Programming the Flash Using the Flash Loader with the JTAG Core

The following figure shows the overall flow to program the flash on your board.

Figure 1. Flash Programming Flow
To program the flash on your board using the flash loader with the JTAG core, follow these procedures:
  1. Connect the FTDI module to the FPGA's JTAG pins for JTAG configuration or the FPGA's SPI pins for SPI Passive configuration.
    Note: In scenarios where the FPGA's hard JTAG controller is disabled, you can only use the SPI interface to configure the FPGA.
  2. Configure the FPGA as a flash loader.
    Note: See Creating a Flash Loader with the JTAG Core to create the flash loader.
    1. Open the Efinity Programmer. In the Programming Mode, choose JTAG or SPI Passive, depending on your FTDI connection.
    2. In the Image box, click the Select Image File button and select the flash loader bitstream file.
    3. Click the Start Program button.
  3. Connect the FTDI module to the GPIO pins assigned as the JTAG interface in the flash loader design.
  4. Program the flash.
    1. Open the Efinity Programmer.
    2. In the Programming Mode, choose SPI Active using JTAG Bridge for a single flash or SPI Active x8 using JTAG Bridge for a dual flash device.
    3. In the Image box, click the Select Image File button and select the .hex bitstream file.
    4. Turn on Auto configure JTAG Bridge Image and select the flash loader.
      Important: You need to enable Auto configure JTAG Bridge Image option to prevent flash programming failures.
    5. Ensure that the Starting Flash Address is set to 0x000000.
    6. Click the Start Program button.
  5. Pulse the FPGA's CRESET_N signal to trigger reconfiguration using the new flash image.