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First SoC FPGA development kit based on RISC-V

Posted on September 22, 2020 by  

Microchip has claimed the industry’s first SoC FPGA development kit based on the RISC-V instruction set architecture for the lowest power FPGA.

Microchip Technology Inc. has claimed the industry’s first RISC-V-based System-on-Chip (SoC) FPGA development kit for the PolarFire SoC FPGA. Delivering a standardized, low-cost development platform that embeds RISC-V technology and leverages the RISC-V ecosystem, the new Icicle Development Kit for PolarFire SoC FPGAs brings together Mi-V partners’ suite of tools and design resources in a platform priced at $489.

The low-cost evaluation platform removes barriers to entry, enabling embedded engineers, software designers, and hardware developers to implement designs that leverage open RISC-V ISA and Microchip’s PolarFire SoC FPGAs, said Bruce Weyer, Microchip’s vice president of FPGA business unit.

The development kit for Microchip’s low-power and low-cost RISC-V-based SoC FPGA targets designers who want to deploy a programmable RISC-V-based SoC FPGA. The platform enables them to evaluate a range of RISC-V ecosystem products including real-time operating systems (RTOS), debuggers, compilers, system on modules (SOMs), and security solutions.

Microchip Icicle development kit for PolarFire SoC FPGA

The Icicle Kit enables PolarFire SoC FPGAs with:

  • RISC-V processor complex from SiFive and embedded trace macro from UltraSoC Development tools from Adacore, Green Hills Software, Mentor Graphics and Wind River
  • Commercial RTOS solutions such as Nucleus and VxWorks that complement Microchip’s Linux and bare-metal solutions
  • Middleware solutions from DornerWorks, Hex Five, Veridify Security and wolfSSL
  • SOM and design services from organizations such as Antmicro, ARIES Embedded, Digital Core Technologies, Emdalo Technologies, Sundance DSP, and Trenz Electronic

At the heart of the Icicle Kit is the 250K logic element (LE) PolarFire SoC device. It also includes a PCIe connector, mikroBUS socket, dual RJ45 connector, Micro-USB connector, CAN bus connector, Raspberry Pi header, JTAG port, and SD Card interfaces, giving developers a full-featured platform for development, said Microchip. The board is supported by Microchip’s fully designed, validated and tested power management and clocking devices, an Ethernet PHY (VSC8662XIC), USB controller (USB3340-EZK-TR), and current sensors (PAC1934T-I/JQ).

The PolarFire SoC FPGA family is available in a variety of package sizes, as small as 11 x 11 mm, to match the performance and power tradeoffs for the application. The Icicle Kit for PolarFire SoC FPGAs is suited for smart embedded imaging, IoT, industrial automation, defense, automotive, and communication applications.

The Icicle Kit for PolarFire SoC FPGAs (MPFS-ICICLE-KIT-ES) is available now, with a starting price of $489. PolarFire FPGAs are in production with early samples of the SoC FPGA available today.

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