Nios into Actel???

[Altera_Forum]

Hello, is possible put niosII system into fpga from Actel? Because i need radiation hardened fpga and Actel has it. Altera i think has not something like Actel. But i prefere fpga from Altera. 

 Thank you for answers, Vaclav

[Altera_Forum]

Hi krausutef, 

 NIOSII is an IP core and not open-source. You cannot use it on devices from other vendors. Though I am not aware of any radiation-hardened device from Altera, you may want to see if the SEU quality of existing Altera FPGAs are sufficient for your purposes.  Else, you can try Actel's own soft-core processor (LEON) or its embedded ARM processor series - though not sure if they offer the same degree of sophisticated designs as NIOSII.

[Altera_Forum]

Hi, i thought that is impossibly. But it doesn't matter. I know Leon3, that from Airoflex Gaisler, this core is open source and can be used to all fpga. But work with this isn't good like with NiosII. I think design flow is really miserable with Leon3. Its free but work with it is disaster. Thanks Vaclav

[Altera_Forum]

--- Quote Start ---  Hello, is possible put niosII system into fpga from Actel?   --- Quote End ---     Altera licenses the Nios-II processor architecture available through the synopsys designware library (http://www.synopsys.com/ip/designware/pages/default.aspx). When you use the Synopsys tools you can than synthesize your architectures to other implemenation platforms such as ASICs etc... For FPGA families supported by Synopsys (Symplify Pro Toolset) see here (http://http://www.synopsys.com/tools/implementation/fpgaimplementation/fpgasynthesis/pages/fpgadevicesupport.aspx).

[Altera_Forum]

Also, the "e" core version is open source...

[Altera_Forum]

--- Quote Start ---  Also, the "e" core version is open source...  --- Quote End ---  I don't think it is really open source. But I just did some digging and did confirm that the Nios II/e core is free to use starting with Quartus II 9.1. (See this page (http://www.altera.com/products/ip/processors/nios2/cores/economy/ni2-economy-core.html) on the Altera website for details.) Free to use and open source are different. If it really is open source, I would like to see more details about that.  This is actually the first I heard that the Nios II/e core is now free to use. That is quite significant news as for many designs, Nios II/e is quite sufficient. I am sure this will benefit many hobbyists or others on a tight budget.

[Altera_Forum]

I stand corrected on the open source point...thanks for making it clear, and pointing us to an official stance. 

 I agree that having the "e" core free will still be great for a lot of things!