Subversion Repositories neorv32

# [The NEORV32 Processor](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32)

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## Table of Content

* [Introduction](#Introduction)

* [Features](#Features)

* [FPGA Implementation Results](#FPGA-Implementation-Results)

* [Performance](#Performance)

* [Top Entity](#Top-Entity)

* [**Getting Started**](#Getting-Started)

* [Contact](#Contact)

* [Legal](#Legal)

## Introduction

The NEORV32 is a customizable mikrocontroller-like processor system based on a RISC-V `rv32i` or `rv32e` CPU with optional

`M`, `C`, `Zicsr` and `Zifencei` extensions. The CPU was built from scratch and is compliant to the **Unprivileged

ISA Specification Version 2.1** and a subset of the **Privileged Architecture Specification Version 1.12**. The NEORV32 is intended

as auxiliary processor within a larger SoC designs or as stand-alone custom microcontroller.

The processor provides common peripherals and interfaces like input and output ports, serial interfaces for UART, I²C and SPI,

interrupt controller, timers and embedded memories. External memories, peripherals and custom IP can be attached via a

Wishbone-based external memory interface. All optional features beyond the base CPU can be enabled configured via VHDL generics.

This project comes with a complete software ecosystem that features core libraries for high-level usage of the

provided functions and peripherals, application makefiles and example programs. All software source files

provide a doxygen-based documentary.

The project is intended to work "out of the box". Just synthesize the test setup from this project, upload

it to your FPGA board of choice and start playing with the NEORV32. If you do not want to [compile the GCC toolchains](https://github.com/riscv/riscv-gnu-toolchain)

by yourself, you can also download [pre-compiled toolchain](https://github.com/stnolting/riscv_gcc_prebuilt) for Linux.

For more information take a look a the [![NEORV32 datasheet](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/figures/PDF_32.png) NEORV32 datasheet](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/NEORV32.pdf).

### Design Principles

 * From zero to main(): Completely open source and documented.

 * Plain VHDL without technology-specific parts like attributes, macros or primitives.

 * Easy to use – working out of the box.

 * Clean synchronous design, no wacky combinatorial interfaces.

 * The processor has to fit in a Lattice iCE40 UltraPlus 5k FPGA running at 20+ MHz.

### Status

The processor is synthesizable (tested with Intel Quartus Prime, Xilinx Vivado and Lattice Radiant/LSE) and can successfully execute

all the [provided example programs](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/tree/master/sw/example) including the CoreMark benchmark.

The processor passes the official `rv32i`, `rv32im`, `rv32imc`, `rv32Zicsr` and `rv32Zifencei` [RISC-V compliance tests](https://github.com/riscv/riscv-compliance).

|                                                                                 |        |

|:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|:-------|

| [Pre-build toolchain](https://github.com/stnolting/riscv_gcc_prebuilt)          | [![Build Test](https://travis-ci.com/stnolting/riscv_gcc_prebuilt.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.com/stnolting/riscv_gcc_prebuilt) |

| [RISC-V compliance test](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32_compliance_test)  | [![Build Status](https://travis-ci.com/stnolting/neorv32_riscv_compliance.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.com/stnolting/neorv32_riscv_compliance) |

#### Limitations to be fixed

* No exception is triggered in `E`-mode when using registers above `x15` yet

#### To-Do / Wish List

- Port Dhrystone benchmark

- Implement atomic operations (`A` extension)

- Implement `Zifence` extension

- Implement co-processor for single-precision floating-point operations (`F` extension)

- Implement user mode (`U` extension)

- Make a 64-bit branch

- Maybe port an RTOS (like [freeRTOS](https://www.freertos.org/) or [RIOT](https://www.riot-os.org/))

## Features

![neorv32 Overview](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/figures/neorv32_overview.png)

### Processor Features

  - RISC-V-compliant `rv32i` or `rv32e` CPU with optional `C`, `E`, `M`, `Zicsr` and `rv32Zifencei` extensions

  - GCC-based toolchain ([pre-compiled rv32i and rv32 etoolchains available](https://github.com/stnolting/riscv_gcc_prebuilt))

  - Application compilation based on [GNU makefiles](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/blob/master/sw/example/blink_led/makefile)

  - [Doxygen-based](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/blob/master/docs/doxygen_makefile_sw) documentation of the software framework

  - Completely described in behavioral, platform-independent VHDL – no primitives, macros, etc.

  - Fully synchronous design, no latches, no gated clocks

  - Small hardware footprint and high operating frequency

  - Highly customizable processor configuration

  - Optional processor-internal data and instruction memories (DMEM/IMEM)

  - _Optional_ internal bootloader with UART console and automatic SPI flash boot option

  - _Optional_ machine system timer (MTIME), RISC-V-compliant

  - _Optional_ universal asynchronous receiver and transmitter (UART)

  - _Optional_ 8/16/24/32-bit serial peripheral interface controller (SPI) with 8 dedicated chip select lines

  - _Optional_ two wire serial interface controller (TWI), compatible to the I²C standard

  - _Optional_ general purpose parallel IO port (GPIO), 16xOut & 16xIn, with pin-change interrupt

  - _Optional_ 32-bit external bus interface, Wishbone b4 compliant (WISHBONE)

  - _Optional_ watchdog timer (WDT)

  - _Optional_ PWM controller with 4 channels and 8-bit duty cycle resolution (PWM)

  - _Optional_ GARO-based true random number generator (TRNG)

  - _Optional_ core-local interrupt controller with 8 channels (CLIC)

  - _Optional_ dummy device (DEVNULL) (can be used for *fast* simulation console output)

### CPU Features

The CPU is compliant to the [official RISC-V specifications](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/riscv-spec.pdf) including a subset of the

[RISC-V privileged architecture specifications](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/riscv-spec.pdf).

**RV32I base instruction set** (`I` extension):

  * ALU instructions: `LUI` `AUIPC` `ADDI` `SLTI` `SLTIU` `XORI` `ORI` `ANDI` `SLLI` `SRLI` `SRAI` `ADD` `SUB` `SLL` `SLT` `SLTU` `XOR` `SRL` `SRA` `OR` `AND`

  * Jump and branch instructions: `JAL` `JALR` `BEQ` `BNE` `BLT` `BGE` `BLTU` `BGEU`

  * Memory instructions: `LB` `LH` `LW` `LBU` `LHU` `SB` `SH` `SW`

  * System instructions: `ECALL` `EBREAK` `FENCE`

**Compressed instructions** (`C` extension):

  * ALU instructions: `C.ADDI4SPN` `C.ADDI` `C.ADD` `C.ADDI16SP` `C.LI` `C.LUI` `C.SLLI` `C.SRLI` `C.SRAI` `C.ANDI` `C.SUB` `C.XOR` `C.OR` `C.AND` `C.MV` `C.NOP`

  * Jump and branch instructions: `C.J` `C.JAL` `C.JR` `C.JALR` `C.BEQZ` `C.BNEZ`

  * Memory instructions: `C.LW` `C.SW` `C.LWSP` `C.SWSP`

  * Misc instructions: `C.EBREAK` (only with `Zicsr` extension)

**Embedded CPU version** (`E` extension):

  * Reduced register file (only the 16 lowest registers)

  * No performance counter CSRs

**Integer multiplication and division hardware** (`M` extension):

  * Multiplication instructions: `MUL` `MULH` `MULHSU` `MULHU`

  * Division instructions: `DIV` `DIVU` `REM` `REMU`

**Privileged architecture / CSR access** (`Zicsr` extension):

  * Privilege levels: `M-mode` (Machine mode)

  * CSR access instructions: `CSRRW` `CSRRS` `CSRRC` `CSRRWI` `CSRRSI` `CSRRCI`

  * System instructions: `MRET` `WFI`

  * Counter CSRs: `cycle` `cycleh` `time` `timeh` `instret` `instreth` `mcycle` `mcycleh` `minstret` `minstreth`

  * Machine CSRs: `mstatus` `misa` `mie` `mtvec` `mscratch` `mepc` `mcause` `mtval` `mip` `mimpid` `mhartid`

  * Custom CSRs: `mfeatures` `mclock` `mispacebase` `mdspacebase` `mispacesize` `mdspacesize`

  * Supported exceptions and interrupts:

    * Misaligned instruction address

    * Instruction access fault

    * Illegal instruction

    * Breakpoint (via `ebreak` instruction)

    * Load address misaligned

    * Load access fault

    * Store address misaligned

    * Store access fault

    * Environment call from M-mode (via `ecall` instruction)

    * Machine software instrrupt

    * Machine timer interrupt (via `MTIME` unit)

    * Machine external interrupt (via `CLIC` unit)

**Privileged architecture / FENCE.I** (`Zifencei` extension):

  * System instructions: `FENCE.I`

**General**:

  * No hardware support of unaligned accesses - they will trigger and exception

  * Two stages in-order pipeline (FETCH, EXECUTE); each stage uses a multi-cycle execution

More information including a detailed list of the available CSRs can be found in

the [![NEORV32 datasheet](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/figures/PDF_32.png) NEORV32 datasheet](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/NEORV32.pdf).

## FPGA Implementation Results

This chapter shows exemplary implementation results of the NEORV32 processor for an **Intel Cyclone IV EP4CE22F17C6N FPGA** on

a DE0-nano board. The design was synthesized using **Intel Quartus Prime Lite 19.1** ("balanced implementation"). The timing

information is derived from the Timing Analyzer / Slow 1200mV 0C Model. If not otherwise specified, the default configuration

of the processor's generics is assumed. No constraints were used.

Results generated for hardware version: `1.0.0.0`

### CPU

| CPU Configuration   | LEs        | FFs      | Memory bits | DSPs   | f_max   |

|:--------------------|:----------:|:--------:|:-----------:|:------:|:-------:|

| `rv32i`             |       1027 |      474 |       2048  | 0 (0%) | 111 MHz |

| `rv32i` + `Zicsr`   |       1721 |      868 |       2048  | 0 (0%) | 104 MHz |

| `rv32im` + `Zicsr`  |       2298 |     1115 |       2048  | 0 (0%) | 103 MHz |

| `rv32imc` + `Zicsr` |       2557 |     1138 |       2048  | 0 (0%) | 103 MHz |

| `rv32emc` + `Zicsr` |       2342 |     1005 |       1024  | 0 (0%) | 100 MHz |

### Processor-Internal Peripherals and Memories

| Module   | Description                                     | LEs | FFs | Memory bits | DSPs |

|:---------|:------------------------------------------------|:---:|:---:|:-----------:|:----:|

| BOOT ROM | Bootloader ROM (4kB)                            |   3 |   1 |      32 768 |    0 |

| DEVNULL  | Dummy device                                    |   3 |   1 |           0 |    0 |

| DMEM     | Processor-internal data memory (8kB)            |  12 |   2 |      65 536 |    0 |

| GPIO     | General purpose input/output ports              |  38 |  33 |           0 |    0 |

| IMEM     | Processor-internal instruction memory (16kb)    |   7 |   2 |     131 072 |    0 |

| MTIME    | Machine system timer                            | 270 | 167 |           0 |    0 |

| PWM      | Pulse-width modulation controller               |  76 |  69 |           0 |    0 |

| SPI      | Serial peripheral interface                     | 206 | 125 |           0 |    0 |

| TRNG     | True random number generator                    | 104 |  93 |           0 |    0 |

| TWI      | Two-wire interface                              |  78 |  44 |           0 |    0 |

| UART     | Universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter     | 151 | 108 |           0 |    0 |

| WDT      | Watchdog timer                                  |  57 |  45 |           0 |    0 |

### CPU + Peripheral

The following table shows the implementation results for an _Intel Cyclone IV EP4CE22F17C6N_ FPGA.

The design was synthesized using Intel Quartus Prime Lite 19.1 (“balanced implementation”).

IMEM uses 16kB and DMEM uses 8kB memory space.

| CPU Configuration   | LEs        | REGs      | DSPs   | Memory Bits  | f_max   |

|:--------------------|:----------:|:---------:|:------:|:------------:|:-------:|

| `rv32imc` + `Zicsr` | 3724 (17%) | 1899 (9%) | 0 (0%) | 231424 (38%) | 103 MHz |

### Lattice iCE40 UltraPlus 5k

The following table shows the hardware utilization for a [iCE40 UP5K](http://www.latticesemi.com/en/Products/FPGAandCPLD/iCE40UltraPlus) FPGA.

The setup uses all provided peripherals, all CPU extensions (except for the `E` extension), no external memory interface and internal

instruction and data memories (each 64kB) based on SPRAM primitives. The FPGA-specific memory components can be found in the

[`rtl/fpga_specific`](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/blob/master/rtl/fpga_specific/lattice_ice40up) folder.

Place & route reports generated with **Lattice Radiant 2.1** using Lattice LSE. The clock frequency

is constrained and generated via the PLL from the internal HF oscillator running at 12 MHz.

| CPU Configuration   | LUTs       | REGs       | DSPs   | SPRAM    | EBR      | f         |

|:--------------------|:----------:|:----------:|:------:|:--------:|:--------:|:---------:|

| `rv32imc` + `Zicsr` | 4985 (94%) | 1982 (38%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (100%) | 12 (40%) | 20.25 MHz |

## Performance

### CoreMark Benchmark

The [CoreMark CPU benchmark](https://www.eembc.org/coremark) was executed on the NEORV32 and is available in the

[sw/example/coremark](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/blob/master/sw/example/coremark) project folder. This benchmark

tests the capabilities of a CPU itself rather than the functions provided by the whole system / SoC.

Results generated for hardware version: `1.0.0.0`

~~~

**Configuration**

Hardware:         32kB IMEM, 16kb DMEM, 100MHz clock

CoreMark:         2000 iterations, MEM_METHOD is MEM_STACK

CPU extensions:   `rv32i` or `rv32im` or `rv32imc`

Used peripherals: MTIME for time measurement, UART for printing the results

~~~

| __Configuration__ | __Optimization__ | __Executable Size__ | __CoreMark Score__ | __CoreMarks/MHz__ |

|:------------------|:----------------:|:-------------------:|:------------------:|:-----------------:|

| `rv32i`           |      `-Os`       |     18 044 bytes    |       21.98        |       0.21        |

| `rv32i`           |      `-O2`       |     20 388 bytes    |        25          |       0.25        |

| `rv32im`          |      `-Os`       |     16 980 bytes    |        40          |       0.40        |

| `rv32im`          |      `-O2`       |     19 436 bytes    |       51.28        |       0.51        |

| `rv32imc`         |      `-Os`       |     13 076 bytes    |       39.22        |       0.39        |

| `rv32imc`         |      `-O2`       |     15 208 bytes    |        50          |       0.50        |

### Instruction Cycles

The NEORV32 CPU is based on a multi-cycle architecture. Each instruction is executed in a sequence of several

consecutive micro operations. Hence, each instruction requires several clock cycles to execute. The average CPI

(cycles per instruction) depends on the instruction mix of a specific applications and also on the available

CPU extensions.

Please note that the CPU-internal shifter (e.g. for the `SLL` instruction) as well as the multiplier and divider of the

`M` extension use a bit-serial approach and require several cycles for completion.

The following table shows the performance results for successfully running 2000 CoreMark

iterations. The average CPI is computed by dividing the total number of required clock cycles (all of CoreMark

– not only the timed core) by the number of executed instructions (`instret[h]` CSRs). The executables

were generated using optimization `-O2`.

| CPU / Toolchain Config. | Required Clock Cycles | Executed Instructions | Average CPI |

|:------------------------|----------------------:|----------------------:|:-----------:|

| `rv32i`                 |        19 355 607 369 |         2 995 064 579 |     6.5     |

| `rv32im`                |         5 809 384 583 |           867 377 291 |     6.7     |

| `rv32imc`               |         5 560 220 723 |           825 898 407 |     6.7     |

## Top Entity

The top entity of the processor is [**neorv32_top.vhd**](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/blob/master/rtl/core/neorv32_top.vhd) (from the `rtl/core` folder).

Just instantiate this file in your project and you are ready to go! All signals of this top entity are of type *std_ulogic* or *std_ulogic_vector*, respectively

(except for the TWI signals, which are of type *std_logic*).

Use the generics to configure the processor according to your needs. Each generics is initilized with the default configuration.

Detailed information regarding the signals and configuration generics can be found in the [NEORV32 documentary](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/NEORV32.pdf).

```vhdl

entity neorv32_top is

  generic (

    -- General --

    CLOCK_FREQUENCY              : natural := 0; -- clock frequency of clk_i in Hz

    HART_ID                      : std_ulogic_vector(31 downto 0) := x"00000000"; -- custom hardware thread ID

    BOOTLOADER_USE               : boolean := true;   -- implement processor-internal bootloader?

    CSR_COUNTERS_USE             : boolean := true;   -- implement RISC-V perf. counters ([m]instret[h], [m]cycle[h], time[h])?

    -- RISC-V CPU Extensions --

    CPU_EXTENSION_RISCV_C        : boolean := true;   -- implement compressed extension?

    CPU_EXTENSION_RISCV_E        : boolean := false;  -- implement embedded RF extension?

    CPU_EXTENSION_RISCV_M        : boolean := true;   -- implement muld/div extension?

    CPU_EXTENSION_RISCV_Zicsr    : boolean := true;   -- implement CSR system?

    CPU_EXTENSION_RISCV_Zifencei : boolean := true;   -- implement instruction stream sync.?

    -- Memory configuration: Instruction memory --

    MEM_ISPACE_BASE              : std_ulogic_vector(31 downto 0) := x"00000000"; -- base address of instruction memory space

    MEM_ISPACE_SIZE              : natural := 16*1024; -- total size of instruction memory space in byte

    MEM_INT_IMEM_USE             : boolean := true;    -- implement processor-internal instruction memory

    MEM_INT_IMEM_SIZE            : natural := 16*1024; -- size of processor-internal instruction memory in bytes

    MEM_INT_IMEM_ROM             : boolean := false;   -- implement processor-internal instruction memory as ROM

    -- Memory configuration: Data memory --

    MEM_DSPACE_BASE              : std_ulogic_vector(31 downto 0) := x"80000000"; -- base address of data memory space

    MEM_DSPACE_SIZE              : natural := 8*1024; -- total size of data memory space in byte

    MEM_INT_DMEM_USE             : boolean := true;   -- implement processor-internal data memory

    MEM_INT_DMEM_SIZE            : natural := 8*1024; -- size of processor-internal data memory in bytes

    -- Memory configuration: External memory interface --

    MEM_EXT_USE                  : boolean := false;  -- implement external memory bus interface?

    MEM_EXT_REG_STAGES           : natural := 2;      -- number of interface register stages (0,1,2)

    MEM_EXT_TIMEOUT              : natural := 15;     -- cycles after which a valid bus access will timeout (>=1)

    -- Processor peripherals --

    IO_GPIO_USE                  : boolean := true;   -- implement general purpose input/output port unit (GPIO)?

    IO_MTIME_USE                 : boolean := true;   -- implement machine system timer (MTIME)?

    IO_UART_USE                  : boolean := true;   -- implement universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART)?

    IO_SPI_USE                   : boolean := true;   -- implement serial peripheral interface (SPI)?

    IO_TWI_USE                   : boolean := true;   -- implement two-wire interface (TWI)?

    IO_PWM_USE                   : boolean := true;   -- implement pulse-width modulation unit (PWM)?

    IO_WDT_USE                   : boolean := true;   -- implement watch dog timer (WDT)?

    IO_CLIC_USE                  : boolean := true;   -- implement core local interrupt controller (CLIC)?

    IO_TRNG_USE                  : boolean := false;  -- implement true random number generator (TRNG)?

    IO_DEVNULL_USE               : boolean := true    -- implement dummy device (DEVNULL)?

  );

  port (

    -- Global control --

    clk_i        : in  std_ulogic := '0'; -- global clock, rising edge

    rstn_i       : in  std_ulogic := '0'; -- global reset, low-active, async

    -- Wishbone bus interface (available if MEM_EXT_USE = true) --

    wb_adr_o     : out std_ulogic_vector(31 downto 0); -- address

    wb_dat_i     : in  std_ulogic_vector(31 downto 0) := (others => '0'); -- read data

    wb_dat_o     : out std_ulogic_vector(31 downto 0); -- write data

    wb_we_o      : out std_ulogic; -- read/write

    wb_sel_o     : out std_ulogic_vector(03 downto 0); -- byte enable

    wb_stb_o     : out std_ulogic; -- strobe

    wb_cyc_o     : out std_ulogic; -- valid cycle

    wb_ack_i     : in  std_ulogic := '0'; -- transfer acknowledge

    wb_err_i     : in  std_ulogic := '0'; -- transfer error

    -- GPIO (available if IO_GPIO_USE = true) --

    gpio_o       : out std_ulogic_vector(15 downto 0); -- parallel output

    gpio_i       : in  std_ulogic_vector(15 downto 0) := (others => '0'); -- parallel input

    -- UART (available if IO_UART_USE = true) --

    uart_txd_o   : out std_ulogic; -- UART send data

    uart_rxd_i   : in  std_ulogic := '0'; -- UART receive data

    -- SPI (available if IO_SPI_USE = true) --

    spi_sck_o    : out std_ulogic; -- serial clock line

    spi_sdo_o    : out std_ulogic; -- serial data line out

    spi_sdi_i    : in  std_ulogic := '0'; -- serial data line in

    spi_csn_o    : out std_ulogic_vector(07 downto 0); -- SPI CS

    -- TWI (available if IO_TWI_USE = true) --

    twi_sda_io   : inout std_logic := 'H'; -- twi serial data line

    twi_scl_io   : inout std_logic := 'H'; -- twi serial clock line

    -- PWM (available if IO_PWM_USE = true) --

    pwm_o        : out std_ulogic_vector(03 downto 0); -- pwm channels

    -- Interrupts (available if IO_CLIC_USE = true) --

    ext_irq_i    : in  std_ulogic_vector(01 downto 0) := (others => '0'); -- external interrupt request

    ext_ack_o    : out std_ulogic_vector(01 downto 0)  -- external interrupt request acknowledge

  );

end neorv32_top;

```

## Getting Started

This overview is just a short excerpt from the *Let's Get It Started* section of the NEORV32 documentary:

[![NEORV32 datasheet](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/figures/PDF_32.png) NEORV32 datasheet](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/NEORV32.pdf)

### Building the Toolchain

At first you need the **RISC-V GCC toolchain**. You can either [download the sources](https://github.com/riscv/riscv-gnu-toolchain)

and build the toolchain by yourself, or you can download a prebuilt one and install it.

To build the toolchain by yourself, get the sources from the official [RISCV-GNU-TOOLCHAIN](https://github.com/riscv/riscv-gnu-toolchain) github page:

    $ git clone --recursive https://github.com/riscv/riscv-gnu-toolchain

Download and install the prerequisite standard packages:

    $ sudo apt-get install autoconf automake autotools-dev curl python3 libmpc-dev libmpfr-dev libgmp-dev gawk build-essential bison flex texinfo gperf libtool patchutils bc zlib1g-dev libexpat-dev

To build the Linux cross-compiler, pick an install path. If you choose, say, `/opt/riscv`, then add `/opt/riscv/bin` to your `PATH` environment variable.

    $ export PATH:$PATH:/opt/riscv/bin

Then, simply run the following commands in the RISC-V GNU toolchain source folder (for the `rv32i` toolchain):

    riscv-gnu-toolchain$ ./configure --prefix=/opt/riscv --with-arch=rv32i –with-abi=ilp32

    riscv-gnu-toolchain$ make

After a while (hours!) you will get `riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc` and all of its friends in your `/opt/riscv/bin` folder.

### Using a Prebuilt Toolchain

Alternatively, you can download a prebuilt toolchain. I have uploaded the toolchain I am using to GitHub. This toolchain

has been compiled on a 64-bit x86 Ubuntu (Ubuntu on Windows). Download the toolchain of choice:

[https://github.com/stnolting/riscv_gcc_prebuilt](https://github.com/stnolting/riscv_gcc_prebuilt)

### Dowload the Project and Create a Hardware Project

Now its time to get the most recent version the NEORV32 Processor project from GitHub. Clone the NEORV32 repository using

`git` from the command line (suggested for easy project updates via `git pull`):

    $ git clone https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32.git

Create a new HW project with your FPGA design tool of choice. Add all files from the [`rtl/core`](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/blob/master/rtl)

folder to this project and add them to a **new library** called `neorv32`.

You can either instantiate the [processor's top entity](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32#top-entity) in you own project, or you

can use a simple [test setup](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/blob/master/rtl/top_templates/neorv32_test_setup.vhd) as top entity. This test

setup instantiates the processor, implements most of the peripherals and the basic ISA. Only the UART, clock, reset and some GPIO output sginals are

propagated:

```vhdl

entity neorv32_test_setup is

  port (

    -- Global control --

    clk_i      : in  std_ulogic := '0'; -- global clock, rising edge

    rstn_i     : in  std_ulogic := '0'; -- global reset, low-active, async

    -- GPIO --

    gpio_o     : out std_ulogic_vector(7 downto 0); -- parallel output

    -- UART --

    uart_txd_o : out std_ulogic; -- UART send data

    uart_rxd_i : in  std_ulogic := '0' -- UART receive data

  );

end neorv32_test_setup;

```

This test setup is intended as quick and easy "hello world" test setup to get into the NEORV32.

### Compiling and Uploading One of the Example Projects

Make sure `GNU Make` and a native `GCC` compiler are installed. To test the installation of the RISC-V toolchain, navigate to an example project like

`sw/example/blink_led` and run:

    neorv32/sw/example/blink_led$ make check

The NEORV32 project includes some example programs from which you can start your own application:

[SW example projects](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/tree/master/sw/example)

Simply compile one of these projects. This will create a NEORV32 executable `neorv32_exe.bin` in the same folder.

    neorv32/sw/example/blink_led$ make clean_all compile

Connect your FPGA board via UART to you computer and open the according port to interface with the NEORV32 bootloader. The bootloader

uses the following default UART configuration:

- 19200 Baud

- 8 data bits

- 1 stop bit

- No parity bits

- No transmission / flow control protocol (raw bytes only)

- Newline on `\r\n` (carriage return & newline)

Use the bootloader console to upload and execute your application image.

Going further: Take a look at the [![NEORV32 datasheet](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/figures/PDF_32.png) NEORV32 datasheet](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stnolting/neorv32/master/docs/NEORV32.pdf).

## Contact

If you have any questions, bug reports, ideas or if you are facing problems with the NEORV32 or want to give some kind of feedback, open a

[new issue](https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/issues) or directly drop me a line:

  stnolting@gmail.com

## Citation

If you are using the NEORV32 Processor in some kind of publication, please cite it as follows:

> S. Nolting, "The NEORV32 Processor", github.com/stnolting/neorv32

## Legal

This is a hobby project released under the BSD 3-Clause license. No copyright infringement intended.

Other implied/used projects might have different licensing - see their documentation to get more information.

**BSD 3-Clause License**

Copyright (c) 2020, Stephan Nolting. All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are

permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of

conditions and the following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of

conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials

provided with the distribution.

3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to

endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written

permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS

OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF

MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE

COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,

EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE

GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED

AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING

NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED

OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

"Windows" is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

"Artix" and "Vivado" are trademarks of Xilinx Inc.

"Cyclone", "Quartus Prime" and "Avalon Bus" are trademarks of Intel Corporation.

"iCE40", "UltraPlus" and "Lattice Radiant" are trademarks of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation.

"AXI4" and "AXI4-Lite" are trademarks of Arm Holdings plc.

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This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Open Source Initiative (https://www.oshwa.org / https://opensource.org).

Made with :coffee: in Hannover, Germany.