Evaluation of a European SRAM-based FPGA using the ESA VHDL IP-Core library

Nedanstående innehåll är skapat av Mimers Brunns besökare. Kommentera arbete

AT40KEL-DK is a design kit from ATMEL, including the Rad Hard SRAM-based reprogrammable FPGA AT40KEL040. The use of reprogrammable FPGAs in space is fairly limited since they are often sensitive to radiation. Today only a few reprogrammable FPGAs have flown on real space missions, but in the near future this technology can cut down on development time and open up for new applications in space. Most of the mentioned technology is at present developed in USA with export restrictions, which makes it even more interesting with a European product. This Master Thesis has focused on the overall evaluation of AT40KEL-DK and all of its content. The design kit contains both the evaluation board and the FPGA, together with the required software. The approach has been to use the ESA VHDL IP-core library and try to implement one of its designs into the FPGA. The IP-core chosen was a SpaceWire codec developed by the University of Dundee. In addition to the test with the codec, the FPGA was also tested with smaller designs to assess additional characteristics like clock speed limitations. The timeframe of the project was rather limiting and there was only time for a few test results. Instead the project focused on its main objective, a general assessment of the whole design kit. The experiences o...