You Will Create A Hardware Component Called LED Patterns

You Will Create A Hardware Component Called Led Patterns That Will Cre

You will create a hardware component called LED_patterns that will create light patterns using the LEDs on the DE10-Nano board. This component will run in the FPGA fabric, and you will implement this component in VHDL. This component will control the LED patterns independently of software, with later work involving software control from the ARM CPUs. In this initial phase, you are instructed to instantiate the LED_patterns component at the top level of your Quartus project. The register signals associated with controlling the LED patterns will be hardcoded within this instantiation, avoiding the need for register interface implementation at this stage. Future work involves creating a higher-level component (HPS_LED_patterns) to interface with software, but for now, focus solely on designing and instantiating the LED_patterns component in VHDL and integrating it into your FPGA design.

Paper For Above instruction

Design and Implementation of LED Patterns on the DE10-Nano FPGA Board

The design and implementation of custom hardware components for FPGA-based systems are fundamental tasks in digital design, enabling the development of specific functionalities tailored to an application's needs. This paper discusses the creation of a hardware component called LED_patterns aimed at generating light patterns using the LEDs on the DE10-Nano development board. The focus is on designing the component within the FPGA fabric using VHDL, with careful consideration of hardware abstraction and future software control integration.

Introduction

The DE10-Nano is a popular FPGA development board featuring an Intel (Altera) Cyclone V FPGA along with ARM Cortex-A9 processors. Its programmable logic fabric and multiple peripherals make it highly suitable for implementing custom hardware modules such as LED pattern generators. Creating a dedicated hardware component in VHDL to control LED patterns provides a low-latency, hardware-based solution that can later be interfaced with software running on the ARM CPU. This layered approach separates hardware control from software, simplifying debugging and improving system reliability.

Design Goals and Overview

The primary goal is to develop an LED_patterns component that, when instantiated, drives the onboard LEDs to produce various light sequences. Initially, the component will operate independently with hardcoded control signals, avoiding dynamic configuration via registers. This simplifies subsequent verification and testing. In later projects, the component will be integrated with a higher-level module to enable software-driven control, but for now, focus is on static, hardware-implemented pattern generation.

The component is designed to run within the FPGA fabric and will be instantiated at the top-level design entity in the Quartus project. The instantiation will bypass the need for external register interfaces by assigning fixed values directly in the port map, streamlining initial development.

Methodology

Hardware Description in VHDL

VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language) was chosen as the hardware description language owing to its strong typing, modularity, and suitability for FPGA synthesis. The LED_patterns component will include a simple digital logic that drives a counter-based pattern generator. This can include cycling through different LED states to produce visually recognizable patterns such as running lights, blinking sequences, or binary counting displays.

Implementation Details

The module will be a combinational or clocked process that updates LED outputs based on an internal counter. The counter will increment periodically, controlled by a clock signal, and reset as needed. The LED outputs will be mapped to the FPGA pins connected to the physical LEDs on the DE10-Nano board.

In the top-level instantiation within the Quartus project, the LED outputs are connected directly via generic signals that are assigned predefined values. This approach Offloads the register control logic, simplifying the initial design. Future work entails creating an HPS interface module for software control, but that is beyond the scope of this initial implementation.

Conclusion

Creating the LED_patterns hardware component in VHDL for the DE10-Nano FPGA board provides a foundational step toward more complex, software-controlled LED pattern generation. By focusing on hardware within the FPGA fabric, the design achieves low latency and high reliability, which are essential for embedded applications. The approach outlined ensures scalability and maintainability, enabling future integration with ARM-based software control modules. This project exemplifies a common FPGA design paradigm where hardware modules are designed independently before integration into a complete system.

References

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