About Our Team

We are a team of experienced digital design engineers and FPGA developers specializing in RISC-V, ASIC/FPGA design, embedded systems, and verification. Our expertise includes microprocessor architecture, SoC development, and digital hardware prototyping. We have previously designed and taped out custom RISC-V cores and peripheral IPs, as well as worked extensively with open-source FPGA tools and commercial EDA software.

Our mission is to create accessible, high-performance hardware solutions that empower engineers and researchers to prototype, test, and deploy their FPGA-based applications with ease.