Summary of MERCURY 2 – BREADBOARD-FRIENDLY FPGA DEVELOPMENT BOARD
The Mercury 2 is a breadboard-friendly FPGA development board by MicroNova, featuring a Xilinx Artix-7A chip in a compact 3x1-inch DIP format. It offers a complete solution with onboard power management, Ethernet, USB, and extensive analog/digital I/O capabilities, making it ideal for DSP designs.
Parts used in the Mercury 2:
- Xilinx Artix-7A FPGA
- 512K x 8-bit asynchronous SRAM
- Microchip LAN8720A 10/100M Ethernet PHY
- Microchip MCP4812 D/A Converter
- Microchip MCP3008 A/D Converter
- FTDI chip
- 3x User LEDs
- 6-pin Expansion header
FPGAs are great and there are a number of cool things you can do with them. But as we come across more and more FPGA development boards, we realize that only a few of them are actually designed to be inserted into a breadboard.
The new Mercury 2 development board by MicroNova is a breadboard-friendly Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA board packaged in a 3 x 1-inch 64-pin DIP (dual in-line) format.
It is a complete FPGA solution with onboard power management, I/O circuitry, SRAM and ADC/DAC. “We’ve included an on-board 8-channel SPI ADC (10 bit, 200 Ksps) and SPI DAC (10-bit, 225 MHz). It also has a dedicated input for the XADC included on the Artix-7A FPGA with the ability to expand into 16 available auxiliary inputs (12 bit, 20 Msps).
This makes the Mercury 2 ideal for DSP designs
says MicroNova.
Key Features and Specifications include:
- Xilinx Artix-7A FPGA with 33,280 logic cells
- 512K x 8-bit asynchronous SRAM with dedicated FPGA I/O interface
- 1.8 Mbits of fast block RAM
- 32 Mbit SPI Flash
- Microchip LAN8720A 10/100M Ethernet PHY
- Dual-channel High Speed USB 2.0 port
- Microchip MCP4812 2-channel, 225 KHz, 10-bit D/A Converter
- Microchip MCP3008 8-channel, 200 KSPS, 10-bit A/D Converter
- Dual-channel, 1 MSPS internal ADC
- 40 x 5V-tolerant digital I/O
- 10 x FPGA-direct high speed IO pins
- 6-pin Expansion header for JTAG
- FTDI chip for micro USB debugging/programming
- 3x User LEDs
- 5V power supply from the micro USB or external 4.5V – 5.5V power source, and,
- Can be programmed with the Xilinx Vivado design suite.
- Dimensions: 76.2 x 25.4 mm
Read more: MERCURY 2 – BREADBOARD-FRIENDLY FPGA DEVELOPMENT BOARD
- Is the Mercury 2 designed for breadboards?
Yes, it is packaged in a 3 x 1-inch 64-pin DIP format specifically designed to be inserted into a breadboard. - What type of FPGA does the Mercury 2 use?
The board uses a Xilinx Artix-7A FPGA with 33,280 logic cells. - Can the Mercury 2 handle DSP designs?
Yes, the onboard ADC and DAC features make it ideal for DSP designs. - How many digital I/O pins are available?
The board provides 40 x 5V-tolerant digital I/O pins plus 10 x FPGA-direct high speed IO pins. - Does the board support Ethernet connectivity?
Yes, it includes a Microchip LAN8720A 10/100M Ethernet PHY. - What software can be used to program the device?
It can be programmed with the Xilinx Vivado design suite. - How is the board powered?
It accepts a 5V power supply from the micro USB or an external 4.5V – 5.5V power source. - What is the resolution of the SPI DAC on the board?
The SPI DAC is 10-bit with a speed of 225 MHz.
