LOGIC ANALYZER ON CHIPS

The Web is full of low-speed logic analyzer styles that utilize a CPU. There are likewise rather a few FPGA-based designs. Both have advantages as well as disadvantages. FPGAs are quick as well as can manage great deals of data at once. however CPUs commonly have a lot more memory as well as it is easier to do I/O back to, say, a hold computer. [Mohammad] sidestepped the choice. He developed a logic analyzer that resides partly on an FPGA as well as partly on an ARM processor.

In fact, his rationale was to replace built-in FPGA logic analyzers like Chipscope as well as SignalTap. These are made to coexist with your FPGA design, however [Mohammad] discovered they had limitations. They likewise eat up die area you may want for your own design, so by necessity, they most likely don’t have much memory.

The system can catch as well as screen 32-bit signals on a 640×480 VGA screen in real-time. The system likewise has a USB mouse interface which is utilized to zoom as well as scroll the display. You can see a video of the thing in operation, below.

You can always select simulation, however often you truly requirement to run your style on actual silicon. There are subtle failures or even interactions with other hardware that are tough to design in simulation.

There are a number of fascinating design features to the analyzer, including the utilize of the Xillybus core to simplify interfacing from FPGA logic to the ARM AXI bus. This simplifies the communications with the ARM processor greatly.

We’ve looked at low-cost FPGA-based logic analyzers before. You might utilize these integrated if you have any type of space left on your device. If you don’t feel the requirement for speed, you might select a CPU-based design.

If you couldn’t tell, this is one of the jobs from [Bruce Land’s] students. thanks [Bruce] for the idea as well as of what you do producing the next generation of hardware hackers.