BUILDING A SERIAL INTERFACE WITH ALTERA CYCLONE V FPGA

Abstract

This paper presents the implementation of a serial interface using a Cyclone V development board to interface with analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) that output digitized data as a one-wire serial bitstream. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are utilized for their flexibility in customizing digital systems, programmed using hardware description languages such as VHDL, Verilog, and SystemVerilog. The Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) communication technique, known for its synchronous data transfer capabilities, is utilized to ensure precise timing and reliable data exchange. The DE10-Standard Development Kit, featuring the Cyclone V SoC FPGA and the LTC2308 ADC, is used to demonstrate the process, including configuring the ADC for single-ended and differential inputs and achieving a maximum sampling rate of 500KSPS. The system’s architecture incorporates a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) to match the required clock frequencies, and an algorithm to synchronize and process the bitstream into a 12-bit digital representation. Experimental results confirm the efficacy of the implemented SPI interface, making it a robust solution for real-world digital system applications.