Implementation, verification and validation of an OpenRISC-1200 soft-core processor on FPGA

Abstract

An embedded system is a dedicated computer system in which hardware and software are combined to perform some specific tasks. Recent advancements in the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology make it possible to implement the complete embedded system on a single FPGA chip. The fundamental component of an embedded system is a microprocessor. Soft-core processors are written in hardware description languages and functionally equivalent to an ordinary microprocessor. These soft-core processors are synthesized and implemented on the FPGA devices. In this paper, the OpenRISC 1200 processor is used, which is a 32-bit soft-core processor and written in the Verilog HDL. Xilinx ISE tools perform synthesis, design implementation and configure/program the FPGA. For verification and debugging purpose, a software toolchain from GNU is configured and installed. The software is written in C and Assembly languages. The communication between the host computer and FPGA board is carried out through the serial RS- 232 port.