Introduction:

Altera® FPGAs provide a broad portfolio of programmable logic solutions that help system architects address demanding requirements in performance, power efficiency, board area, and time-to-market. By combining configurable logic, embedded memory, DSP resources, clock-management circuitry, and non-volatile configuration options, Altera® FPGAs enable rapid implementation and evolution of embedded systems across many end markets, including industrial, consumer, communications, automotive, and aerospace.

WDC leverages this flexibility to implement complete 65xx-based microcontroller and microprocessor subsystems—using our own W65C02S and W65C816S IP cores—within Altera® FPGAs for both education and commercial designs.

WDC Targeted FPGA Family:

WDC targets the Altera® MAX®10 FPGA family for our FPGA-based microcontroller platforms and MyMENSCH™ single board computers.

Altera® MAX®10 FPGAs are non-volatile devices that combine instant-on behavior, embedded flash configuration, and full-featured FPGA logic in a single, low-cost package. Built on a low-power process with integrated analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), embedded memory blocks, DSP resources, PLLs, and dual configuration images, Altera® MAX®10 FPGAs provide an excellent platform for implementing complete microcontroller-class SoCs on a single chip.

MyMENSCH™

WDC uses the Altera® MAX®10 FPGA on our MyMENSCH™ boards, which are compact (approximately 1.50″ x 2.75″) SBCs designed for rapid prototyping of sensing, processing, communication, and actuation (SPCA) applications.

Altera® MAX®10 devices provide:

• Non-volatile configuration with instant-on behavior

• 3.3 V I/O operation and rich GPIO resources

• On-chip user flash memory for application code and configuration

• Integrated ADC channels (device-dependent)

• On-chip clock management and PLL resources for timing flexibility

WDC has leveraged these features and created FPGA Microcontrollers for MyMENSCH™ to bring SPCA into your lab or classroom.