nextpnr/machxo2/examples

MachXO2 Architecture Example

This directory contains a simple example of running nextpnr-machxo2:

• simple.sh produces nextpnr output in the files {pack,place,pnr}*.json, as well as pre-pnr and post-pnr diagrams in {pack,place,pnr}*.{dot, png}.

• simtest.sh will use yosys to generate a Verilog file from {pack,place,pnr}blinky.json, called {pack,place,pnr}blinky.v. It will then and compare {pack,place,pnr}blinky.v's simulation behavior to the original verilog file (blinky.v) using the iverilog compiler and vvp runtime. This is known as post-place-and-route simulation.

• mitertest.sh is similar to simtest.sh, but more comprehensive. This script creates a miter circuit to compare the output port values of {pack,place,pnr}*.v against the original Verilog code when both modules are fed the same values on their input ports.

  All possible inputs and resulting outputs can be tested in reasonable time by using yosys' built-in SAT solver or z3, an external SMT solver.

• demo.sh creates bitstreams for TinyFPGA Ax and writes the resulting bitstream to MachXO2's internal flash using tinyproga.

As nextpnr-machxo2 is developed the contents simple.sh, simtest.sh, mitertest.sh, and demo.sh are subject to change.

How To Run

The following applies to all sh scripts except demo.sh.

Each sh script runs yosys and nextpnr to validate a blinky design in various ways. The mode argument to each script- pack, place, or pnr- stop nextpnr-machxo2 after the specified phase and writes out a JSON file of the results in {pack,place,pnr}blinky.json; pnr runs all of the Pack, Place, and Route phases.

mitertest.sh requires an additional option- sat or smt- to choose between verifying the miter with either yosys' built-in SAT solver, or an external SMT solver.

In principle, mitertest.sh should work in sat or smt mode with all example Verilog files which don't use the internal oscillator (OSCH) or other hard IP. However, as of this writing, only blinky.v passes correctly for a few reasons:

1. The sim models for MachXO2 primitives used by the gate module contain initial values by design, as it matches chip behavior. Without any of the following in the gold module (like blinky_ext.v currently):

   • An external reset signal
   • Internal power-on reset signal (e.g. reg int_rst = 1'd1;)
   • initial values to manually set registers

   the gold and gate modules will inherently not match.

   Examples using an internal power-on reset (e.g. uart.v) also have issues that I haven't debugged yet in both sat and smt mode.

2. To keep the gold/gate generation simpler, examples are currently assumed to not instantiate MachXO2 simulation primitives directly (FACADE_IO, FACADE_FF, etc).

3. synth_machxo2 runs deminout on inouts when generating the gate module. This is not handled yet when generating the gold module.

To keep file count lower, all yosys scripts are written inline inside the sh scripts using the -p option.

demo.sh requires a prefix that matches one of the self-contained Verilog examples in this directory. For instance, to create a bitstream from tinyfpga.v, use demo.sh tinyfpga. The script will catch Verilog files which are not meant to be programmed onto TinyFPA Ax.

Clean

To clean output files from all scripts, run:

rm -rf *.dot *.json *.png *.vcd *.smt2 *.log *.txt *.bit {pack,place,pnr}*.v blinky_simtest*

Verilog Examples

• blinky.v/blinky_tb.v- A blinky example meant for simulation.

• tinyfpga.v- Blink the LED on TinyFPA Ax.

• rgbcount.v- Blink an RGB LED using TinyFPGA Ax, more closely-based on the TinyFPGA Ax guide.

• blinky_ext.v- Blink the LED on TinyFPA Ax using an external pin (pin 6).

• uart.v- UART loopback demo at 19200 baud. Requires the following pins:

  • Pin 1- RX LED
  • Pin 2- TX (will echo RX)
  • Pin 3- RX
  • Pin 4- TX LED
  • Pin 5- Load LED
  • Pin 6- 12 MHz clock input
  • Pin 7- Take LED
  • Pin 8- Empty LED

Environment Variables For Scripts

• YOSYS- Set to the location of the yosys binary to test. Defaults to the yosys on the path. You may want to set this to a yosys binary in your source tree if doing development.
• NEXTPNR- Set to the location of the nextpnr-machxo2 binary to test. Defaults to the nextpnr-machxo2 binary at the root of the nextpnr source tree. This should be set, for instance, if doing an out-of-tree build of nextpnr-machxo2.
• CELLS_SIM- Set to the location of machxo2/cells_sim.v simulation models. Defaults to whatever yosys-config associated with the above YOSYS binary returns. You may want to set this to /path/to/yosys/src/share/machxo2/cells_sim.v if doing development; yosys-config cannot find these "before-installation" simulation models.
• TRELLIS_DB- Set to the location of the Project Trellis database to use. Defaults to nothing, which means ecppack will use whatever database is on its path.