EE 361L University
of Hawaii
Lab 4.1. Verilog HDL and FPGAs: Part I
- Objective: Become familiar with Electronic Design
Automation (EDA). Not much design here, just become
familiar with the tools. You will be using software from Xilinx and an FPGA development board
from Digilentinc:
- Xilinx
ISE Webpack (this has a link to the download web site but note it
requires registration). This software includes an HDL editor
(including module wizards), HDL simulator (including testbench
wizards), and synthesizer (that converts HDL to configuration files for
FPGAs). You can get a copy for free though you will have to
register first. The files are large, so it will take time to
download. If you download, be sure to download a free copy of
Modelsim too. The free versions of software will only allow you
to work on verilog or VHDL. Choose verilog for this course.
- Digilentinc
Basys2: This is an inexpensive FPGA development board for
beginners. It has a Xilinx Spartan 3E FPGA. The FPGA is
connected to LEDs, switches, external clocks, and other devices on the
board. You can configure the board using Webpack to generate bit
files, and Digilentinc's Adept Suite software to load bit files into
the FPGA.
- Assignment:
- Lab 4.1, which familiarizes you with the Xilinx Webpack and the
Basys FPGA development board. The Basys2 board has an FPGA
produced by the Xilinx company. The FPGA chip is called the
Spartan 3E and has either 100K or 250K gates. A description of the board
is given here.
Note that the description has the pins of the FPGA and how they are
connected to other components on the board such as LEDs, switches, and
a clock generator. Go over pages 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the board
description. Page 1 gives a high level description of the
board. Page 3 describes the clock generator, where the primary
clock signal comes from pin P54 of the FPGA. Page 4 describes the
switches and LEDs. There are 4 push button switches, 8 slide
switches, 8 individual LEDs, and four 7-segment displays. Figure
6 of page 4 indicates the pins of the FPGA that are connected to the
devices.
- Other Files: Under
construction (may have more files later)
- The following files are in
myuhportal.hawaii.edu:
- Lab Report: In your lab report, explain what you and your
lab team did, and describe any problems that you encountered. The
lab TA will explain more about what to write in your report and how
long it
should be. Grading style is loose grading.