PolarFire SoC Icicle 64-bit RISC-V and FPGA Development Board Runs Linux or FreeBSD (Crowdfunding)

We got some more details about PolarFire RISC-V FPGA SoC late last year, and we were promised a Linux capable 64-bit RISC-V & FPGA development board with PolarFire SoC Icicle kit in Q3 of 2020.

We are already in July 2020. So where is the board? Oh, look! It’s right here on Crowd Supply where it is offered for $499, and shipping is expected to start in mid-September.

PolarFire SoC Icicle specifications:

• SoC FPGA – PolarFire SoC MPFS250T-FCVG484EES penta–core RISC-V CPU subsystem (1xRV64IMAC, 4xRV64GC) with 254K LE non-volatile fabric, 784 18 × 18 math blocks, secure boot, 4x 12.7 Gbps SERDES, FCVG484 package
  (19 × 19 mm, 0.8 mm pitch)
• System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 x32
• Storage – 1 GBit QSPI Flash, 8GB eMMC Flash or SD card slot (multiplexed)
• Video Output – HDMI 2.0 (removed from final board)
  
• Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth
• USB – 1x micro USB 2.0 OTG port, micro USB port for debugging
• Expansion Ports
  • 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible header with GPIO, I2C, SPI, UART
  • mikroBUS socket
  • 4x UART via single micro USB port
  • 2x CAN, SPI, I2C
  • PCIe Gen2 connector
• Sensor – I2C power sensor measuring four power rails
• Debugging
  • micro USB (UART)
  • JTAG connector or embedded FlashPro6 (multiplexed)
  • 52x test points
• Misc – 4x user LEDs, 4x power status LEDs, 4x user buttons, on/off switch,
• Power Supply – 12V DC/5A via power barrel jack
• Dimensions – TBD

The board will ship with MicroSemi Mi-V ecosystem including:

• Operating Systems
  • Yocto Project or Buildroot built Linux and FreeBSD
  • Several RTOS – FreeRTOS, Zephyr, and others
• Compilers – GCC, IAR, and others
• Tools – Antmicro Renode simulation platform and Libero IDE software with a free Libero Silver License valid for one year and renewable for free each year.

The board ships with a Linux demo that does not require familiarity with FPGA development tools to get started initially.

You find more details and documentation on the product page. After the crowdfunding campaign, the development kit will be available through Digikey and Arrow Electronics.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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