TinyBeast FPGA – A Microchip PolarFire MPF300T/MPF100T FPGA PCIe reference design (Crowdfunding)

TinyBeast FPGA is a compact module based on Microchip PolarFire MPF100T or MPF300T FPGA with up to 300K logic elements and a hard PCIe interface that is suitable for automation, measurement, and robotics applications.

Two versions of the module are available: the TinyBeast FPGA P mini PCIe module designed for integration with embedded systems, and the TinyBeast FPGA S with B2B connectors designed to be connected to a carrier board.

TinyBeast FPGA P

TinyBeast FPGA P specifications:

• FPGA – Microchip PolarFire FPGA
  • TinyBest FPGA P-300 –  MPF300T-1FCVG484E FPGA with 300K LE, 10.6 Mbit embedded RAM, 924 DSP blocks
  • TinyBest FPGA P-100 – 100K LE, 5.2 Mbit embedded RAM, 288 DSP blocks
• System Memory – 4 GB DDR4 memory
• Storage – SPI flash
• Host interface – PCIe x1 Gen2 as EP via mini PCIe edge connector
• Expansion – Samtec SS4-30-3.00-L-D-K I/O connector for GPIOs and up to 12.7 Gbps transceivers
• Debugging 1.27mm headers for JTAG signal interfacing
• Misc – Power and user-addressable LEDs
• Dimensions – 51 x 30 mm

TinyBeast FPGA S

TinyBeast FPGA S specifications:

• FPGA – Microchip MPF300T in FCVG484 PolarFire FPGA
  • TinyBest FPGA S-300 –  300K LE, 10.6 Mbit embedded RAM, 924 DSP blocks
  • TinyBest FPGA S-100 – 100K LE, 5.2 Mbit embedded RAM, 288 DSP blocks
• System Memory – 4 GB DDR4 memory
• Storage – SPI flash
• Networking – 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet PHY
• 2x 100-pin + 1x 60-pin edge connectors
  • 284x total user I/Os (120x HSIO/164x GPIO) and 4x high-speed transceivers (12.7 Gbps)
  • Integrated hard IP – DDR PHY, PCIe endpoint/root port
  • Compatible with some Trenz SOMs and carriers
• SI5338A-B-GM flexible clocking IC with 25MHz ±10ppm reference oscillator
• Dimensions – 50 x 40 mm

 

Carrier boards for TinyBeast FPGA S

Two carrier boards are available for the TinyBest FPGA S: the SE-216 and SE-215.

SE-215 carrier board highlights:

• SoM Compatibility – SoM3-MPF300T / PolarBerry (also developed by Sundance DSP)
• PCIe Interface –  PCIe x1 Gen2 EP/RC
• FMC Connector Type – LPC
• Storage – MicroSD Card slot
• Video Output – DisplayPort
• Networking
  • 100/1000Mbps Ethernet RJ45 jack
  • 1Gbps/10Gbps SFP+ cage
• GPIO header voltage – 3.3V
• Power Input – 12V
• Voltage Options –  1.2V, 1.8V, 2.5V
• Power Consumption – Up to 35 Watts

SE-216 carrier board highlights:

• SoM Compatibility – SoM3-MPF300T
• PCIe Interface – PCIe x1 Gen2 EP
• FMC Connector Type – HPC
• Networking – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
• GPIO Header Voltage – 1.8V/2.5V (selectable)
• Voltage Options – 1.8V, 2.5V
• Power Consumption – up to 35W

Open-source design, firmware, and software

All resources for the board can be found on GitHub. This includes PDF schematics for the TinyBeast FPGA P and S module, sample firmware that showcases the board functionalities, and PC software for configuring and extracting data from TinyBeast FPGA modules.

Sundance DSP, the company behind the project, also says the modules support AI acceleration through Microchip’s VectorBlox technology. It allows for real-time AI inferencing for applications such as predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and industrial image recognition.

Pricing and availability

The TinyBeast FPGA modules have just been launched on Crowd Supply with a symbolic $1 funding target. Rewards start at $710 for the TinyBeast FPGA P-100 and go up to $1,034 for the TinyBeast FPGA S-300. Carrier boards are usually cheaper, but it’s not the case here, and a pledge of $881 is asked for the SE-216 Carrier Card, and $1,043 for the SE-215 Carrier Card.  Shipping is free to the US, but adds $18 to the rest of the world. Backers should expect their rewards to ship by September 30, 2025, if everything goes according to plan.

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