Altera SOPC builder tool adds third embedded soft processor core option

In order to give system-level designers the broadest selection of soft processor cores for FPGAs, the folks at Altera have just announced that Freescale will be delivering a 32-bit V1 ColdFire soft core for use with the Altera SOPC Builder tool.

To quickly and easily create system-level designs using Altera Cyclone III FPGAs, designers can now choose a Freescale, ARM, or Altera soft processor core, along with a library of 50 other intellectual property (IP) blocks when using the SOPC Builder tool.

SOPC Builder is an exclusive Altera Quartus II design software tool that eliminates the manual system-integration tasks of IP blocks in an FPGA design. Designers can select functions from the Altera or third-party IP core libraries to include in their FPGA. SOPC Builder automatically generates interconnect logic and creates a testbench to verify functionality, saving valuable design time.

This core will be of interest to ASIC designers who are familiar with Freescale cores who wish to migrate to FPGA implementations, and also for ASIC designers using Freescale processors who wish to prototype their designs in FPGAs.

Availability
The 32-bit V1 ColdFire core for the Cyclone III FPGA family will be available via a free license from IPextreme, a semiconductor-technology licensing specialist, in the third quarter of 2008. For more information on Altera's embedded processor solutions, including the Nios II processor core, visit www.altera.com/embedded.

The SOPC Builder tool is available in Quartus II design software. Both the subscription edition and the free web edition of Quartus II software version 8.0 are available for download at www.altera.com/download. The annual software subscription is $2,495 for a node-locked PC license and can be purchased at www.altera.com/buyquartus.