Avnet Electronics Marketing Launches Nano-ITX/Spartan-6 FPGA Development Kit

Avnet Electronics Marketing, an operating group of Avnet, Inc. that provides electronic components and embedded solutions, has introduced the Nano-ITX/Spartan-6 Field Programmable Gate Array or ‘FPGA’ Development Kit that is powered by the Intel Atom E640 Processor and Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA.. 

Integrating an Emerson (News - Alert) Network Power Nano-ITX motherboard featuring a comprehensive Intel Atom processor E640-based embedded system with a Spartan-6 FPGA PCI Express or ‘PCIe’ daughter card, Avnet has developed the new solution with an aim to enable convenient peripheral expansion. The solution features a reference design that is based on an included version of the Microsoft (News - Alert) Windows Embedded Standard 7 operating system, and helps the developers in adding custom FPGA-based peripherals to user applications.

The development kit is equipped with a number of enhanced features such as Emerson Nano-ITX-315 motherboard base on Intel Atom processor E640; Xilinx (News - Alert) Spartan-6 FPGA PCIe card, with PCIe interface directly to the Intel Atom processor using the low-cost Xilinx Spartan-6 LX75T FPGA with its eight 3.125 Gbps GTP on-chip transceivers; Low pin count or ‘LPC’ FPGA Mezzanine Card or ‘FMC’ connector for expansion modules; General purpose input/output or ‘GPIO’ connector providing single-ended or differential pairs for custom peripheral or LCD panel interfaces; Two independent memory banks of DDR3 SDRAM, each with 128MB of storage, used for data-intensive applications such as video analytics or image manipulation; and Maxim SHA-1 EEPROM for FPGA design security.

 “Avnet has created a small form factor, flexible, and expandable platform with the Nano-ITX/Spartan-6 FPGA Development Kit,” commented Jim Beneke, vice president of global technical marketing at Avnet Electronics Marketing. “We’ve simplified the development process for designers interested in the newest Intel (News - Alert) Atom processor E6xx series of processors enabling our customers to shorten their design cycle and move to production faster.”

“This reference design provides designers with a comprehensive way to rapidly develop their application utilize the benefits of the Intel AtomTM processor E640 when paired with an FPGA,” said Jonathan Luse, director of marketing for the Intel Low Power Embedded Products Division. “We appreciate the value and flexibility Avnet has delivered to the embedded community with this kit.”