Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: Lattice Semiconductor UK | Subject: IspVM
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 08 June 2005
Software reconfigures FPGAs on the fly
New free programming software allows designers to reconfigure LatticeXP nonvolatile FPGAs in the field without interrupting system operation.
Available now free of charge, Lattice Semiconductor's new ispVM programming software supports its breakthrough transparent field reconfiguration (TransFR or TFR) capability Lattice's TransFR technology allows designers to reconfigure LatticeXP nonvolatile FPGAs in the field without interrupting system operation
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 19 Dec 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
In-system programming software meets the standard
Lattice Semiconductor has the industry's first full-featured programming software supporting the newly approved IEEE 1532 standard for in-system configurable (ISC) device programming.
Big, fast and wide PLDs in full production
Lattice Semiconductor has announced the completion of the production release of its second-generation SuperFAST BFW (Big-Fast-Wide) family, the ispLSI 2000VE family.
Analogue front end is dynamically reconfigurable
Lattice Semiconductor has added a new member to its ispPAC programmable analogue device family.
LatticeXP FPGAs uniquely employ on-chip Flash plus SRAM technology to give an ideal FPGA technology combined with an optimised general-purpose FPGA architecture.
"Field FPGA reconfiguration, driven by bug fixes, changing standards, equipment upgrades and addition of services, continues to grow rapidly in importance", said Stan Kopec, Lattice Vice President of Corporate Marketing.
"At the same time, many system vendors would like to reconfigure product features in the field while maintaining five-nines - 99.999% - system availability".
"For the first time, Lattice's unique TFR capability, enabled by our LatticeXP silicon and ispVM programming tool, makes transparent field reconfiguration a reality without appreciable system downtime", Kopec concluded.
Lattice's ispVM software is a Windows-based toolset that facilitates the programming of Lattice devices.
The ispVM Embedded tool generates C code that, when compiled for and executed on a wide range of embedded processors, enables the programming of Lattice devices.
Field logic reconfiguration can be achieved in two stages using the ispVM software.
First, a "background" programming command loads new data into the Flash memory of the LatticeXP device transparently without halting FPGA operation.
Secondly, at an appropriate time, device operation can be briefly suspended while an "XFlash TransFR" command updates the SRAM from the Flash block in approximately 1ms.
This update can occur while holding the I/Os in user-defined states to avoid disturbing the surrounding system's operation.
The ispVM software can either issue the commands directly via a programming cable (serial or USB) during prototyping, or generate an industry-standard Serial Vector Format (SVF) file for reconfiguration in the field.
The latest version of the ispVM tool, 15.2, is available for download free of charge from the Lattice website.
• Lattice Semiconductor UK: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
