FPGA programming modes

Programming Modes

The Xilinx Spartan-3A FPGA we will be using on the SiPM control board can be programmed using any of several modes. This table, adapted from the User Guide, Table 2-1, shows the available programming modes and how to select them by setting the M[2:0] pins on the FPGA.

We will be using the master serial programming mode, since it is simplest to set up, requires fewer pins, and we don't need the higher speeds of the other available modes. For our purposes, reducing the number of pins on the EEPROM and the number of leads on the board is more important than reducing the start-up time of the FPGA.

M[2:0]	Programming Mode
<0:0:0>	Master serial (platform flash) mode
<0:0:1>	Master SPI mode
<0:1:0>	BPI up
<0:1:1>	Reserved
<1:0:0>	Reserved
<1:0:1>	JTAG mode
<1:1:0>	Slave parallel mode
<1:1:1>	Slave serial mode

For information about the other pins used in the programming process, see SiPM digital control board netlist.