Nexys-A7

NI Digilent Nexys A7-100T FPGA Trainer Board

The NI Digilent Nexys A7 is a rebrand of the Nexys 4 DDR board with the addition of the Nexys A7-50T variant of the Nexys A7, which has a smaller gate array. The Nexys A7-100T variant is functionally identical to the Nexys 4 DDR. The Nexys A7-100T contains 15,850 logic slices each with 4 look-up tables (LUTs) and 8 flip-flops. The Nexys A7-50T that contains 8,150 logic slices was discontinued and is no longer available for purchase.

A Xilinx Design Constraints (XDC) file provides the physical pins on the FPGA in relation to the HDL code. Here are master XDC files for A7-100T and A7-50T boards with identical constraints:

• Nexys-A7-100T-Master.xdc
• Nexys-A7-50T-Master.xdc

The master XDC files of all Digilent boards can be found here.

Xilinx Downloads provide Xilinx Unified Installer: Windows (or Linux) Self Extracting Web Installer

• Download, extract, and open Xilinx Unified Installer
  • To reduce installation time, disable any anti-virus software and power saving settings when running the installer
• Provide Xilinx user account credentials to download the required files
• Select "Download and Install Now"
• Select Vivado > Vivado ML Standard
• Design Tools > Vivado Design Suite that includes Vivado and Vitis HLS (high-level synthesis) -- uncheck all others such as
  • Vitis Model Composer (Xilinx Toolbox for MATLAB and Simulink. Includes the functionality of System Generator for DSP)
  • DocNav
• Devices > 7 Series > Artix-7 -- uncheck all others
• Installation Options > Install Cable Drivers -- this is required
  • To install cable drivers on Linux, follow the instructions on P. 47 in UG973 and enter the following commands as root

./tools/Xilinx/data/xicom/cable_drivers/lin64/install_script/install_drivers/install_drivers

• Download and extract board files
  • The ZIP file has a folder called new/board_files including a folder called nexys-a7-100t
  • For the Nexys A7-50T board, use nexys-a7-50t instead
• Make a new folder called board_files as This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Xilinx > Vivado > 2023.1 > data > boards > board_files
• Copy and paste the nexys-a7-100t folder
• There should be four files in This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Xilinx > Vivado > 2023.1 > data > boards > board_files > nexys-a7-100t > D.0
  • board.xml
  • mig.prj
  • part0_pins.xml
  • preset.xml
• References
  • Vivado Design Suite User Guide: Release Notes, Installation, and Licensing (UG973)
  • Vitis High-Level Synthesis User Guide (UG1399)
  • Vitis Unified Software Platform Documentation: Application Acceleration Development (UG1393)
  • Installing Vivado and Digilent board files
  • FPGA board files
  • Add boards and example designs to Vivado environment
  • Getting Started With Vivado
  • Design Hubs
  • Tool command language (Tcl)

Nexys A7 FPGA Board

• Reference Manual and schematic
  • Powered from micro-USB
  • The blue power select jumper JP3 (near the power jack) determines which source (USB or Wall) is used
  • If necessary, only use a 5V external power supply with center-positive 5.5 x 2.1 x 9.5 mm coaxial power connector
    • The part for the R287 fuse is TR/0603FA5-R that replaces the obsolete 0603SFV350F/32-2
    • The part for the D16 diode is SMBJ5.0A
    • Voltage clamp
    • Surface-mount technology (SMT)
    • Rework (electronics)
    • Solder paste
• Out-of-box (OOB) demo
  • Overview
  • Releases

Create projects

• Add sources with both target language and simulator language in VHDL
• Add constraints (an XDC file)
• Select the board from digilentinc.com
• Select Nexys A7-100T (Part: xc7a100tcsg324-1)
• Review New Project Summary" > Finish
• Tools > Settings > Tool Settings > Text Editor > Syntax Checking > Vivado
• Project VHDL and XDC files
  • Lab 1: Seven-Segment Decoder
  • Lab 2: Four-Digit Hex Counter
  • Lab 3: Bouncing Ball (VGA Display)
  • Lab 4: Hex Calculator (Pmod KYPD)
  • Lab 5: Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) Siren (Pmod I2S and Headphone)
  • Lab 6: Video Game PONG (Pmod AD1, Potentiometer, and VGA Display)
• Digilent developed Peripheral Module (Pmod) Interface
  • Pmod Interface Specification
  • Pmod Expansion Modules
  • Pmod KYPD 16-button Keypad with optional 2x6-pin cable
  • Pmod I2S Inter-IC Sound has been replaced with Pmod I2S2
  • Pmod AD1 two 12-bit analog-to-digital converter with 6-pin cable and a 5kΩ potentiometer
  • Pmod DA3 16-bit digital-to-analog converter
  • Pmod DHB1 dual H-bridge motor driver
  • Pmod DPOT digital potentiometer
  • Pmod JSTK2 two-axis joystick
• Connecting devices other than Pmods may risk damaging the Nexys A7-100T board
  • The part for IC17 voltage regulator is ADP2118ACPZ-R7