I need an FPGA chip with about 100 GPIO pins and capable of hosting a CPU with an existing Linux port, mainly to run a web server. I would like to connect it to a 16-bit DRAM, so there should exist a memory controller with this feature, either a hard macro or a soft IP core. There should also be a fast ethernet MAC. Nothing fancy, but:
- This is for a small non-profit project, so the IP cores must be free. Paying O(500) bucks for a Nios/MicroBlaze license is out of the question. Ditto about the MAC. As far as I know, neither Xiling nor Altera have a free/very cheap licensing option for non-profit applications, so the most obvious way is a no-go. Are there any
- The chip must be hand-solderable and introduce no thermal strain problems. This excludes the BGA/chip scale packages and leaves only the QFP variants on the table. I don't care about the superior signal integrity benefits of the leadless packages, 50MHz is more than needed. But this requirement kills Zynq/Cyclone V, otherwise a perfect choice for this application. The PCB must be manufacturable in a cheap PCB shop and they can often do at most 4 layers.
- The FPGA must be SRAM-based.
- I don't want the SOM modules.
The older Spartan 3Es (3S500E) or equivalent Cyclone 3 in PQFP208 would have been aa good choice here, but I seem to be blocked by the licenseing issues. I'd gladly stick to these platforms, but could you please recommend me any robust open-source IP cores which fit inside this class of FPGAs?
Best regards, Piotr