How to program a Xilinx Spartan-3A DSP Starter Kit PROM

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This guide explains how to program a Xilinx Spartan-3A DSP Starter Kit PROM which is a non-trivial task when compared to other boards designed to work with iMPACT.
There are two versions of the board: one that requires a special XIP tool for programming and another that can be program via older versions of iMPACT. Most of the Spartan-3A DSP Starter Kit's that I have come into contact with have required the XIP tool for programming so I'll describe that procedure 1st.


XIP

The XIP tool is fairly simple to use but appears to only work with iMPACT 10.1 (I was unsuccessful in getting it to work with 11.1 or 13.2.

  1. Download and install Xilinx iMPACT 10.1 if you don't already have it.
  2. Download and unzip the Xilinx XIP Tool.
  3. Generate .bit file as usual from within XPS (be sure to Update Bitstream with latest software)
  4. Copy your .bit file into the folder with the XIP tools. This guide will assume your .bit file is called awesome.bit.
  5. Edit burn_intel_s33.bat by modifying line 30 to point to your .bit file's name. (ie: change to "set bitstream=awesome").
    • Note that the .bit extension is not used
  6. Ensure that the path to impact.exe is in your PATH (typically impact.exe is located at something like C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\bin\nt64\)
  7. Ensure the Board is Powered OFF
  8. Jumper pins 1 & 2 (both pins) on JP7
  9. Jumper pins 3 to 4 and 5 to 6 (M1 & M2, both center columns) on JP9
  10. Ensure there is NO Jumper on JP8
  11. Attach a Xilinx Programming Cable (with flying leads) to J10. The silkscreen on the board will explain which lead goes where.
    • VCC Red
    • GDN Black
    • TCK Yellow
    • TDO Violet
    • TDI White
    • TMS Green
  12. Power on the board.
  13. Double click on burn_intel_s33.bat.
  14. Once the process has completed, turn off board power, remove JP7, and reapply board power.



iMPACT

This technique will only with with iMPACT 11.1 or earlier as later versions removed the Direct SPI Configuration mode.

  1. Generate .bit file as usual from within XPS (be sure to Update Bitstream with latest software).
  2. Convert .bit file into a .mcs file using iMPACT
    1. Open iMPACT
    2. Create new project
    3. Prepare a PROM file
      1. Click Create PROM File (PROM File Formatter) from the iMPACT Flows pane on the upper left
      2. Select SPI Flash... Configure Single FPGA in Step 1
      3. Select 64M from the Storage Device (bits) Drop Down & click Add Storage Device in Step 2
      4. Select Output file Name, Output File Location, and File Format in Step 3
      5. Click OK
      6. Select your .bit file from the Add Device window that pops up
    4. Double click Generate File... from the iMPACT Processes pane in the lower left
  3. Turn OFF Board Power
  4. Connect JTAG Programming Cable to J10 as indicated by the table below
LEAD CLR LEAD LBL BRD J10 # BRD J10 LBL
Red VREF 11 VCC
Black GND 9 GND
Yellow TCK 7 SCK
Grey HALT
Purple TDO 5 MISO
White TMS 3 MOSI
Green TDI 1 SEL
  1. Jumper pins 1 & 2 (both pins) on JP7
  2. Jumper pins 3 to 4 and 5 to 6 (M1 & M2, both center columns) on JP9
  3. Turn ON Board Power
  4. Program with iMPACT
    1. Open iMPACT
    2. Create New Project
    3. Choose Configure Devices --> Using Direct SPI Configuration mode
    4. Finish
    5. Navigate to desired .mcs file (the one generated in step 2)
    6. Choose Part Name M25P64
    7. Check Verify and Erase options as desired, then OK.
    8. Double-click Program. It takes a minute or two before the progress bar moves.
  5. Turn OFF Board Power, disconnect the jumper from JP7.
  6. Turn ON Board Power
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