Use of a Soft-Core Processor in a Hardware/Software Codesign Laboratory

This paper describes our experience to date and current plans for a senior-level microelectronics laboratory course on hardware/software codesign. The course utilizes an open-source, soft-core processor deployed on the FPX platform as an integral component of the students’ designs. Students write software to execute on a Leon SPARCcompatible processor and write VHDL to implement hardware-accelerated computational functions in FPGA hardware.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: MSE
• Authors: Roger D. Chamberlain, John W. Lockwood, Saurabh Gayen, Richard Hough, Phillip H. Jones
• Keywords: Hardware, Leon SPARCcompatible Processor, MSE 2005, Senior-level Microelectronics Laboratory, Students Write Software