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How to power your FPGA

The current drawn by FPGAs and processors continues to rise as more logic elements are squeezed onto the chip; load currents of 100A, or greater, are becoming common. Meanwhile, the chip's operating ('core') voltages are dropping below 0.9V and require tight regulation. Most FPGAs specify both core voltage to drive the logic and separate IO voltage rails. Often FPGAs require additional rails to power internal clocks, phase-lock loops or transceivers. Getting power management right is essential to optimal performance.
Enter the development kit: The best news for systems designers is that board level power management solutions, assembled and verified either by the FPGA manufacturers or by third parties, are proliferating. Using off-the-shelf solutions as evaluation prototypes is almost always the quickest time to market.