Programmable Logic Devices

This page will cover simple PLD devices useable for hobby, prototyping, and similar applications.

Most manufacturers are discontinuing production of PLDs, with the attention going to FPGAs, CPLDs, ASICs, and microprocessors / microcontrollers.

The following are the remaining devices which are still being manufactured and are not under EOL (End of Life) / Discontinued notices.

PLDs (PAL, PLA, GAL, SPLD):

• Atmel
  • ATF Family

[1]

• Texas Instruments
  • PAL Family
  • TIBPAL Family
  • TICPAL Family

[2]

Cheap CPLDs - LESS THAN $7

• Atmel
  • ATF15xx. [3]
  • ATF750. [4]
  • ATF2500C. [5]

• Altera Corporation
  • MAX 3000A Family
  • MAX 7000 Family
  • MAX Family
  • MAX II Family
  • MAX V Family

[6]

• Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
  • MachXO
  • MachXO2
  • ispMACH 4000ZE

[7]

• Xilinx Inc
  • CoolRunner II
  • XC9500XL

[8]

SMALL FPGAs – LESS THAN $7

• Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
  • iCE40 Family
  • MachXO Family
  • MachXO2 Family
  • LatticeECP & EC Families

[9]

• Microsemi SoC (Actel)
  • ProASIC3 nano
  • IGLOO nano

[10]

Programmers, Evaluation boards, and Software

The devices are worth not very much, it is the support you get what matters. Instead of comparing devices, what needs to be compared are the software, development tools, community, and available support.

• Atmel. Win-CUPL Design Software is provided for free. An ATF15XX-DK3 CPLD Development/Programmer Kit is available. ProChip Designer V5.0 is a pro design suite. Eval boards?. Note: the software and the kit seem to be a bit dated (Windows XP is specified, etc).
• Texas Instruments. No software, programmers, or evaluation kits are available.
• Altera Corporation
• Lattice Semiconductor Corporation. Plenty of evaluation boards, breakout boards, etc are avalable. All eval boards and software are up to date.
• Xilinx Inc. For $59, a CoolRunner-II CPLD Starter Kit is available with an evaluation board, programmer, software, and plenty of documentation.
• Microsemi SoC (Actel). For $99 you get the Starter Kit with an evaluation board, programmer, software, and documentation.