Chapter 1: Cyclone III Device Family Overview
1–11
Cyclone III Device Family Architecture
Configuration
Cyclone III device family uses SRAM cells to store configuration data. Configuration
data is downloaded to Cyclone III device family each time the device powers up.
Low-cost configuration options include the Altera EPCS family serial flash devices as
well as commodity parallel flash configuration options. These options provide the
flexibility for general-purpose applications and the ability to meet specific
configuration and wake-up time requirements of the applications. Cyclone III device
family supports the AS, PS, FPP, and JTAG configuration schemes. The AP
configuration scheme is only supported in Cyclone III devices.
f
For more information about configuration, refer to the Configuration, Design Security,
and Remote System Upgrades in the Cyclone III Device Family chapter.
Remote System Upgrades
Cyclone III device family offers remote system upgrade without an external
controller. The remote system upgrade capability in Cyclone III device family allows
system upgrades from a remote location. Soft logic (either the Nios II embedded
processor or user logic) implemented in Cyclone III device family can download a
new configuration image from a remote location, store it in configuration memory,
and direct the dedicated remote system upgrade circuitry to start a reconfiguration
cycle. The dedicated circuitry performs error detection during and after the
configuration process, and can recover from an error condition by reverting to a safe
configuration image. The dedicated circuitry also provides error status information.
Cyclone III devices support remote system upgrade in the AS and AP configuration
scheme. Cyclone III LS devices support remote system upgrade in the AS
configuration scheme only.
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For more information, refer to the Configuration, Design Security, and Remote System
Upgrades in the Cyclone III Device Family chapter.
Design Security (Cyclone III LS Devices Only)
Cyclone III LS devices offer design security features which play a vital role in the large
and critical designs in the competitive military and commercial environments.
Equipped with the configuration bit stream encryption and anti-tamper features,
Cyclone III LS devices protect your designs from copying, reverse engineering and
tampering. The configuration security of Cyclone III LS devices uses AES with 256-bit
security key.
f
For more information, refer to the Configuration, Design Security, and Remote System
Upgrades in Cyclone III Device Family chapter.
July 2012 Altera Corporation
Cyclone III Device Handbook
Volume 1
ALTERA [ ALTERA CORPORATION ]
