VHDL-based FPGA development for the micro-line C641xCPU DSP / FPGA platforms.

The FPGA Development Package
The FPGA development package gives the user the possibility to add virtually any kind of hardware to the C641xCPU series. Interfaces not supported by the C641xCPU can be added by an appropriate FPGA design. Communication between DSP and external hardware can be optimized to perfectly fit the connected components. Data transfer overhead between DSP and FPGA can be minimized using different methods, such as a FIFO buffer or direct SDRAM access by the FPGA. High speed signal processing, such as decimation filters, etc. can be moved from DSP software to the FPGA, relieving the DSP.

Spartan-3E FPGA Technology
The Spartan-3E devices used in the C641xCPU are successors of the earlier, successful Spartan-IIE family, equipped with more logic resources, more memory capacity and improved clock management. Some key features of these devices (shown for an XC3S1600E device) are:
- 81 Kbyte block RAM
- 622+ Mbps data rate per I/O
- 8 Digital Clock Managers (DCM) for clock de-skew, frequency synthesis, etc.
- 36 dedicated 18x18 hardware multipliers

A Rich Set of Resources
On the C641xCPU, the user benefits from a rich set of resources. Connection to the DSP external memory interface (EMIF) provides the link between hardware data processing in the FPGA and software data processing in the DSP. Further, the FPGA can arbitrate for the EMIF and access on-board SDRAM autonomously. Three different clock sources eliminate the need for external clock oscillators. The large number of 102 FPGA I/O connections to the micro-line connectors gives enough I/O capability for implementing multiple external interfaces. Most of these I/O resources can be used freely for own FPGA designs.

micro-line Busmaster BSP FPGA Design Included
The included FPGA design of the micro-line busmaster provides a well qualified starting point for own designs. This design is provided as development project, including VHDL source code and the UART IP core. Reliability of this design is guaranteed by timing constraints and can further be verified by timing simulation. A previously recorded simulation run of the micro-line busmaster FPGA design serves as a reference. Detailed step-by-step procedures show different aproaches to own designs.

Development Tools
The default development environment is Xilinx ISE. It provides the complete design process from code entry to programming file generation and FPGA configuration. The Spartan-3E devices are completely supported by the free WebPack version of Xilinx ISE. As an alternative, Xilinx ISE Foundation can also be used. For timing simulation of smaller designs, the starter version of ModelSim XE can be used. For simulation of larger and complex designs the full version of ModelSim XE is recommended. After development has finished, the FPGA can be configured by different methods:
- direct configuration over JTAG
- automatic configuration on startup by the C641xCPU's Flash File System
- application software controlled configuration from flash memory or RAM

The FPGA Development Package includes:
 

Implements an asynchronous peripheral interface, two UARTs and some auxiliary functions.

FPGA Programming Guide

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FPGA Development Package

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