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Spartan3A - internal flash configuration or not?

hi

the features of S3A are so close to S3E that it makes one think - why? Why release a device that is so similar?

I think I have maybe guessed the answer to this - S3A do have internal flash configuration ! That would explain it. It would also correlate to some announcments made 6 months ago about "spartan3 with flash".

I hope I am guessing correctly! :)

Hm if I think more, this would also explain why I initially assumed S3A doesnt support SPI loading - it has internal flash!

I wonder if the internal flash is rewriteable from FPGA logic? If it is not then Xilinx is still behing Lattice, as Lattice XP2 FPGAs do allow the onchip flash access from user logic (ASFAIK).

Antti

Reply to
Antti
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What load modes does it support?

This would (hopefully) save pcb space.. Now a fpga that will reprogram itself would be something ;)

Reply to
pbdelete

Got any links where there is more information? An S3 with internal flash + copy protection is something I could use in a design which needs some work on the PCB anyway...

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Reply to
Nico Coesel

[snip]

sorry - no links, nothing confirmative :(

just thinking about why? and piece of unverified gossip.

Well we have to wait. If there is no flash in Spartan-3A then it really makes me wonder why make it at all?

Is it really only because additional power saving modes? sound unlikely, but you never know what consideration are driving the Spartan-3A development.

hmm, it has ICAP added, so this maybe used to access the internal flash, no extra interface needed.

Antti

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Reply to
Antti

Didn't Actel do a low power mode respin, but then they made a larger name change for that!

Xilinx will do what they can, with least effort. To copy lattice would need a new die design, "3A" is more likely to be a dual-die variant. [Like Atmel did with (IIRC) AT94S ? - their fading dual die FpSLIC ]

-jg

Reply to
Jim Granville

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