MachXO2 External SPI Flash device

[ale500]

Hei,

I'd like to use an external SPI flash memory with a MachXO2 FPGA, but not for the configuration but for custom data that has to be pre-programmed.  I see that one can program such a flash memory to contain configuration data using the built-in programmer. I'm looking for ways to in-circuit pre-program such a memory. Could one use the built-in programmer for such a task (let's suppose that the flash device is connected to the "reserved" pins for SPI flash) ?
Does someone has any experience ?

[mikeselectricstuff]

If by built-in programmer you mean the normal JTAG programmer, the way this typically works is that the programmer software soft-loads a trivial bitmap which links the JTAG pins to the SPI device to allow programming using SPI protocol over the JTAG pins.
Should be possible to make it program a device that contains data other than a programming bitmap.

You can also buy Microchip SPI flash devices preprogrammed from Microchip Direct, though their devices ( ex SST) are rather more expensive than some of the competition from ISSI or Spansion.


 

[ale500]

I think I'd program the device before I solder it , and then just make some small core that can receive a new image, if needed., thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to do 2 boards, so programming the chips beforehand seems convenient.