Microchip’s PolarFire® SoC FPGA Meets Beagle Board: High-Performance SoC with BeagleV®-Fire
Read this post to learn more about the BeagleV®-Fire development board featuring our PolarFire® SoC FPGAs.
The BeagleV®-Fire board from BeagleBoard.org features Microchip’s PolarFire® SoCs, harnessing its RISC-V and FPGA technology, creating a powerful platform for innovation. As part of Microchip’s Mi-V ecosystem, it benefits from a rich set of tools and resources that accelerate development. With robust support for Linux and Zephyr, the BeagleV-Fire is perfect for embedded development, AI and IoT solutions.
Introduction
The BeagleV-Fire is a powerful and affordable development board featuring the Microchip PolarFire MPFS025T SoC, designed to bring high-performance computing and FPGA capabilities together in a single platform. This SoC integrates a RISC-V-based Microprocessor Subsystem (MSS) with Quad-application cores and monitor core, capable of running Linux alongside the PolarFire FPGA fabric. This allows developers to efficiently partition their designs between software and hardware acceleration.
With the BeagleV-Fire, users can leverage our Libero® SoC Design Suite for rapid RTL-based FPGA design, supporting a wide range of applications such as video processing, signal processing, networking and communications. Additionally, our SoftConsole IDE provides a streamlined environment for C/C++ application development, making it easier to target both FPGA and SoC-based projects.
This open-source development board is ideal for embedded Linux engineers, FPGA developers and hardware enthusiasts looking to explore the possibilities of RISC-V architecture combined with FPGA acceleration.
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Image 1: BeagleV-Fire
Hardware Specifications: Power, Performance and Versatility
The BeagleV-Fire isn’t just another development board—it’s a powerhouse of RISC-V computing and FPGA acceleration, built for demanding applications in AI, IoT and embedded systems. At its core, the Microchip PolarFire MPFS025T SoC FPGA combines Quad-application cores and a monitor core RISC-V processor with a high-performance FPGA fabric, delivering a unique blend of efficiency and flexibility.
Table 1: BeagleV-Fire Chipset features
Feature |
Details |
SoC |
Microchip PolarFire MPFS025T SoC FPGA |
FPGA Fabric |
|
Processor |
|
Storage |
|
Memory Interfaces |
|
Communication Interfaces |
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Table 2: BeagleV-Fire Board features
Board Feature |
Details |
On-board Memory |
|
Connectors and Expansion |
|
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Image 2: BeagleV-Fire Hardware Layout – Front Ports and Headers
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Image 3: BeagleV-Fire Hardware Layout – Back Ports and Headers
Power-Efficient Performance
The PolarFire SoC is engineered for high efficiency. This makes it an ideal choice for battery-powered and energy-sensitive applications.
Robust Storage and Memory
The board offers versatile storage options, supporting MMC 5.1 SD/SDIO, Quad SPI flash and embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM and sNVM). Its 36-bit memory controller ensures compatibility with DDR4, DDR3, LPDDR4 and LPDDR3, all with error correction (SECDED) for enhanced data integrity and reliability.
Flexible Expansion Options
Designed for flexibility, the board features a wide range of connectors and expansion ports, including USB Type-C, M.2 E-Key socket, microSD card slot, SYZYGY high-speed connector and BeagleBone Cape headers. Developers can easily extend and customize projects to meet specific needs.
SYZYGY High-Speed Connector
A standout feature of the BeagleV-Fire is its SYZYGY high-speed connector, equipped with 12.5 Gbps FPGA transceivers—a rare capability at this price point. This delivers ultra-fast data transfer, making it an ideal choice for applications that demand high-speed networking, real-time signal processing and advanced communications.
This board is an excellent choice for embedded systems, industrial automation, AI/ML applications and more.
Explore its full potential and take development to the next level!
Software Specifications: Unlocking the Full Potential of the BeagleV-Fire
BeagleV-Fire board offers robust support for Linux, making it an excellent choice for developers looking for flexibility and customization.
- Custom Linux Support: Adapt the OS to Specific Needs
BeagleV-Fire comes preloaded with Ubuntu Linux. Microchip also provides support for Yocto and Buildroot, giving customers the flexibility to choose alternate solutions. Several PolarFire SoC FPGA reference designs serve as great starting points for the Beagle community to explore and adapt. With a strong Mi-V ecosystem encompassing both commercial and open-source solutions, along with an extensive library of videos and webinars, developers can dive deeper into the features and functionality of BeagleV-Fire beyond its out-of-the-box capabilities.
- Real-Time Capabilities with Zephyr
For developers working on time-sensitive applications, the BeagleV-Fire also supports Zephyr and RTEMS RTOS.
Tools and IP
To further streamline development, the platform is supported by a suite of powerful tools and IP.
Documentation and Support
To help developers get started and troubleshoot effectively, Microchip and BeagleBoard.org offer extensive documentation and community support are available.