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USB-Blaster Download Cable
User Guide
101 Innovation Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
www.altera.com
UG-USB81204-2.5
P25-10325-03
Software Version: 9.0
Document Version: 2.5
Document Date: © April 2009
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Copyright © 2009 Altera Corporation. All rights reserved. Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations, and all other
words and logos that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other
countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holders. Altera products are protected under numerous U.S. and foreign patents and pending applications, maskwork rights, and copyrights. Altera warrants performance of its semiconductor products to current specifications in accordance with Altera's standard warranty,
but reserves the right to make changes to any products and services at any time without notice. Altera assumes no responsibility or liability arising out of the application or use of
any information, product, or service described herein except as expressly agreed to in writing by Altera Corporation. Altera customers are advised to obtain the latest version of
device specifications before relying on any published information and before placing orders for products or services
.
UG-USB81204-2.5
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Contents
Chapter 1. Setting Up the USB-Blaster Download Cable
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1
Supported Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1
Power Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1
Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–2
Hardware Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–2
Software Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–3
Installing the USB-Blaster Driver on Windows 2000 and Windows XP Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–4
Installing the USB-Blaster Driver on Windows Vista Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–4
Installing the USB-Blaster Driver on Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–5
Setting Up the USB-Blaster Hardware in the Quartus II Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–6
Chapter 2. USB-Blaster Specifications
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–1
USB-Blaster Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–1
Voltage Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–1
Cable-to-Board Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–2
USB-Blaster Plug Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–3
Circuit Board Header Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–4
Operating Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–5
USB-Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–7
Statement of China-RoHS Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–8
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–8
Additional Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About–1
Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About–1
How to Contact Altera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About–2
Typographic Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About–2
© April 2009 Altera Corporation USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide
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USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide © April 2009 Altera Corporation
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List of Figures v
List of Figures
Figure 1–1: The USB-Blaster Download Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Figure 1–2: Hardware Setup Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Figure 2–1: USB-Blaster Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Figure 2–2: USB-Blaster Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Figure 2–3: USB-Blaster 10-Pin Female Plug Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Figure 2–4: 10-Pin Male Header Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
© April 2009 Altera Corporation USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide
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vi List of Figures
USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide © April 2009 Altera Corporation
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List of Tables vii
List of Tables
Table 1–1: Programming Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Table 2–1: USB-Blaster VCC(TRGT) Pin Voltage Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Table 2–2: USB-Blaster Female Plug Signal Names & Programming Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Table 2–3: USB-Blaster Cable Absolute Maximum Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Table 2–4: USB-Blaster Cable Recommended Operating Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Table 2–5: USB-Blaster Cable (Rev. A & B) DC Operating Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Table 2–6: USB-Blaster Cable (Rev. C) DC Operating Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Table 2–7: USB-Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Table 2–8: Table of Hazardous Substances’ Name and Concentration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
© April 2009 Altera Corporation USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide
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viii List of Tables
USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide © April 2009 Altera Corporation
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Introduction
The USB-Blaster™ download cable interfaces a USB port on a host computer to an
Altera
from the PC to a standard 10-pin header connected to the FPGA. You can use the
USB-Blaster cable to iteratively download configuration data to a system during
prototyping or to program data into the system during production.
Supported Devices
You can use the USB-Blaster download cable to download configuration data to the
following Altera devices:
■ Stratix
■ Cyclone
■ MAX
■ Arria
■ APEX
■ ACEX
■ Mercury
■ FLEX 10K
■ Excalibur
1. Setting Up the USB-Blaster Download
Cable
®
FPGA mounted on a printed circuit board. The cable sends configuration data
®
series FPGAs
®
series FPGAs
®
series CPLDs
®
GX series FPGAs
™
series FPGAs
®
1K FPGAs
™
FPGAs
®
series FPGAs
™
FPGAs
You can perform in-system programming of the following devices:
■ Altera configuration devices including EPC2 devices.
■ Enhanced configuration devices including EPC4, EPC8, and EPC16 devices.
■ Serial configuration devices including EPCS1, EPCS4, EPCS16, EPCS64, and
In addition, you can perform SignalTap
The USB-Blaster download cable supports target systems using 5.0-V TTL, 3.3-V
LVTTL/LVCMOS, and single-ended I/O standards from 1.5 V to 3.3 V.
Power Requirements
The USB-Blaster download cable requires the following power sources:
■ 5.0 V from the USB cable
■ Between 1.5 V and 5.0 V from the target circuit board
EPCS128 devices.
®
II logic analysis.
© April 2009 Altera Corporation USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide