neorv32/rtl/processor_templates

SoC/Processor Templates

This folder provides exemplary templates that wrap the processor top entity and provide a simplified set of configuration generics and IOs. These setups are intended to allow beginner an easy start by hiding much of the processor's configuration complexity. Furthermore, these setups are used by many of the provided example setups.

Alternatively, you can directly instantiate the processor's top entity rtl/core/neorv32_top.vhd to have full access to all features.

neorv32_ProcessorTop_Minimal.vhd

This setup used the "Direct Boot Configuration". Application software is installed directly into the processor-internal instruction memory (IMEM) during synthesis. This memory is implemented as ROM and these is no bootloader available. Hence, the executable remains unchangeable is executed right after reset.

The setup only provides 3 PWM channels as IO.

neorv32_ProcessorTop_MinimalBoot.vhd

This setup used the "Indirect Boot Configuration". The NEORV32 bootloader is enabled in this setup allowing to upload new application software at any time via a UART connection.

The setup provides 8 GPIO outputs and the UART communication lines as IO.

neorv32_ProcessorTop_UP5KDemo.vhd

This is a more complex template that implements a small microcontroller-like NEORV32. It was originally designed for UPDuino V3 board, which features a Lattice iCE40up5k FPGA, but has also been ported to other boards that provide the same FPGA.

This setup provides a rich set of IOs including GPIO, SPI, TWI and PWM.