Cologne Chip notes

Supported Boards/Cables

  • GateMate Evaluation Board using board parameters -b gatemate_evb_jtag or -b gatemate_evb_spi

  • GateMate Programmer using cable parameter -c gatemate_pgm

Programming Modes

Supported configuration files are bitfiles *.bit and it’s ASCII equivalents *.cfg.

JTAG Configuration

Performs an active hardware reset and writes the configuration into the FPGA latches via JTAG. The configuration mode pins CFG_MD[3:0] must be set to 0xC (JTAG).

  1. Program using Evaluation Board:

openFPGALoader -b gatemate_evb_jtag <bitfile>.cfg.bit

  1. Program using Programmer Cable:

openFPGALoader -c gatemate_pgm <bitfile>.cfg.bit

SPI Configuration

Performs an active hardware reset and writes the configuration into the FPGA latches via SPI. The configuration mode pins CFG_MD[3:0] must be set to 0x4 (SPI passive).

  1. Program using Evaluation Board:

openFPGALoader -b gatemate_evb_spi <bitfile>.cfg.bit

  1. Program using Programmer Cable:

openFPGALoader -b gatemate_pgm_spi <bitfile>.cfg.bit

JTAG Flash Access

It is possible to access external flashes via the internal JTAG-SPI-bypass. The configuration mode pins CFG_MD[3:0] must be set to 0xC (JTAG). Note that the FPGA will not start automatically.

  1. Write to flash using Evaluation Board:

openFPGALoader -b gatemate_evb_jtag <bitfile>.cfg.bit

  1. Write to flash using Programmer Cable:

openFPGALoader -c gatemate_pgm -f <bitfile>.cfg.bit

The offset parameter can be used to store data at any point in the flash, e.g.:

openFPGALoader -b gatemate_evb_jtag -o <offset> <bitfile>.cfg.bit

SPI Flash Access

If the programming device and FPGA share the same SPI signals, it is possible to hold the FPGA in reset and write data to the flash. The configuration mode can be set as desired. If the FPGA should start from the external memory after reset, the configuration mode pins CFG_MD[3:0] set to 0x0 (SPI active).

  1. Write to flash using Evaluation Board:

openFPGALoader -b gatemate_evb_spi -f <bitfile>.cfg.bit

  1. Write to flash using Programmer Cable:

openFPGALoader -b gatemate_pgm_spi -f <bitfile>.cfg.bit

The offset parameter can be used to store data at any point in the flash, e.g.:

openFPGALoader -b gatemate_evb_spi -o <offset> <bitfile>.cfg.bit