XJFlash, XJTAG’s ultra-fast flash programmer, now supports programming flash devices connected to Altera Cyclone V SoC FPGAs.  The flash can be connected to the FPGA Fabric or the Hard Processor System (HPS) pins, and includes support for different flash types including many QSPI devices.

Programming techniques currently include using the command line tool quartus_hps, or booting the device into either U-Boot or Linux.  These approaches can be slow or require the use of an SD card, making it tedious to update the files and less than ideal for a production environment.

XJFlash, on the other hand, is different.  It provides rapid erase and programming, yet does it all via the JTAG connection to the FPGA/HPS.  This provides a fast, reliable programming solution that is perfectly suited to a production environment whilst easily allowing the programmed files to be updated during development.

XJFlash also includes a built-in feature to only erase flash blocks that aren’t already erased, and using this provides an additional performance gain depending on the initial state of the flash.

XJFlash requires no additional circuitry on the circuit board and just requires a JTAG connection to both the HPS and FPGA JTAG ports of the Cyclone V SoC.

More information about XJFlash, including the wide range of FPGAs supported, can be found on the XJFlash page.  To try XJFlash as part of a free trial on your own circuit board, please contact us.