SiliconBlue Introduces New iCEman65 Evaluation Kit for Ultra Low-Power, Single-Chip iCE65 SRAM FPGAs

Update: Lattice Semiconductor to Acquire SiliconBlue (Dec 09, 2011)

Integrated Kit and Optional Peripheral Daughter Card Showcases Multiple Turn-Key Designs Targeted for Handheld Consumer Applications

SAN FRANCISCO -- March 30, 2009 -- SiliconBlue® Technologies, a leading supplier of single-chip, ultra low-power SRAM FPGAs, today announced the immediate availability of iCEman65, a powerful new evaluation and development kit for low-power designs based on the iCE65 FPGA. Also available are two new Peripheral Daughter Modules (PDM1 and PDM2) showcasing the extensive IP capabilities of the iCE65 FPGA. “SiliconBlue’s ultra low-power FPGAs offer more logic at a lower price, enabling far more sophisticated, power-efficient applications. With this new SiliconBlue evaluation kit, designers now have all the tools and IP they need to rapidly integrate system functionality into a feature-rich FPGA,” said Kapil Shankar, CEO of SiliconBlue Technologies.

The iCE65 ultra low-power FPGAs are the premier programmable logic solution for consumer, battery-based applications such as smart phones, portable media players, digital still cameras, netbooks, mobile internet devices, hand-held POS systems, medical instruments, eBooks/ePaper and flash camcorders. These applications have an extremely short development and product life cycle; therefore, by combining the reprogramming flexibility benefit of FPGAs with the low cost, low power and single chip benefits of ASICs, the iCE65 offers the “best of both worlds” solution for the handheld consumer system designer.

“Quick Start” Your Designs

The new PDM1 & PDM2 Peripheral Daughter Modules provide designers with the hardware and IP necessary to develop and test a complete, turn-key solution. PDM1 showcases applications such as light and temperature sensing and QUERTY keypad, both based on SiliconBlue-developed IP (I2C, SPI and PWM). PDM2 functions as complete touch screen controller. Both are part of SiliconBlue’s extensive IP library, the largest for consumer handheld designs, including GPIO pin expansion, voltage level translation, SPI, I2C, MLC NAND Flash controller, CF controller, MDDI, irDA, SD controller, SDIO, SDHC, UART expansion, I2S, LED/ LCD character controllers, dual display controller and YPbPr-RGB888, -RGB666, -RGB565. For more information on SiliconBlue’s portfolio of IP, please visit www.siliconbluetech.com.

Comprehensive Tools

The iCEman65 evaluation kit includes an iCE65L04 ultra-low power FPGA with 3520 logic cells, 80Kbits of RAM and 176 programmable I/O pins. When used with the SiliconBlue iCEcube™ VHDL and Verilog-based development software (available free with 30-day trial license on Windows or Linux), designers can quickly create applications using the on-board USB-based configuration solution. The kit also includes extensive I/O expandability, supporting four different I/O banks with multiple I/O standards, and a full line of affordable third-party accessories. Board test points provide easy access to all iCE65 voltage rails for easy power measurements. Board schematics, Gerber files and a complete user guide complete the kit.

Pricing and Availability

The iCEman65 evaluation kit is immediately available from SiliconBlue sales channels for $299US. The PDM1 is priced at $399US and the PDM2 is priced at $499US. For detailed product information, visit:

• iCEman65 Evaluation Kit
• iCE65 FPGA Family
• iCE Peripheral Daughter Modules
• SiliconBlue IP Solutions:
• iCE65 Graphic

About SiliconBlue

SiliconBlue provides a new class of ultra-low power, single-chip SRAM FPGAs designed specifically for handheld consumer applications. Manufactured on TSMC’s 65nm LP (low power) CMOS process, the iCE65 family meets the power, price and area requirements for battery-operated products such as: smart phones, portable media players, digital still cameras, mobile internet devices and hand-held POS (point-of-sale) systems. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company has a highly skilled team of PLD experts who have been instrumental in developing and patenting many of the leading programmable logic technologies on the market today. Learn more at: www.siliconbluetech.com