Using FPGA Modules: A Practical Guide - Paperback

by Dennis Bingaman (Author)

This book is not intended to just be read. In this book you are going to get your hands dirty. It is intended to be a hands-on book with real exercises. You will be guided through a series of projects that use the Opal Kelly XEM-7001 FPGA Module. You may choose to use a different FPGA module, but you will need to modify the projects accordingly. You will have to purchase a small set of electronic components that will be used in all the projects. The book provides a list of them along with all the part numbers for ordering through www.digikey.com, one of the most popular online electronic supply stores. When you have completed this book, you will have hands-on real-world experience in using FPGA modules that you can then apply to any project you like from robotics to home automation to just about anything else you can think of.The programs used to communicate with the FPGA will be written in C++. Again, the goal is not to teach C++ but to provide code for the projects. All the code and VHDL firmware code is available online for the user to download. A little bit of programming skills is required but again we do not use any of the advanced features of C++. All the projects use simple console-based applications, as I did not want to have to go into all the ways of creating windows-based applications.Chapter 1 is an introduction to FPGA's in general, describing what they are, how they are used and what they are used for. Chapter 2 dives into the details of the Opal Kelly XEM7001 FPGA module. Its features and how to communicate with it via a Personal Computer (PC). Chapter 3 dives into the language used to program FPGA's. Specifically, VHDL. This book it not intended to teach VHDL and all the projects will be using the basics of VHDL, not the more advanced features. This chapter does not talk about it in theory alone but we actually will use it with Xilinx Vivado development tool to create VHDL code, synthesize it and run simulations on it. Unlike other books that just talk about VHDL without providing any actual integration of it with real world tools. We will dive into it in great detail using very simple examples. This will help the user learn VHDL within the Vivado tool set. Because developing an FPGA application involves more than just VHDL it also involves other files called XDC files with their own 'mini' language, this is integrated into the exercises of the chapter. You will come out of this chapter with a complete understanding of how to develop an FPGA project from start to finish. In Chapter 4 we delve into creating FPGA projects for the XEM-7001 that will actually do something. Starting with controlling the onboard LED's and moving to more complicated tasks. Chapter 4 is the longest chapter in the book. You will be breadboarding real circuits and then having the FPGA control and use those circuits while observing the results using various test instruments. There is a small investment in various components that you will need. The fun thing is, you get to see the results of your efforts from temperature sensors and other interface chips. You finally get a break at chapter 5 It just talks about communications protocols that FPGA's and Micro-controllers use to talk to other chips. Chapter 6 we pickup on communicating with other chips (ADC's, Temperature Sensors, EEPROM Memory Chips etc.) Again, you are going to be wiring up a lot of circuits and observing the results of your labor. Chapter 7 is probably one of the most fun chapters, here we are interfacing to electro-mechanical motors, from standard motors with attached encoders, to stepper motors ending with servo motors, we get the world moving some We end this chapter implementing a 'soft-core' micro controller withing the FPGA. Specifically, the Xilinx Micro-Blaze MCS. Yes, you can actually implement a microcontroller inside of an FPGA Chapter 8 completes the book with instructions on where you may go from here.