--- Quote Start ---
I come back to this issue which can be interesting to me if I would like to replace and EPCQL by a SPI MICRON Flash.
If the "ASx4 mode" is not supported by the EPCQ512, have you tried the "ASx1 mode" configuration ?
If the PCB, hardware is designed to support the ASx4 it should work with the ASx1 configuration. In that case only one SPI Data line is used instead 4 and the configuraton time will be slower.
--- Quote End ---
Hi,
Yes, I tried x1 mode with the N25Q512, but the Quartus Prime programming software wouldn't work as you can't select micron chips in that software.
I can't discount their (also) being a problem with my custom hardware which is preventing this from working.
I can't comment on whether the EPCQ512 would work in x1 mode as I don't have that chip fitted, but as that is an Altera chip then I would expect that workaround to work with the Altera software.
As a slight aside, the new SoCrates II dev-board from EBV is listed as being fitted with N25Q256, so it will be interesting to see how they program those chips!
If they are going to production with the N25Q256, then I would have though that you should be pretty safe using that chip too. (usual disclaimer apply!)
Ref:
http://www.ebv.com/products/product-details/9956/ The only difference I can see is that N25Q512 is a dual-die flash chip, whereas the N25Q256 is a single-die flash chip.
This difference may or may-not be the reason why I can't program the N25Q512 on my board using the Quartus Prime programming software.
I asked for technical support from Altera and they (using polite corporate language) told me and my company to get knotted.
They just want everyone to carry on buying Altera EPCQ chips at 20x the cost of the Micron N25Q chips.
For now I am trying to configure the FPGA from the SD-Card attached to the HPS side of the chip. (which is a different can of worms!)
Time permitting I will write my own QSPI programming software and get to the bottom of why my N25Q512 won't work with the Quartus Prime programming software.
This would download the configuration file (via a serial port) to a NIOS-II configured via JTAG. The NIOS-II would store the configuration file in SDRAM, then check the CRC, and then program that file into the N25Q512 using Micron's 'C' libraries.
Honored Contributor
