Terasic’s Atum A3 Nano is a compact FPGA development board built around Altera’s largest Agilex 3 FPGA (A3CZ135BB18AE7S). The FPGA features 135K logic elements, embedded memory blocks (6.89 Mbit M20K, 1.4 Mbit MLAB), and 368 multipliers, making it suitable for demanding applications such as robotics, automotive systems, smart city infrastructure, consumer electronics, and advanced image processing.
Measuring just 85 x 70 mm, the Atum A3 Nano board includes 64 MB SDRAM, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI output, a microSD card slot, and an onboard USB-Blaster III programmer accessible via a USB Type-C port. Expansion options include a 40-pin GPIO header and two PMOD headers, and the board also features user I/Os like LEDs, buttons, and switches. Additionally, it supports add-ons such as displays, cameras, wireless modules, and motor control kits.
Atum A3 Nano specifications:
- FPGA – Altera Agilex 3 A3CZ135BB18AE7S
- 135,110 logic elements
- 6.89 Mbit M20K, 1.4 Mbit MLAB
- 368 18×19 multipliers
- 4 I/O PLL, 8 fabric I/O PLL
- Memory – 64 MB SDRAM, x32 bits data bus
- Storage – MicroSD card socket
- Networking – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
- Display – HDMI output
- Expansion
- 40-pin GPIO connector (3.3 VDC)
- 2x 12-pin PMOD connectors (3.3 VDC)
- Programming
- On-board USB Blaster III programmer accessible via USB Type-C connector
- ASx4 mode with 128 Mbit QSPI flash
- Misc
- 4x LEDs
- 2x slide switches
- 2x push buttons
- Power Supply – 5 VDC barrel jack input
- Dimensions – 85 x 70mm
At the time of writing, the company hasn’t provided specific details about software support. However, they mention that a user manual, datasheet, board schematics, and demo projects will be available soon. However, from the Agilex 3 announcement last year, we know that the FPGA has support for Intel’s Quartus Prime Pro Edition design suite, which features a modern compiler and the Hyper-Aware design flow to streamline design cycles and improve performance. For broader hardware development, Intel’s oneAPI framework enables unified programming across CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and other accelerators, but it would be better suited to the Agilex 3 SoC FPGA with Cortex-A55 cores, which are missing in the development board covered here. In addition, Altera’s ecosystem offers various tools designed for the Agilex 3 family, including the Transceiver Toolkit for high-speed interface testing, Platform Designer for system integration, DSP Builder for signal processing applications, and Arm Development Studio for embedded software development.
In the box, you will get a preinstalled heatsink and acrylic top plate, a USB Type-C cable along with a 5 V/2 A power adapter, and four silicone foot stands. The company also mentions that the board supports various optional accessories like a 24-channel Servo Motor Kit, a 2.4″ LT24 Touch LCD Display, a D8M-GPIO Camera Kit, an RFS2 Wireless Sensing Module, and more.
The Atum A3 Nano is available for $180 on CrowdSupply, with shipping fees of $8 within the US and $18 internationally. The company plans to ship the orders as soon as August 15, 2025.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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