Corelis introduces new JTAG emulator for AMD Alchemy

Low power processors get powerful debug environment

Corelis has introduced a new emulator for the high-performance, low-power AMD Alchemy processor family. The new ScanICE-1000 emulator utilizes the IEEE-STD-1149.1 standard JTAG port on the Au1000, Au1100, and Au1500 processor cores to provide access to the CPUs on-chip debug facilities. The emulator includes a powerful Windows based source-level debugger and uses a PCI based controller for high-speed emulation access.

Unlike conventional real-time emulators that rely on bulky and expensive external hardware pods, the Corelis emulator uses the JTAG standard test access port to access the internal debug resources available on the Au1000, Au1100 and Au1500 processors. This eliminates the need for external pods, thus reducing the cost and electrical loading of the target system. Since the debug resources used by the emulator are integrated into the target processor, the emulator automatically supports any clock speed at which the target system runs.

Programs and data can be downloaded to any part of the system RAM through the JTAG port without the need for a resident loader program or a ROM emulator. The four-wire JTAG interface allows it to be connected to the Au1000, Au1100 or Au1500 processor, with support for other AMD Alchemy Solutions processors planned for the future. Thus, switching processors from one design to the next does not obsolete a users investment in their emulator hardware.

As an additional benefit, the Corelis boundary-scan JTAG controller included with the emulators can be used to provide boundary-scan interconnect testing and in-system programming of Flash and CPLDs. Corelis also has a full suite of boundary-scan test and programming software available that can be used for interconnect and functional testing and device programming.

The ScanICE-1000 emulator is available now.