Cypress introduces a new USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface board

     Cypress Semiconductor Corp. and Nuvation Research Corp. announced that they have mass-produced a rapid prototyping solution that significantly simplifies the transfer of Altera FPGA video streams, images and other data to host processors at speeds of up to 400 megabits per second. The solution uses a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 device interface board that connects to Arrow Electronics' BeMicro SDK (software development Kit). The latter is a popular FPGA evaluation platform using Altera Cyclone IV FPGas.

     The new USB 3.0 expansion board helps BeMicro users prototype and is simpler, less costly and non-compressed than traditional, slower USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.

     The new BeUSB 3.0 interface board from Cypress and Nuvation (Cypress Platinum Design Partner) is designed to provide seamless connectivity for immediate use and is exclusive to Arrow Electronics. It uses Cypress's programmable EZ-USB® FX3™ USB 3.0 device controller to implement the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard. The interface board connects to the BeMicro SDK and comes with a standard cable to connect to a USB 3.0 PC host with a bus power of up to 900 mA. The BeUSB 3.0 board provides an excellent starter development tool for systems that require high-quality video streaming, images, and data acquisition, as well as other applications that require FPgas to connect to USB 3.0.

     The EZ-USB FX3 peripheral controller on the BeUSB 3.0 expansion board uses Cypress's second generation Configurable Universal Programmable Interface (GPIF™ II), capable of supporting data rates up to 400 MBps. GPIF II allows FX3 to connect directly to any processor, ASIC, or FPGA using the Graphical User interface (GUI) tool GPIF II Designer™. The easy-to-use GUI helps system designers to fully meet their design needs by choosing to configure the GPIF II interface asynchronously and synchronously from either of the common interfaces, such as FIFO or SRAM. In addition, designers can design their interfaces by using an intuitive state machine canvas. The on-chip ARM9® CPU core with 512KB of RAM delivers up to 200 MIPS of computing power for applications that require local data processing. FX3 also offers highly flexible, integrated features that enable developers to add USB 3.0 connectivity to any system.

     Mark Fu, Senior Marketing Director, SuperSpeed USB Business Unit, Cypress, said: "We are thrilled to have Cypress Platinum design partners like Nuvation and leading global distributors like Arrow Electronics working with us to deliver an easy-to-use SuperSpeed USB 3.0 solution. Together, we help system designers fully meet their customers' demands for higher bandwidth. The BeUSB 3.0 interface card helps Altera FPGA and BeMicro users accelerate design, providing seamless connectivity between FX3 and Altera FPgas."

     David West, vice president of supplier Marketing and Asset Management at Arrow Electronics, said: "Arrow Electronics is proud to have the opportunity to work with Cypress to bring the FX3 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 solution to market. Cypress's solutions will open up entirely new markets for businesses, while providing customers with the cutting-edge technology needed to meet a wide range of video, image and data transmission requirements. We are also very pleased to see Nuvation, a premier member of Arrow's Engineering Advisory Services (ACES) program, joining this effort."