Introduction
Supply voltage is an important factor that can greatly affect device operation and safety, and Agilex™ 3 has a built-in voltage sensor that allows real-time voltage monitoring via JTAG.
This article describes how to check the voltage of each power supply using the Configuration Debugger Tool.
Key point: The Configuration Debugger is embedded in Quartus® Prime. Therefore, you can use it if you have already installed Quartus® Prime.
Point: Although the Agilex™ 3 is used as an example, the procedure is similar for other Agilex™ families and device families that use Secure Device Manager (SDM), such as Stratix® 10.
1. voltage sensor
The Agilex™ 3 voltage sensor system incorporates a 7-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) capable of sampling up to 1KSPS.
The Agilex™ 3 voltage sensor configuration is shown below.
[Figure 1] Voltage Sensor
(Source: Power Management User Guide: Agilex™ 3 FPGAs and SoCs)
2. voltage verification procedure (Configuration Debugger)
This section describes how to start the Configuration Debugger and check the voltage, which allows you to see the actual voltage change by displaying the voltage as a waveform in real time.
2-1. configure the device
Before checking the voltage with the Configuration Debugger, the device must be configured. Any design can be configured. Please refer to the following article for the configuration procedure.
Reference material:Let's Try Agilex 3 - FPGA Configuration
2-2. start Configuration Debugger
Next, start the Configuration Debugger, which can be started from Tools -> Configuration Debugger in the Quartus® Prime menu bar.
[Figure 2] Launching the Configuration Debugger
Point: Although we have shown how to start the Configuration Debugger from Quartus® Prime, it can also be started from the Quartus Programmer. gt; Configuration Debugger from the Quartus Programmer menu bar.
2-3. Hardware Setup and Load Device Settings
1) After the Configuration Debugger is launched, click the [Hardware Setup] button first. Then the GUI named "Hardware Setup" will be launched.
[Figure 3] Launching the Hardware Setup GUI
2) Available hardware items lists the available hardware. In this case, select Atum A3 Nano.
[Figure 4] Before selecting Hardware
Note: If Hardware is not displayed, click the "Hardware Setup" button and reboot several times.
3) If the Hardware is successfully selected, the settings will be configured as shown in the figure below.
[Figure 5] After Hardware Selection
4) Next, click the "Load Device" button to recognize the device. If the device is successfully recognized, the model number will be displayed as shown below. In this explanation, the following model number is displayed when the [Load Device] button is clicked.
Device model number : A3C(Y135BB18A|Z135BB18A)[Figure 6] Execution of Load Device
Point: When multiple devices are included in the JTAG chain, there will be multiple devices to be recognized. In this case, select the appropriate device from the pull-down menu.
2-4. voltage confirmation
1) The Configuration Debugger has several tabs for different purposes. In this case, select the Voltage Sensor tab to check the voltage.
[Figure 7] Selecting the Voltage Sensor tab
2) Click the "Start" button to check the temperature in real time.
[Figure 8] Start Temperature Check
Point: If you select a location that contains multiple temperature sensors (Channels), the graphs for multiple Channels will be displayed simultaneously.
3) To stop, click the [Stop] button.
[Figure 9] Stopping the voltage check
Conclusion
Agilex™ 3 and other SDM-equipped devices (Agilex™ family / Stratix® 10) are equipped with voltage sensors. These sensors can be used to check the voltage of the device.
The Configuration Debugger is simple to use and intuitive even for beginners.
In addition to voltage, the Configuration Debugger can also be used to check device information, temperature, and other information.
These functions are explained in a separate article in the "My Trials with Agilex™ 3 Series," so please take a look at that article as well.
Click here for the full list of the 'Let's Try Agilex™ 3' series.