GOWIN UG112-1.0E USB Programming Download Cable User Guide

Gowin USB Programming Download Cable

User Guide

UG112-1.2E, 07/20/2023

Copyright © 2023 Guangdong Gowin Semiconductor Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

, Gowin, and GOWINSEMI are trademarks of Guangdong Gowin Semiconductor Corporation and are registered in China, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and other countries. All other words and logos identified as trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective holders. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any denotes, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of GOWINSEMI.

Disclaimer

GOWINSEMI assumes no liability and provides no warranty (either expressed or implied) and is not responsible for any damage incurred to your hardware, software, data, or property resulting from usage of the materials or intellectual property except as outlined in the GOWINSEMI Terms and Conditions of Sale. GOWINSEMI may make changes to this document at any time without prior notice. Anyone relying on this documentation should contact GOWINSEMI for the current documentation and errata.

Revision History

updated.
07/20/2023| 1.2E| The functions of download cable driver updated.

1 About This Guide

1.1 Purpose

This guide includes two parts:

1. The features, functions, and signal definitions of Gowin USB programming download cable.
2. How to install, download, and use Gowin USB programming download cable.

For simplification, Gowin USB programming download cable is hereinafter referred to as the “download cable”.

1.2 Supported Products

The download cable in the guide applies to all Gowin FPGA products.

1.3 Related Documents

The latest user guides are available on the GOWINSEMI Website. You can find the related documents at www.gowinsemi.com:

• DS100, GW1N series of FPGA Products Data Sheet
• UG103, GW1N series of FPGA Products Package and Pinout User Guide
• UG290, Gowin FPGA Products Programming and Configuration Guide
• DS102, GW2A series of FPGA Products Data Sheet
• UG111, GW2A series of FPGA Products Package and Pinout User Guide

1.4 Terminology and Abbreviations

The terminology and abbreviations used in this manual are as shown in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1 Terminology and Abbreviations

1.5 Support and Feedback

Gowin Semiconductor provides customers with comprehensive technical support. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to contact us directly using the information provided below.

Website: www.gowinsemi.com

E-mail: support@gowinsemi.com

2 Introduction

Gowin USB programming download cable is mainly used to download the bit stream file generated by Gowin Software to Gowin FPGA chip or external storage device. Gowin USB programming download cable is available in two versions, including PL-USB-Cable and PL-U2X-Cable.

2.1 Features

• Supports Windows and Linux operating systems
• Supports all series of Gowin FPGA products
• Downloads the bitstream file of the internal SRAM, on-chip Flash, and off-chip Flash via JTAG
• The USB interface supports USB1.0 and USB2.0
• The USB interface supports DC +5V power supply
• The JTAG interface supports 1.2V~3.3V programming download
• The maximum rate of JTAG interface for PL-USB-Cable is up to 30MHz; while the one for PL-U2X-Cable is fixed at 1.33MHz
• LED power supply, download instructions
• Conforms to RoHS standard

2.2 Appearance and Composition

The appearance of PL-USB-Cable is shown in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1 The Appearance of PL-USB-Cable

The appearance of PL-U2X-Cable is shown in Figure 2-2.

Figure 2-2 The Appearance of PL-U2X-Cable

As shown in Figure 2-3, in addition to the download cable (1), a flat cable (2), and a connection cable (3) are also contained in Gowin USB cable Box. The list is as follows:

1. One download cable
2. One 10Pin flat cable
3. One USB-A to USB-B type connection cable

Figure 2-3 Box List

(1) Download Cable
(2) Flat Cable
(3) Connection Cable

Note!
The red line in cable (2) is Pin1 (TCK).

2.3 Functional Block Diagram

The functional block diagram of the cable mainly includes USB interface socket, ESD, OSC, USB interface circuit. FPGA, LED, level conversion circuit and JTAG socket. The USB download cable supports JTAG download of all series of Gowin FPGA products, downloading bitstream files from FPGA SRAM, on-chip Flash, and off-chip Flash. It also supports Gowin online logic analyzer.

Figure 2-4 Download Cable Functional Block Diagram

1. USB Receptacle
2. VCC_USB
3. VCC3.3V
4. 10-Pin Right-Angle Receptacle

2.4 Signal Definition

Table 2-1 JTAG Interface Signal Definition

Table 2-2 Signal Definition of USB Interface

2.5 AC/DC Characteristic

The limit working parameters of the download cable and the recommended working parameters of VCC are introduced follows. It is recommended to use advised working conditions to ensure reliably operation of the download cable.

Table 2-3 Limit Operating Parameters

Table 2-4 Recommended Operating Parameters Based on VCC

2.6 ESD Features

• Conforms to IEC61000-4-2 standard
• ESD protection ±15kV for contacting discharge and ±8kV for air discharge

3 Download Cable Driver

3.1 PL-USB-Cable Driver

3.1.1 Windows

Before using the download cable, you need to install the programmer on your Windows system. You can download the Gowin Programmer at the Gowin EDA Home of the Gowin Semiconductor website, as shown in Figure 3-1 and Figure 3-2.

Figure 3-1 Gowin Software Page

Figure 3-2 Gowin Programmer

1. After the download is complete, you need to manually extract the files. Once the extraction is complete, open the Programmer-driver to access the interface as shown in Figure 3-3. Install the driver program according to your specific system requirements.

Figure 3-3 Setup Interface

2. The installation begins.

Figure 3-4 Start to Unpack Driver Program of Download Cable

Figure 3-5 Unpacking Driver Program of Download Cable

3. After finishing unpacking, click “Next>” to the next step, as shown in Figure 3-6.

Figure 3-6 Finish Installing Download Cable Driver

4. Select “I accept this agreement” and click “Next>” to install, as shown in Figure 3-7. The download cable driver installation interface is as shown in Figure 3-8.

Figure 3-7 Agreement License

Figure 3-8 Installing Download Cable Driver

5. Click “Finish” to finish installing the download cable driver, as shown in Figure 3-9.

Figure 3-9 Finish Installing Download Cable Driver

6. The “USB Serial Converter A” is appeared at the end of the Universal Serial Bus controller after the USB download cable is connected to the PC, which means that the cable driver is installed successfully and you can download/configure the FPGA through the download cable, as shown in Figure 3-10.

Figure 3-10 Download Cable Driver Interface on PC

7. Go back to the main folder and open Programmer-bin to get the interface as shown in Figure 3-11.

Figure 3-11 Programmer.exe Interface

8. Once the PC is connected to the download cable, double-click programmer.exe to configure the FPGA for download via the download cable.

3.1.2 Linux

Similar to Windows system, log in to the Gowin Semiconductor website and download the Gowin Programmer for Linux system, as shown in Figure 3-12.

Figure 3-12 Linux Version of Gowin Programmer

1. Once the download is complete, you will need to manually extract it, and when the extraction is complete, open Programmer-bin to get the interface as shown in Figure 3-13.

Figure 3-13 Path of Programmer

2. Once the PC is connected to the download cable, open the terminal and enter “sudo programmer” to start the programmer with root privileges and the FPGA can be configured for download via the download cable. Please refer to Chapter 3.3 USB-Cable Permission Configuration on Linux System for detailed instructions on how to modify the cable permissions to enable the programmer tool to be used with regular user permission.

3.2 PL-U2X-Cable Download Cable Driver

3.2.1 Windows

There are two feasible methods to install PL-U2X-Cable driver on the Windows system, and each method can independently complete the installation. You can choose either one of the methods.

3.2.1.1 Gowin USB Cable Driver

After download the Gowin Programmer from the Gowin Semiconductor website, manually unpack the programmer and open the programmer-driver to get the interface shown in Figure 3-14. Install the driver depending on different systems.

Figure 3-14 Setup Interface

1. Start installation.
Select the driver installation path and click “install” to start the installation, as shown in Figure 3-15.

Figure 3-15 Driver Installation Path Interface

2. Wait for the installation to complete, as shown in Figure 3-16.

Figure 3-16 Finish Installing Driver

3.2.1.2 Zadig

1. Download and save Zadig driver installer: https://github.com/pbatard/libwdi/releases/download/v1.4.1/zadig-2.7.exe.
2. Connect GWU2X device to the computer USB interface, double-click to open Zadig (administrator privileges required), click Options, and check the “List All Device” option. All USB devices connected to the computer will be listed, as show in Figure 3-17.

Figure 3-17 Check “List All Device” Option

3. Select the GWU2X device that requires driver installation, as show in Figure 3-18.

Figure 3-18 Select the Device that Requires Driver Installation

4. Select the driver to be installed, use libusb+WinUSB, and select WinUSB, as show in Figure 3-19.

Figure 3-19 Select the Driver to be Installed

5. Click “Install Driver”. The driver will be installed after a few moments.

Note!
The button displays “Install Driver” if the driver is not currently installed, and “Replace Driver” if another driver is currently installed.

3.2.2 Linux

Log in to the Gowin Semiconductor website, download the Linux version of Gowin Programmer, and after the download cable is connected with PC, start Programmer with root privileges. Then, the FPGA can be configured for download via the download cable. Please refer to Chapter 3.3 USB-Cable Permission Configuration on Linux System for detailed instructions on how to configure the permission of USB device driver to enable the Programmer to be used with regular user permission.

3.3 USB-Cable Permission Configuration on Linux System

In the \Programmer\bin folder, there are files as shown in Figure 3-20. Gowin_USB_Cable_Installer.sh is a script file and Makefile is a text file. Either way can be used to configure USB-Cable permission.

Note!
Some operating systems may require a reboot to apply the changes.

Figure 3-20 File List

3.3.1 Makefile

Open the terminal and enter the “sudo make” command or switch user to the root privilege. Enter the “make” command. If you see the message “File 50-programmer_usb.rules has been copied to /etc/udev/rules.d”, it indicates a successful installation. Please note that for some CentOS 6 systems require a reboot to apply the changes, as shown in Figure 3-21 and Figure 3-22.

Figure 3-21 Example of Makefile Installation with Regular User Permission

Figure 3-22 Example of Makefile Installation with Root Privileges

3.3.2 Gowin_USB_Cable_Install.sh

First open the folder where the programmer is located and check if all 4 of the above files exist. Then open the terminal, switch user to root privilege, give Gowin_USB_Cable_Installer.sh permission, and run Gowin_USB_Cable_Installer.sh. A “complete” display indicates that the installation was successful, as shown in Figure 3-23.

Figure 3-23 Script Installation Example

UG112-1.2E

References

• Home|GOWIN Semiconductor
• Home|GOWIN Semiconductor
• github.com/pbatard/libwdi/releases/download/v1.4.1/zadig-2.7.exe

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