Getting Started with FPGAs

This is an entry level course for computer engineering professionals, dedicated makers, and advanced hobbyists wanting to explore FPGA technology for the first time. It provides basic instruction on how to setup, design, and build digital logic circuits using a low cost FPGA board and the Xilinx Integrated Synthesis Environment (ISE). It also provides an introduction to Verilog HDL (hardware description language), a specialized computer language used to describe the structure and behavior of digital logic circuits. It's a hands-on course where you'll build simple breadboard circuits and use them to test the FPGA logic designs that you create.

• Understand the basic FPGA design process and the FPGA development environment
• Survey the history of FPGAs, how they're used, and some pitfalls to avoid
• Learn to build a pulse width modulation circuit using Verilog HDL and a Papilio Duo
• Understand how to install and setup a Xilinx ISE for a specific FPGA board
• Learn to map the physical I/O of an FPGA device to an FPGA board I/O using constraint files
• The course requires learners to purchase a low cost Papilio Pro FPGA development board

David Romano leads Tri-Tech Pathways, which offers STEM education from a real-world industry perspective to K12 students throughout North America. David has worked in high tech engineering for over 25 years at top companies, such as Raytheon, Motorola, HP, and Intel. He's an active member of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), he holds a BS in Electrical Engineering, and is the author of the Maker Media title Make: FPGAs.