FPGAs
in
Microsystems Education
Hugh Pollitt-Smith and Susan Xu
CMC
EWME 2004
About CMC…
ƒ Provides Canadian professors, researchers and
post-graduate students with capability:
ƒ to design, manufacture and test microchips
using the best available tools and techniques
„ brings complex design methodologies, computer
systems, manufacturing and testing infrastructure to
University laboratories
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A cross-section of significant investors:
private sector, Natural Sciences & Engineering
Research Council, Canada Foundation for Innovation,
Ontario Innovation Trust
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Broadening program focus to microsystems
research
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Unique in Canada’s innovation system
EWME 2004
CMC’s National Design Network
¾In operation
since 1984
¾Supporting 42 research
institutions, more than 400
researchers, over 1100
postgraduate students
¾Delivering $100
million
program over 5 years
Broad reach, deep impact - coast to coast
EWME 2004
System-on-Chip Research
Network (SOCRN)
• Began in 2000, $40M program to enhance
capabilities for System-on-Chip
design/research
• Design-for-reuse, ARM7 microprocessor IP
& RPP, transaction-based verification,
Bluetooth platform IP, HW/SW co-design
(Seamless)
• Biggest demand/impact has been in FPGA
capability
EWME 2004
System-on-Chip Research Network
Universities
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University of British Columbia
University of Calgary
Carleton University
Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal
University of Manitoba
McGill University
Memorial University of
Newfoundland
Universite de Montreal
University of Toronto
University of Victoria
Concordia University
Dalhousie University
Ecole de Technologie Superieure
McMaster University
Queen's University
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Royal Military College
Ryerson Polytechnic University
Simon Fraser University
Universite de Sherbrooke
Universite du Quebec a
Chicoutimi
Universite du Quebec a Montreal
Universite Laval
University of Alberta
University of New Brunswick
University of Regina
Universite du Quebec a TroisRivieres
University of Saskatchewan
University of Waterloo
University of Guelph
University of Ottawa
EWME 2004
Why FPGAs?
• Increasing features (gates, memory, IP)
– System-on-Chip
• Usable across many application areas
• Shareable, reusable (multiple users)
• Increasing demand for system/architecture
design skills from industry (HQP)
• Rapid implementation, test, re-design
EWME 2004
System-Level Prototyping
Station
PC Pre-configured,
Pre-Installed
FPGA
Boards
(Hardware)
CAD
Tools, IP
(Software)
Quantities ~10 per site
Design
Flows,
Documentation,
Tutorial(s),
Support
EWME) 2004
(CMCware
SLPS1 - Multimedia
• Xilinx Multimedia Board
• Virtex-II FPGA
• Video I/O, SVGA, 10/100 Ethernet, audio CODEC
(18-bit A/D and D/A), headphone, microphone,
parallel/serial ports, mouse/keyboard port,
pushbuttons, DIP switches, LEDs
• 5 banks 512Kx36bits 130MHz ZBT, Compact
Flash (128 MB)
• Xilinx ISE, EDK (Microblaze) tools
• Mentor FPGA Advantage (simulation, synthesis)
• Matlab/Simulink, Xilinx System Generator
EWME 2004
Xilinx Multimedia Board
EWME 2004
SLPS2 - DSP
• Altera DSP Development Kit, Stratix Professional Ed.
• Stratix IS80 FPGA
• 2-channel, 12-bit, 125 MSPS A/D; 2-channel, 14bit, 165 MSPS D/A
• 2 Mbytes of 7.5-ns synchronous SRAM, 32 Mbytes
flash
• Connectors for AD, TI boards
• Quartus II, SOPC (Nios processor)
• Matlab/Simulink, DSP Builder
• Hooks to DSP hardware
• Mentor FPGA Advantage (simultion, synthesis)
EWME 2004
Altera DSP Development Kit
EWME 2004
Reed-Solomon Demonstration
EWME 2004
SLPS3 – Embedded Systems
• Altera Nios Development Kit, Stratix Pro. Ed.
• Stratix IS40 FPGA
• 10/100 Ethernet, VGA, 4 12-bit A/D, 1 16-bit
D/A, 1 16-bit A/D, LEDs, push buttons, DIP
switch, USB 2.0, 2 serial ports, IrDA, PS/2, LCD,
2 daughter-board expansion headers
• SRAM 1MB, SODIMM header for memory
expansion, external FLASH memory interface
• Quartus II, SOPC (Nios processor)
• Matlab/Simulink, DSP Builder
• Mentor FPGA Advantage (simulation, synthesis)
EWME 2004
Altera Nios Development Kit
EWME 2004
Design Flows
• PC-based (Windows XP)
• Traditional HDL-based design to FPGA
– Mentor FPGA Advantage (includes HDL Designer,
ModelSim, Leonardo)
– Xilinx and Altera implementation tools
– Xilinx and Altera IP libraries
• Embedded system design
– Xilinx Microblaze or Altera Nios soft processor cores
– ESW tools (Gnu)
– Bus and peripheral IP
• “System-level to FPGA” flow
– Matlab/Simulink and blocksets, System Generator and/or
DSP Builder
EWME 2004
Education Opportunities
• Learning curve, design examples
• Application-specific interfaces enable realtime processing
• Quantities enable graduate or undergraduate
design project work
– Voice recognition, software-defined radio
(adaptive filters), IP component design/reuse
• Classwork
– Digital IC, SOC, HW/SW Co-design, DSP,
multimedia, communications
EWME 2004
Current status
• Distribution of 240 systems to 28
universities January - March 2004
• Systems in use on several microsystemsrelevant projects
– Signal processing algorithms for System of
Microsensors (SMS) for medical use
– Motion detection for biological cell
identification and tracking system
– Control circuitry for a gastrointestinal neurostimulator
EWME 2004
Future plans
• Planning second round of purchases in
Summer 2004
• Enhance systems with ESW capabilities
(embedded Linux), IP
• Include Virtex-II Pro board (PowerPC)
• Investigate options to interface
heterogeneous components (e.g., MEMS)
EWME 2004
For more information:
http://www.cmc.ca
[email protected]
EWME 2004