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 $10 or less than 40 IO devices available

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

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

[6]

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

[7]

• Xilinx Inc
  • CoolRunner II
  • CoolRunner XPLA3
  • XC9500XL

[8]

SMALL FPGAs – LESS THAN $10 or less than 40 IO devices available

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

[9]

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

[10]

• Xilinx
  • Spartan
  • Spartan-II
  • Spartan-3A
  • Spartan-3AN

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 from TI, but generic PAL programmers can be used.
• Altera Corporation. Several development kits are available. Some, however, are from third-party sources. Devices seem to need a lot of other devices for support on the eval boards.
• 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.