Working With the Microchip PolarFire® SoC FPGA Using SEGGER Development Tools and Debug Probes

Some things just become even better when you combine them, like bricks and mortar, movies and popcorn, or cookies and milk. With the PolarFire SoC family, Microchip has combined a powerful 64-bit 5-core RISC-V Microprocessor Sub-System (MSS) with the PolarFire FPGA fabric in a single device. Packed with this powerful combination, PolarFire SoC devices offer the scalable features of FPGAs and high-performance of ASICs. Only the FPGA fabric resources vary and the MSS remains the same across PolarFire SoC device variants, making these devices ideal for a variety of applications.

Another great combination is an innovative SoC and a powerful debug probe. SEGGER J-Links are the most widely used line of debug probes on the market. They have provided solid value to embedded development for over 20 years. Unparalleled performance, an extensive feature set, many supported CPUs and compatibility with popular development environments all make J-Link an unbeatable choice.

SEGGER J-Link Support for PolarFire SoCs

The SEGGER J-Link debug probes support all available PolarFire SoCs, from the entry-level MPFS025T to the high-end MPFS460T. All these devices include one SiFive E51 boot/monitor core, as well as four SiFive U54 application cores. J-Link users can connect to any of the five cores by passing the appropriate device name to the J-Link.

For details, please see https://www.segger.com/supported-devices/microchip/polarfire-soc

Connecting a SEGGER J-Link to a PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit

The PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit is a development platform that enables evaluation of the five-core RISC-V microprocessor subsystem, Linux and real-time execution, low-power capabilities and the rich set of peripherals of the PolarFire SoC FPGA.

To hook up a J-Link debug probe to the PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit, the following connections need to be made (note that J9 needs to be open):

The easiest way to make these connections between a J-Link and a PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit is by using an additional SEGGER Flying Wire Adapter:
https://www.segger.com/products/debug-probes/j-link/accessories/adapters/segger-flying-wire-adapter/

Testing Out the Connection Using J-Link Commander

J-Link Commander (JLink.exe) is a free command-line utility that can be used for verifying proper functionality of J-Link as well as for simple analysis of the target system. It supports some simple commands—such as memory dump, halt, step, go, etc.—to verify the target connection.

J-Link Commander comes as part of the J-Link Software and Documentation Pack. This software package is free to use for any J-Link or J-Trace device and can be downloaded here:
https://www.segger.com/downloads/jlink/#J-LinkSoftwareAndDocumentationPack

After you connect the J-Link to the Icicle Kit as described above (as well as to your computer via USB), you can power up the board (via connector J29) and verify the connection using J-Link Commander. The output should look as follows (example: 4MHz JTAG connection to the E51 core on the MPFS025T device):

The complete set of commands for J-Link Commander can be found here:

https://kb.segger.com/J-Link_Commander

Running Example Projects on the Icicle Kit Using SEGGER Embedded Studio IDE

For a more sophisticated experience than the one provided by J-Link Commander, try SEGGER's Embedded Studio, a comprehensive integrated development environment (IDE) designed specifically for managing, building, testing and deploying embedded applications—for example, on a PolarFire SoC, for which two example projects are available.

The example project at the link below was created with the SEGGER Embedded Studio project wizard and runs out-of-the-box on the E51 core on the Microchip PolarFire Icicle Kit. It is a simple Hello World example linked into the internal RAM.
https://kb.segger.com/Microchip_PolarFire_Icicle_Kit#E51_Core

Click the link below for the same simple Hello World example project that runs out-of-the-box on the U54 core # 0 on the Microchip PolarFire Icicle Kit.

https://kb.segger.com/Microchip_PolarFire_Icicle_Kit#U54_Core

Embedded Studio is available as a SEGGER Software Tool under SEGGER's Friendly License for non-commercial use and SEGGER's Commercial-use License.

Powering PolarFire SoC Applications Using SEGGER Embedded Software

Every embedded application is only as good as the software running on it. SEGGER's embedded operating system emPower OS includes multiple software components and offers a robust and versatile operating environment for a wide range of embedded systems. Its modular architecture and ability to optimize performance and support an extensive array of tools make it an excellent choice for developers aiming to create reliable and efficient embedded systems across a variety of industries. Contact SEGGER at info@segger.com if you would like to learn more.

Summary

Microchip's PolarFire SoC FPGAs combine a non-volatile FPGA with a RISC-V CPU cluster. This architecture delivers a powerful, low-power and secure platform for applications needing both FPGA flexibility and embedded processing.

But even a good thing can be made even better—using SEGGER software and tools. For more than three decades, SEGGER has empowered embedded engineers with reliable software and a comprehensive suite of development tools. From the creation of the first line of code to the final stages of production, SEGGER products are trusted by developers around the globe. Learn more at www.segger.com.