MicroBlaze

MicroBlaze is a suitable in FPGAs Xilinx microcontroller. This microcontroller does not exist as special as physical hardware, but is only available as authored in hardware description languages ​​such as VHDL and Verilog softcore. Thanks to the special optimization of the particularities of certain FPGA devices of logic needs of this microcontroller is low and moves depending on the configuration and version between about 700 and about 2000 slices.

MicroBlaze is a 32- bit RISC microcontroller that is motivated in the architecture of the DLX microprocessor. It has a configurable three-to five-stage pipeline, internal cache, an interrupt, a hardware-based multiplier and optional hardware-based division unit, a floating point unit and special shift register units. It has a plurality of different buses, which are provided for the connection of extensive peripheral and memory in an FPGA.

The processor depends primarily on a FPGA internal Core Connect bus (also known as PLB). Together with optional external memory and other peripheral units on the PLB or On- chip Peripheral Bus results in a system -on-a - chip.

As a development system, the GNU Compiler Collection is used, which was supplemented by Xilinx a graphical interface called EDK and to facilitate the integration into the FPGA hardware. There is also an Eclipse-based development environment. As operating systems μClinux, Linux or FreeRTOS can be used if necessary.

In addition to the paid version of the MicroBlaze, which may be used by contractual restrictions only on FPGA devices from Xilinx, there are various replicas, which are open source and binary compatible and may be used on FPGAs from other manufacturers, such as the aeMB and Open Fire. The aeMB - MicroBlaze clone is under the LGPL license and has, in contrast to his model, a usual OpenCores Wishbone bus, which allows you to connect many finished and usually also open source FPGA IO modules. Xilinx also provides a less powerful " Softcore " is available, the PicoBlaze.