Alchitry Au V2: Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA Development Board with Expandable I/O and High-Speed Memory

The Alchitry Au V2 is a powerful FPGA development board, often considered the “gold” standard in its category. FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) offer engineers and hobbyists a way to take electronics programming to the next level. The Au V2 continues the trend of more affordable and increasingly powerful FPGA boards, making it a great entry point into FPGA development.

Its functionality can be expanded using stackable add-on boards called “Elements,” similar to shields or HATs. These Elements provide additional features like prototyping spaces, buttons, LEDs, and more, enhancing the board’s versatility.

Previously we covered some FPGA development board like Sipeed Mega 138K Pro, ICE-V wireless, Muse Lab iCESugar-nano, EIM’s STEP-MXO2 and more. Feel free to check if you are interested in these products.

Alchitry Au V2 FPGA Development Board Specifications:

• FPGA: Xilinx XC7A35T-2FTG256I (upgraded speed and temperature grade over Au V1)
• Memory:
  • 256MB DDR3L @ 800Mb/s (400MHz)
  • 32Mbit Configuration Flash
• I/O:
  • 104 IO pins across two headers
  • 22 triple-voltage IO pins (3.3V, 2.5V, 1.8V), with 20 supporting LVDS_25 outputs
  • 44 pins for 100Ω differential pairs (including 20 dual-voltage pins)
  • Remaining IO routed as 50Ω single-ended (~90Ω for diff pairs)
  • 8 pairs usable as XADC inputs (0-1V range)
  • 2 pins at 1.35V (Bank B)
  • All pairs support LVDS_25 inputs except three pairs on Bank B
• USB: FT2232HQ USB for JTAG and UART (12Mbaud max)
• Expansion and Connectivity:
  • Qwiic connector (shares pins on Bank B)
  • JTAG header
  • Control Header with:
    • 8x IO pins connected to on-board LEDs
    • 1x IO pin connected to the reset button
• Misc:
  • 8 general-purpose LEDs
  • 1x button (typically used as reset)
• Power:
  • 5V–12V input voltage
  • On-board power regulation:
    • 3.3V @ 4A (IO)
    • 2.5V @ 500mA (triple-voltage pins, derived from 3.3V)
    • 1V @ 4A (VCCINT)
    • 1.8V @ 1.2A (VCCAUX, triple-voltage pins)
    • 1.35V @ 1.2A (DDR3L)
    • 1.8V @ 200mA (analog)
• Dimensions: 55 mm x 45 mm

The Artix-7 FPGA requires a free Vivado license, and setting up the development environment begins with installing Vivado, Xilinx’s official FPGA development tool. This software converts project code into an FPGA configuration file (BIN file). Vivado can be downloaded from Xilinx’s website, though version 2020.3 should be avoided. More details are available on the setup page.

The Alchitry Au V2 FPGA development board is available for purchase on SparkFun and the official Alchitry website for $99.99.

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