Xilinx UG133 manual Microcontroller Reference Design Overview

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Microcontroller Reference Design Overview

Introduction

When selecting an embedded microcontroller, typically an engineer will list the required features and then select a stand alone, off the shelf microcontroller or processor that has those features. In most cases there are additional features or peripherals that are not need, but are included non-the less. When using a Soft Processor in an FPGA an engineer has an opportunity to select from pre-created microcontroller hardware images, or modify and customize the features and peripherals.

This guide is provided as an aid in getting started and learning how to use the Xilinx Embedded Development Kit (EDK) tools. It does this through examples, which show how multiple software images can run on a defined soft microcontroller hardware configuration. This guide show how an FPGA with a soft processor can be used the same way an engineer would select an off the shelf microcontroller. This guide will provide examples of a number of different microcontroller configurations from which an engineer can choose. The soft microcontroller features and peripherals in the FPGA may be used without modification, or may be modified and customized using the Xilinx EDK Platform Studio tools. This guide will cover the flow where multiple software images are loaded on an unmodified hardware configuration.

MicroBlaze Microcontroller Ref Des User Guide www.xilinx.com 1

UG133 January 7, 2005