Date: 16/07/2012

Lattice Semiconductor launches Diamond 2.0 version of its FPGA software

Lattice Semiconductor has announced version 2.0 of its Lattice Diamond FPGA design software.
The new features in this version 2.0 includes:

1. Support for the new LatticeECP4 FPGA family.
2. Feature partition-based incremental design flow for LatticeECP3 FPGA devices.
3. Data support for timing, power and packaging based on early silicon characterization of the LatticeECP4-190 device.
4. Lattice Diamond version 2.0 adds a new System Planner tool that enables users to optimize the resource usage of the twelve 6Gbps SERDES channels offered on the LatticeECP4 devices.
5. Features power calculator tool provides settings for power save and standby modes, along with pre-emphasis configuration, to accurately analyze and estimate the power consumption of LatticeECP4 designs.
6. Enables the generation of the LatticeECP4 device's DSP blocks.
7. Version 2.0, Lattice Diamond software detects additional incorrect pin usage cases and supports the LatticeECP4 devices, in addition to the LatticeECP3, MachXO and LatticeSC device families. This DRC engine operates either in real-time or on-demand. It also outputs user-friendly reports that help correct pin usage issues by providing users with suggestions.

8. The Lattice Diamond Programmer and Lattice Diamond Deployment Tool are included in each Lattice Diamond software release. Starting with Lattice Diamond Programmer 2.0, users can now add their own SPI Flash devices to any new release of the tool. Lattice Diamond Deployment Tool 2.0 also offers more embedded operations, such as I2C embedded for the MachXO2 device family, and Slave SPI for the LatticeECP3 and LatticeXP2 device families. Both Lattice Diamond Programmer and Lattice Diamond Deployment Tool are also available as standalone tools.

9. Lattice Diamond software incorporates Synopsys' Synplify Pro advanced FPGA synthesis for Windows and Linux. Aldec's Active-HDL Lattice Edition II simulator is also included for Windows.

10. Support for all Lattice devices is included not only in the OEM versions of Synplify Pro and Active-HDL, but is also available in the full versions of Synopsys Synplify Pro, Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO. Mentor Graphics ModelSim SE and Precision RTL synthesis also support Lattice devices.

11. Lattice Diamond 2.0 software supports Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems, and is now also provided as a 64-bit application for Windows 7 to increase memory capacity. For Linux users, Lattice Diamond 2.0 now runs on Linux Red Hat 6 in addition to versions 5 and 4.

Availability and price: Free version support only selected FPGA devices where as paid Lattice Diamond subscription license enables all the features of the free license and includes access to all Lattice FPGAs, including the new LatticeECP4 devices (with the exception of the LatticeECP4-95 device, which is currently available to select customers). The Lattice Diamond subscription license price is $895 per year.

To know more visit www.latticesemi.com
To download free version http://www.latticesemi.com/latticediamond/downloads/

Though Diamond 2.0 boasts list of new features, these are all incremental. Xilinx's newly launched Vivado Design Suite designed with some basic changes with features as strong as what you can get from leading EDA vendors, Vivado is few notches ahead of both Altera's Quartus II and Lattice Diamond 2.0.