Efinix T4 F49 WLCSP Package SPI Flash programming - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2023, 06:33:58 pm
content: Hi. Would anyone here have experience in using the Efinix T4 F49 WLCSP packaged FPGA ?If yes, specifically, how to deploy the SPI Active x1 Mode to boot using an external SPI flash? This package does not offer JTAG pins so a pre-flashed device must be present to load the IP into the CRAM.Respectively, for us to flash the IP onto a blank PCB, do we holdCRESET_Nline LOW and then we can use an external SPI bus master to flash the IP onto the external memory device? The (AN006) Trion FPGA memory guide is not clear to us and would rather avoid using a mux onboard to steer the SPI lines in the external programmer or FPGA direction.The T4 FPGA appears to be ~$.60 USD on LCSC.com which is very attractive for us to consider as a CPLD replacement.To rephrase, how do we park this FPGA in the 49 ball WLCSP package into a tri-state mode so that we can use the external SPI flash programmer without conflict on the shared pins.Thanks.

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 12:56:02 pm
content: Efinix factory support has confirmed that ifCRESET_Nline is held LOW, the SPI interface lines on the Trion F49 package will tristate. Thanks.

author: gnuarm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2023, 03:29:10 pm
content: Quote from: mon2 on June 13, 2023, 06:33:58 pmI can't find any mention of Efinix on the LCSC web site.... AT ALL. Are you sure you found this part there?

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2023, 03:41:34 pm
content: Yes. It WAS there but no longer. Shady business. Will confirm with the contact we have there.Dear customer,Thanks for reaching out.Quote

author: gnuarm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2023, 09:38:31 pm
content: I've seen indication on the Efinix web site that they sell through Arrow too, but no sign on the Arrow web site. The only place I've found them is at Digikey which offers no quantity discount. I'm going to have to work with Efinix to figure out a better price and how to get them. I should be needing around 6k per year starting next year.

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2023, 09:43:40 pm
content: Will update this thread once LCSC replies back to our request of the same part again. Should have screen grabbed it but it was a very fair and cost effective price of ~$0.60 USD each to replace logic. The lack of JTAG on the board is a small hindrance but willing to work around it for the cost savings. Alternatively, there are low cost Gowin devices. Contact Roger @ Efinix USA. Cannot help thinking that Asia continues to receive better costs than we do here in North America. Historically, the large OEM players in Asia will often sell their surplus stock at costs that are still lower than our resales here.

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2023, 12:40:19 pm
content: Here is the update from LCSC:

author: c64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2023, 10:18:46 pm
content: Quote from: mon2 on June 13, 2023, 06:33:58 pmAnyone actually managed to buy it at this price? Fpga with 4K LE for less than dollar sounds too good to be true. Even for LCSC

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2023, 03:14:06 pm
content: I think Debbie Downer is running on this product line. Placed a formal request for a full T&R and/or full factory MPQ in trays for this device. LCSC returned with a quick, unable to support the device and asked if we can replace it. Openly, we designed in the product based on price. Will now consider to switch to Gowin or use discretes - we are only after a simple address decoder for our slow bus decoding. There is no doubt that these components sell at lower resales in Asia than our local markets. Most of the time, not always, parts are just at a lower resale on such components. Perhaps to flush out overstocked items.