A framework for the integration of the development process of Linux FPGA System on Chip devices

摘要

System on Chip is a hardware solution combining different hardware devices in the same chip. In particular, the XILINX Zynq solution, implementing an ARM processor and a configurable FPGA on the same chip, is a candidate technology for a variety of applications of interest in fusion research, where FPGA fast logic must be combined with CPU processing for high-level functions and communication. Developing Zynq based applications requires the development of the FPGA logic using the XILINX Vivado IDE, mapping information between the FPGA device and the processor address space, developing the kernel drivers for interaction with the FPGA device and developing the high level application programs in user space for the supervision and the integration of the system. The paper presents a framework that integrates all the above steps and greatly simplifies the overall process. The framework has been used for the development of a programmable timing device in Wendelstein 7-X. The development of new devices integrating data acquisition and timing functions is also foreseen for RFX-mod.