Vaaman FPGA Programming

The FPGA configuration is stored in a flash IC on the board. The flash IC is Win-bond’s W25Q128. The flash IC is connected to the FPGA via a SPI bus.

The flash IC can be programmed internally using the flashcp tool. This tool is available in the Vaaman Linux System Images.

The flash IC can be programmed externally using the JTAG or SPI interface. This requires the USB-to-JTAG or USB-to-SPI Module.

Uploading HEX files to Flash IC

To configure the FPGA using the flash IC, follow these steps:

Locate the 10-pin headers on the Vaaman board. These can be found from the schematic.

Ensure the Vaaman board is powered On.

Connect the USB-to-SPI Module to the Vaaman board.

While connecting the Programmer module, make sure to follow the indicated color code as shown in the image.

Download the DEMO HEX file from the Vaaman Downloads page.

Unzip the downloaded file.

Open Efinity 2021.2 or later.

Inside the Efinity IDE

Refresh USB Target as shown in the image.
Select the Bitstream file to be programmed. (The bitstream file is available in the unzipped folder)
Select the SPI Flash Programming mode. (SPI Active)
Start the programming process.

Wait for the programming to complete. When the programming is complete, the FPGA will be configured with the bitstream.

Once the programming is complete, you will observe the orange LED on the Vaaman board blinking.

This indicates that the FPGA is configured with the bitstream.

Tip

Additionally, you will notice that the four green LEDs on the Vaaman board will be blinking in a sequence.

To upload the BIT file to the flash IC, follow the steps mentioned below: