Quartus® Prime

Altera® FPGA development software. Quartus® Prime has three editions.

Quartus® Prime Pro Edition and Standard Edition are fee-based software that require a license. After signing a contract and purchasing the software, obtain a license on the web and use it after setup.

Quartus® Prime Lite Edition is a free software that can be used indefinitely. Although there are some restrictions on the lineup of devices that can be developed and optimization options, it covers the minimum functions required for FPGA development. Since you can work from inputting the design of the logic circuit to operating the device on the board, the Lite Edition is sufficient for FPGA development. In addition, since it does not require a license, you can use it immediately after downloading it from the Altera® homepage and installing it on your PC.

各エディションの違いは、下記ページで確認できます。

• Comparison of Quartus® Prime design software editions (manufacturer's site)

Quartus® Prime 各エディションは、こちらからダウンロードできます。

• Altera® FPGA Development Tool Download Center (manufacturer's site)

Please see the following page for how to download.

• How to download Quartus® Prime Design Software and Questa* - Intel® FPGA Edition

After the download is finished, start the installation. A wizard-style installer will start, so follow the instructions to proceed.

For the installation destination, use a folder path that does not contain double-byte characters or spaces. (NG example: C:\Program Files) The tool may not start normally.

インストール方法は下記ページをご覧ください。

• How to install the Quartus® Prime Design Software and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition

"Fourth edition, known only to those in the know?"

In addition to the Pro Edition, Standard Edition, and Lite Edition, Quartus® Prime actually has another “Evaluation Mode”.

Evaluation mode is a 30-day free evaluation tool that allows you to use all features of the paid Quartus® Prime edition.

For example, you may want to try out the features that are limited in the Lite Edition with the Standard Edition, or try using the Pro Edition.

To use the software in evaluation mode, install Quartus® Prime Standard Edition or Pro Edition on your PC.

When you launch Quartus® Prime, the following dialog Box will appear.

If you select "Start the 30-day evaluation period with ..." here, you can use Quartus Prime in Evaluation mode. If you are interested, please try it.

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Questa* - Intel® FPGA Edition

Questa* - Intel® FPGA Edition is a product of Siemens EDA's Questa software, limited to Altera® devices, and is a simulator tool for verifying in software whether the digital logic circuit you designed works as intended. In FPGA development, it is used in the logic simulation (also called "RTL level simulation") process.

Although we are introducing the Questa* - Intel® FPGA Edition, if you already have an HDL-specific simulator that supports Altera® FPGAs and that version is “recommended for your version of Quartus® Prime,” you can use that simulator.

For Quartus® Prime EDA tool interface information, see "EDA Interface Information" in the release notes for your edition and version.

• Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software and Device Support Release Notes　(Manufacturer's website)
• Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software and Device Support Release Notes　(Manufacturer's website)

Questa* - Intel® FPGA Edition has a paid type “Questa*- Intel® FPGA Edition”and a free type “Questa*- Intel® FPGA Starter Edition”.

Check out the features of each edition here.

Questa* - Intel® FPGA Edition installation files can be downloaded from the link below.

• Download Questa* - Intel® FPGA Edition here

After the download is finished, start the installation. A wizard-style installer will start, so follow the instructions to proceed.

For the installation destination, use a folder path that does not contain double-byte characters or spaces. (NG example: C:\Program Files) The tool may not start normally.

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Evaluation board

Usually, the user manufactures an FPGA-mounted board that meets the user's specifications. However, it takes time, effort and cost to make the board. Therefore, let's start by running the FPGA on the evaluation board and get a feel for how to use the tools and the features of the FPGA.
This is the recommended evaluation board for FPGA beginners!


[MAX® 10 FPGA Development Kit]

The MAX® 10 is a non-volatile FPGA with significantly improved speed and density over the previous MAX® series CPLDs. Equipped with PLL (Phase Locked Loop), DSP, built-in memory blocks, etc. that were not found in the MAX® CPLD series up to now, and external memory (boot memory) for configuration required for FPGAs such as Stratix® and Cyclone® series. This is a new type of built-in one-chip type FPGA device.

See the manufacturer's site for the MAX® 10 devices on each board.

　
This board has built-in Altera® FPGA download cable USB-Blaster™II functionality, so you can use it immediately by simply connecting the Mini USB cable included in the package.

　

Please contact our staff for the price and delivery time of the MAX® 10 FPGA development kit.

Alternatively, you can request it here.

　

　

[Cyclone® 10 LP FPGA Evaluation Kit]

The Cyclone® 10 LP FPGA Evaluation Kit provides a comprehensive general-purpose evaluation platform for a variety of markets and applications, including industrial, medical, and automotive.
This board has built-in Aletra® FPGA Download Cable USB-Blaster™II functionality, so you can use it immediately by simply connecting the Mini USB cable included in the package.

　

See the manufacturer's site for the Cyclone® 10 LP device that is included.

　

Please contact our staff for the price and delivery time of the Cyclone® 10 LP FPGA evaluation kit.

Alternatively, you can request it here.

　

If you are looking for an FPGA evaluation board for beginners, please refer to the following selection points.
✔ Equipped with an Altera® FPGA (preferably a newer family!)
✔ FPGA operation can be confirmed with just a PC and an evaluation board (no special equipment required)
✔ Reference designs (sample circuits) are included and can be designed with Quartus Prime
✔ The evaluation board has built-in Altera® FPGA download cable functionality
→ If not built-in, please purchase separately USB-Blaster™ II Buy
✔ There are many I/O pins that can be accessed from the outside of the FPGA, and there are expansion connectors that correspond to the interface you want to evaluate.

Please take these into consideration when deciding on a purchase.

Altera® FPGA Development Kit Top Page

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Altera® FPGA Download Cable II

Using a dedicated download cable called Altera® FPGA Download Cable II (also known as USB-Blaster™ II), you transfer the data of your digital logic circuit designed with Quartus® Prime (a personal computer) to the target Altera® device. The interface with the computer is a USB port, and the utility for transferring data is a tool called Programmer that comes with Quartus® Prime.

Many of the latest evaluation boards are equipped with the USB-Blaster™ II function, in which case this dedicated cable is not necessary. (Connect the PC and the board with the USB cable attached to the board to transfer data.) Therefore, it is not essential at this time, but this USB-Blaster™ II is always required to transfer data to Altera® devices implemented on user-specification fabricated boards.
You can also purchase this here.

開発ソフトウェアの操作マニュアル、FPGA のドキュメント

You can't start designing without knowing how to use Quartus® Prime or Questa* - Intel® FPGA Edition. Various documents can be viewed and downloaded from the website for free.

• Quartus® Prime Pro and Standard Edition Software User Guides

• Questa* Intel® FPGA Edition Quick-Start: Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition
• Questa* Intel® FPGA Edition Quick-Start: Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition

Macnica group 's technical support team has also released original materials. Of course, in Japanese!
Rather than a direct translation of the English materials, the content is tailored to the "problems customers face" that are experienced in daily support, and the materials are presented in an easy-to-understand format that corresponds to each function of the tool and the development flow. Please see below for Macnica 's original materials.

• Altera® FPGA Development Flow

メーカーがリリースしているドキュメント各種もチェックしましょう。

• 資料のトップページ
• デバイス関連のドキュメントはこちら

これで環境は整いました！
ではいよいよ・・・と行きたいところですが、開発をするには最低限の知識を備えないとなりません。どんなことが必要なのか、次の回で確認していきましょう。

• ほんとのほんとの導入編 その3. FPGA 開発をはじめるために必要な知識へつづく

Note:
本記事では 読者に親しんでいただくため、メーカーのホームページにおいて日本語のページを多くご案内していますが、併せて USA ページも必ずご確認ください。日本語ページは情報の更新が遅れる場合がありますので注意してください。メーカーのホームページの言語切り替えは、ページ右上のプルダウンメニューより行えます。なお、言語を切り替えてもすべてのページが日本語になるわけではありませんのでご了承ください。

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