Avnet releases Spartan-6 kits

Avnet (Phoenix) announced the Xilinx Spartan-6 LX16 evaluation kit and Spartan-6 LXT150T FPGA development kit, both of which support the new FMC expansion standard, which enables the addition of add-on modules and easy customization when working with FPGA applications, according to the company.

The Spartan-6 LX16 FPGA evaluation kit is based on the Spartan-6 LX16 FPGA and showcases a system level approach to low power design for the Spartan-6 family, Avnet said. Designed for use as a general purpose FPGA development board, its low power design also makes the kit suitable for portable instrumentation and battery powered applications, the company said. The board is powered by an included lithium-ion battery, a USB cable connection, or a 12 volt adaptor, and is supported by six high-efficiency portable power management ICs from Texas Instruments Inc.

The new PSoC 3 programmable system-on-chip from Cypress Semiconductor adds 20-bit precision analog, system power management, USB/UART/SPI connectivity, LCD direct drive, CapSense touch sensing, and FPGA configuration support, Avnet said. The board provides a low pin count FMC expansion connector for adding FMC daughter cards and sells for $225. It will be available for shipment later this year, according to Avnet.

The Spartan-6 LX150T FPGA development kit is built for video, industrial networking and control, wireless communications, PCIe expansion, and general FPGA prototyping applications, Avnet said. Based on the Spartan-6 LX150T FPGA with its on-chip 2.5 Gbps transceivers, the kit provides a platform for developing low-cost applications that require high-speed connectivity, according to the company The board features DDR3 memory, 10/100/1G Ethernet interface, two low pin count FMC expansion connectors and sells for $995, Avnet said.

Avnet said the Spartan-6 LX16 FPGA evaluation kit and Spartan-6 LX150T FPGA development kit will be featured during X-fest 2009, a 37-city global technical seminar series from Avnet and Xilinx beginning Oct. 6 in San Jose, Calif.