Intel notes

Intel/Altera

Note

  • CYC1000

  • C10LP-RefKit

  • DE0

  • de0nano

Loading a bitstream

SVF and RBF files are supported.

sof to svf generation:

quartus_cpf -c -q 12.0MHz -g 3.3 -n p project_name.sof project_name.svf

sof to rbf generation:

quartus_cpf  --option=bitstream_compression=off -c project_name.sof project_name.rbf

Warning

As mentioned in cyclone handbooks, real-time decompression is not supported by FPGA in JTAG mode. Keep in mind to disable this option.

You can have Quartus automatically generate SVF and RBF files by adding these lines to the qsf file, or include them in a tcl file in FuseSoC

set_global_assignment -name ON_CHIP_BITSTREAM_DECOMPRESSION OFF
set_global_assignment -name GENERATE_RBF_FILE ON
set_global_assignment -name GENERATE_SVF_FILE ON

file load:

openFPGALoader -b boardname project_name.svf
# or
openFPGALoader -b boardname project_name.rbf

with boardname = de0, cyc1000, c10lp-refkit, de0nano, de0nanoSoc or qmtechCycloneV.

SPI flash

RPD and RBF are supported. POF is only supported for MAX10 (internal flash).

pof to rpd:

quartus_cpf -c project_name.pof project_name.rpd

sof to rpd:

# CYC1000
quartus_cpf -o auto_create_rpd=on -c -d EPCQ16A -s 10CL025YU256C8G project_name.svf project_name.jic
# C10LP-RefKit
quartus_cpf -o auto_create_rpd=on -c -d EPCQ16A -s 10CL055YU484C8G project_name.svf project_name.jic

file load:

openFPGALoader -b boardname -r project_name_auto.rpd
# or
openFPGALoader -b boardname -r project_name.rbf

with boardname = cyc1000, c10lp-refkit.

MAX10: FPGA Programming Guide

Supported Boards:

  • step-max10_v1

  • analogMax

Supported File Types:

  • svf

  • svf

  • bin (arbitrary binary files)

Using svf

Note

This method is required to load a bitstream into SRAM.

openFPGALoader [-b boardname] -c cablename the_svf_file.svf

Parameters:

  • boardname: One of the boards supported by openFPGALoader (optional).

  • cablename: One of the supported cables (see --list-cables).

Using pof

When writing the bitstream to internal flash, using a pof file is the fastest approach.

openFPGALoader [-b boardname] [--flash-sector] -c cablename the_pof_file.pof

Parameters:

  • boardname: One of the boards supported by openFPGALoader (optional).

  • cablename: One of the supported cables (see --list-cables).

  • --flash-sector: Specifies which internal flash sectors to erase/update instead of modifying the entire flash. One or more section may be provided, with , as separator. When this option isn’t provided a full internal flash erase/ update is performed

Accepted Flash Sectors:

  • UFM0, UFM1: User Flash Memory sections.

  • CFM0, CFM1, CFM2: Configuration Flash Memory sectors.

Example:

openFPGALoader -c usb-blaster --flash-sector UFM1,CFM0,CFM2 the_pof_file.pof

This command updates UFM1, CFM0, and CFM2, while leaving other sectors unchanged.

Using an arbitrary binary file

This command updates only User Flash Memory sectors without modifying CFMx. Unlike Altera Quartus, it supports any binary format without limitations (not limited to a .bin.

Note

This approach is useful to updates, for example, a softcore CPU firmware.

openFPGALoader [-b boardname] -c cablename the_bin_file.bin

  • boardname: One of the boards supported by openFPGALoader (optional).

  • cablename: One of the supported cables (see --list-cables).

Behavior:

UFM0 and UFM1 will be erased before writing the binary file.

Note

Depending on the internal flash configuration, CFM1 and CFM2 may also store arbitrary data. However, currently, openFPGALoader only supports writing to UFMx.

Intel/Altera (Old Boards)

Note

  • Cyclone II (FPGA) (Tested OK: EP2C5T144C8N)

  • Max II (CPLD) (Tested OK: EPM240T100C5N)

Loading a Serial Vector Format (.svf)

SVF files are supported.

To load the file:

openFPGALoader -c usb-blaster project_name.svf