The MSSGE toolflow (short for Matlab/Simulink/System Generator/EDK) is the platform for FPGA-based CASPER development, which stitches together several design and implementation environments.
It is better known as the bee_xps toolflow, which was developed at the Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC) as a high-level design tool for the BEE and BEE2 platforms. We have extended it to work with all other CASPER boards as well. It provides a graphical Matlab/Simulink design environment using the Xilinx System Generator Toolbox, and abstracts the Xilinx implementation details behind a one-click compile interface.
For installation instructions, see the MSSGE Toolflow page:
Current gateware: hispec_8192_v2_2013_Apr_18_1730.bof
This is a 400 MHz bandwidth, 8192-channel polyphase filterbank. The filterbank is 4-taps, with hamming-windowed coefficients. It is discussed in more detail in the memo below:
HISPEC 8192 firmware memo.
The current version also includes noise diode control for noise adding radiometer-based calibration.
| Logic distribution and feature utilization | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number of occupied Slices: | 14,330 out of 14,720 | 97% |
| Number of BlockRAM/FIFO: | 244 out of 244 | 100% |
| Number of DSP48Es: | 318 out of 640 | 49% |
TODO.
The CASPSR firmware is based on the Packetized Astronomy Signal Processor firmware designed by Terry Filiba. The BPSR firmware is based on the Parspec firmware designed by Peter Macmahon and ported to ROACH by Danny Price.
Current gateware: adc_to_10gbe_2011_Oct_18_1156.bof
CASPSR uses a stripped out PASP. It has a more accurate reset, and just turns the ADC input into 10GE packets.
Resource utilization summary
This design fitted onto an iBOB, so unsuprisingly isn’t pushing the ROACH in any way.
| Logic distribution and feature utilization | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number of occupied Slices: | 6,258 out of 14,720 | 42% |
| Number of BlockRAM/FIFO: | 21 out of 244 | 8% |
| Total Memory used (KB): | 720 out of 8,784 | 8% |
Current gateware: parspec_01_2011_Oct_12_1520.bof
Parspec is a 400MHz bandwidth, 1024 channel, 2-tap polyphase filterbank based spectrometer.
Resource utilization summary
Parspec was designed and spec’d to fit onto an iBOB; now it’s been ported to ROACH it feels positively roomy.
| Logic distribution and feature utilization | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number of occupied Slices: | 6,171 out of 14,720 | 41% |
| Number of BlockRAM/FIFO: | 85 out of 244 | 34% |
| Number of DSP48Es: | 164 out of 640 | 25% |