It's Icy, it's an FPGA, and it's in a Feather form factor!
Version 2 is here bringing major improvements including hardware bug fixes and USB-C! Brrr, is it cold outside? Nah, it's just the IcyBlue Feather! This unique FPGA feather allows you to easily get started with FPGA development with a highly capable and robust ICE5LP4K FPGA from Lattice Semiconductor! The ICE5LP4K brings two hardware I2C and SPI blocks, a bright RGB LED, two user LEDS, and 22 accessible GPIO through the headers of the feather board.
NOTE:
V2 has a minor power issue with the 1.2V LDO when the 48MHz internal HFOSC is driven particularly hard for extended periods. This can cause the LDO to heat up noticeably and eventually cause the LDO to fail. There are two acceptable workarounds for this. One is to make sure that 48MHz applications are not particularly stressful, or rely on the internal LFOSC, which runs at 10KHz. The other workaround is to cut the 5V traces going into the LDO and attach a small bodge wire from the 3.3V LDO to the 1.2V LDO. An example will be published on the IcyBlue Feather V2 repository on how to do the bodge job.
Programming is easy using an FTDI FT232HQ USB FIFO bridge, allowing you to quickly program the on board SPI FLASH with your bitstream hex or bin files. The FT232HQ makes this board compatible with both open source tools, such as icestorm, and proprietary tools like the Diamond Programmer provided by Lattice Semiconductor.
The feather form factor developed by Adafruit also means this project is mobile and battery-powered. This is particularly useful for developing on the go and mobile deployments of your FPGA projects.
Whether you are a first-time FPGA developer or a seasoned professional, the IcyBlue Feather brings a powerful and capable yet compact FPGA to your bench.
IcyBlue brings the best of an iCE40 FPGA and the Adafruit feather form factor to provide a vast environment of sensors and add ons. This makes it easier than ever to learn FPGA design.
It’s an FPGA in a Feather shape, what’s more to love? Immediately get started with IcyBlue and all your favorite feather wings from Adafruit and others! Source repository coming soon.