DE2 Development and Education Board

The Altera^® DE2 development and education board provides an ideal vehicle for learning about digital logic, computer organization, and FPGAs. Featuring an Altera Cyclone^® II FPGA, the DE2 board offers state-of-the-art technology suitable for university and college laboratory use, a wide range of design projects, as well as sophisticated digital system development.

• A Ready-To-Teach Platform
• Board Information
• Design Projects and Digital Systems Applications
• Ordering Information
• Support

A Ready-to-Teach Platform

Unlike most educational FPGA-based boards, Altera's DE2 board provides a complete, ready-to-teach platform for use in courses on logic design and computer organization. The DE2 board suits a wide range of exercises from simple tasks and illustrating fundamental concepts, to challenging designs requiring more advanced knowledge.

The complete DE2 package includes:

• An 8-inch by 6-inch DE2 board with a Cyclone II EP2C35 (672-pin package) FPGA
• Quartus^® II Web Edition software
• Nios^® II embedded processor
• A suite of supporting materials and tools, including:
  • DE2 CD-ROM (download CD-ROM contents: ZIP 57-MB, ISO 56-MB)
    • DE2 User Manual (PDF)
    • Tutorials
    • Ready-to-teach laboratory exercises
    • Example designs and demonstrations
    • Testing programs
  • 9V AC/DC adaptor
  • Plexiglas cover for the DE2 board
  • Copper stands with non-slip feet
  • USB cable

Figure 1 shows the DE2 board, and Table 1 describes some of the board's key features.

Figure 1. DE2 Development and Education Board

Table 1. DE2 Board Information
Feature	Description
FPGA	Cyclone II EP2C35F672C6 with EPCS16 16-Mbit serial configuration device
I/O Devices	Built-in USB-BlasterTM cable for FPGA configuration 10/100 Ethernet RS232 Video Out (VGA 10-bit DAC) Video In (NTSC/PAL/Multi-format) USB 2.0 (type A and type B) PS/2 mouse or keyboard port Line In/Out, Microphone In (24-bit Audio CODEC) Expansion headers (76 signal pins) Infrared port
Memory	8-MBytes SDRAM, 512K SRAM, 4-MBytes Flash SD memory card slot
Displays	16 x 2 LCD display Eight 7-segment displays
Switches and LEDs	18 toggle switches 18 red LEDs 9 green LEDs Four debounced pushbutton switches
Clocks	50 MHz crystal for FPGA clock input 27 MHz crystal for video applications External SMA clock input

An overview of the DE2 package can be found in the DE2 Development and Education Board (PDF) document. An in-depth view of the board and supporting software can be found in the DE2 User Manual (PDF).

Design Projects and Digital Systems Applications

With its advanced Cyclone II FPGA, flexible memory options, and plethora of advanced I/O devices, the DE2 board can implement many types of digital systems. Design professionals will appreciate the design examples provided with the board, as well as enjoy experimenting with audio, video, USB, network, and memory applications. The DE2 board is also a superior platform for embedded applications such as those that feature the Altera Nios II soft processor.

The DE2 board can be used to implement a wide assortment of design projects and applications, including:

• Karaoke machine
• DVD video-to-VGA display
• USB host
• Control the DE2 board remotely through a USB interface

Ordering Information

Table 2. DE2 Board Ordering Information
Type	Purchase Method	Price
Academic customers	Email university@altera.com	$269
Commercial customers	Contact a distributor	$495

Support

Check the DE2 FAQ page for support resources for the DE2 board.

For more information about the DE2 Development and Education board, contact university@altera.com.