8 Running the Demo

This chapter describes how to install and use the JESD204B GUI to select the test patterns and monitor the loopback data. The GUI enables the selection of different PRBS test patterns as input, and displays the JESD204B status signals and PRBS status received from the board. The Waveform tab displays the output waveform samples received from the board for each waveform selected as input.

The following procedure assumes that:

  • The PolarFire Evaluation board is connected.
  • The PolarFire FPGA is programmed with the JESD204B design.

To run the JESD204B demo, perform the following steps:

  1. Install the JESD204B_GUI application (setup.exe) from the following design files folder: mpf_an5341_v2024p1_df\GUI
  2. Double-click the JESD204B_GUI application from the installation directory to start the GUI application.
  3. Select the COM port number that is detected to configure the serial port.
    Important: In Device Manager on the host PC, under Ports, select the COM port associated with the USB serial converter C. To determine the COM port, check the Location field in the properties of each COM port.

    The following table lists the status signals displayed in the JESD204B GUI.

    Table 8-1. Status Signals in JESD204B GUI
    StatusDescription
    Host ConnectionStatus of the UART communication
    Link StatusCommunication link status between TX and RX
    SYNC_NSignal which indicates the JESD link status
    ALIGNEDIndicates that all transceiver lanes are aligned
    RX VALIDIndicates that the Rx data is valid. In 8b10b mode, the RX VAL is qualified, comma alignment has occurred and the CDR is locked.
    PRBS statusIndicates the occurrence of PRBS error. If green tick mark then no PRBS error occurred.
    Error countNumber of errors that occurred during PRBS check
    CGS_ERRIndicates status of the code group synchronization error. If green tick mark then no CGS error occurred.
    NIT_ERRIndicates the “not in table” error. If green tick mark then no NIT error occurred.
    DISP_ERRIndicates the disparity error. If green tick mark then no DISP error occurred.
    LINK_CD_ERRIndicates a link configuration data mismatch error. If green tick mark then no LINK_CD error occurred.
    UCC_ERRIndicates an “unexpected control character” error. If green tick mark then no UCC error occurred.
  4. Click Connect to connect the GUI to the board through the selected port, as shown in the following figure.
    Figure 8-1. Selecting COM Port and Connecting

    After successfully connecting, the Host Connection status changes to a green tick mark as shown in the following figure.

    Figure 8-2. Host Connection Status
    Important: Port numbers may vary. Select the correct port number from the list.
  5. Reset the system using the push button K22 (Evaluation kit).
  6. Select the pattern to be transmitted using the Input selection drop-down and click START. The following figure shows the PRBS7 selection.
    Figure 8-3. PRBS7 Input Selection

    The selected pattern is sent over the serial transmit link. The looped back data is received by the receiver and checked for errors. The status can be monitored using the status signals on the GUI at any time as shown in the following figure.

    Figure 8-4. Link Status and JESD204B Status
  7. Click Generate Data Error to generate error in the PRBS data and observe the error status using PRBS Status and Error Count as shown in the following figure.
    Figure 8-5. Generate Data Error
  8. Click Clear Error to stop generate error in the PRBS data and observe that PRBS Status turns green, and the Error Count is zero as shown in the following figure.
    Figure 8-6. Clear Data Error
  9. Click Generate Link Error to generate error between the CoreJESD204BTX and the transceiver lane and observe Link Status, SYNC_N, ALIGNED, RX VALID, and CGS_ERROR indicators turn red as shown in the following figure.
    Figure 8-7. Generating Link Error
  10. Click Clear Error to stop generating the link error and observe the Link Status and JESD204B status signals change to green tick marks as shown in the following figure.
    Figure 8-8. Clearing Link Error
  11. Select Triangle from the Input Selection drop-down to change the pattern. The selected pattern is sent over the serial transmit link and received by the CoreJESD204BRX. The status can be monitored using the status signals on the GUI.
  12. Click Waveform tab to view the Triangle waveform received from CoreJESD204BRX as shown in the following figure.
    Figure 8-9. Triangle Waveform
  13. Click Stop to end the demo and close the GUI.

This concludes the demo. The demo described the PolarFire JESD204B design and how to run the demo using the GUI.