"PolarFire SoC has a unique, flexible memory subsystem enabling hard real-time applications and Linux applications to coexist in a flexible, coherent manner."
"The board is fully supported in Microchip's Mi-V ecosystem, which offers an official toolchain made up of various projects including Yocto Linux, BuildRoot, and FreeBSD on the operating system side....and development tools including Renode and Libero."
"PolarFire SoC is a rare SoC indeed. It combines 64-bit RISC-V Freedom U540 cores from SiFive with its popular PolarFire FPGA."
CNXSoft - Embedded Systems News
"The board ships with a Linux demo that does not require familiarity with FPGA development tools to get started initially."
"RISC-V + Linux + FPGA = extreme flexibility"
"Con un bajo consumo energético, este kit de desarrollo para SoC incluye un amplio abanico de interfaces y buenas posibilidades de programación."
The Icicle Kit is the first development board for the groundbreaking PolarFire SoC, the world’s first FPGA and Linux-capable RISC-V system in a single chip.
Whether you are developing cutting-edge applications in embedded machine learning, wired networking, or industrial automation, or simply exploring RISC-V and FPGAs, the Icicle Kit and its robust Mi-V ecosystem of tools are the perfect way way to get started.
1. PolarFire® SoC MPFS250T-FCVG484EES | 15. J17 |
2. JTAG header for embedded programming - For FACTORY USE ONLY | 16. J15 |
3. USB Embedded Programming Connector | 17. 40-pin Raspberry Pi® Expansion Connector |
4. J24 | 18. CAN Connector |
5. J34 | 19. Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 Jacks |
6. J43 | 20. J31 |
7. Power ON/OFF Switch | 21. mikroBUS™ Expansion Connector |
8. 12 VDC Power Supply Input | 22. USB - UART Terminal |
9. Push Buttons | 23. SPI Flash |
10. User and Power LEDs | 24. J45 |
11. eMMC Flash | 25. J28 |
12. SD Card Slot | 26. J35 |
13. J46 | 27. x4 PCIe® Connector |
14. USB OTG | 28. JTAG Programming Header |
The Icicle Kit is based on Microchip’s PolarFire SoC (MPFS250T-FCVG484EES), which is a system-on-chip that combines the state-of-the-art PolarFire FPGA with a five-core RISC-V microprocessor subsystem by SiFive.
To quote the official PolarFire SoC documentation:
The PolarFire® SoC FPGA family delivers an unparalleled combination of low power consumption, thermal efficiency and defense grade security for smart, connected systems.
It’s the first system on chip (SoC) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) with a deterministic, coherent RISC-V CPU cluster and a deterministic L2 memory subsystem enabling Linux and real-time applications.
Built on the award-winning, mid-range, low power PolarFire FPGA Architecture, PolarFire SoC devices deliver up to 50% lower power than alternative FPGAs, span from 25k to 460k logic elements (LEs) and feature 12.7G transceivers.
The unique architecture of the PolarFire SoC combines the power of RISC-V and Linux with the determinism needed for real-time hardware applications. See Microchip’s PolarFire SoC brochure and overview for more information.
The Mi-V ecosystem brings together tools and vendors tailored for the PolarFire SoC, including:
Developing on the PolarFire SoC Icicle kit requires a Libero Silver license, which is free of charge and valid for one year. Once that license has expired, you will be able to generate a new license each year for free.
Linux development on the Icicle Kit does not require any closed source tools or familiarity with FPGA development tools. Here’s how to get started quickly:
root
and either no password or, in some cases, a password of
microchip
.That’s it! You are now logged into Linux running on the Icicle Kit.
Icicle Kit is an evolution of HiFive Unleashed by SiFive and the accompanying HiFive Unleashed Expansion Board by Microchip. We worked closely with SiFive to integrate their RISC-V cores into PolarFire SoC and consolidate everything onto a single board.
HiFive Unleashed (right) and HiFive Unleashed Expansion Board (left)
Icicle Kit underwent several prototype iterations and is now in production.
Icicle Kit
All PolarFire SoC Icicle Kits will be shipped to backers from the Crowd Supply warehouse in the United States. For more information on fulfillment, see the Crowd Supply Guide page on ordering, paying, and shipping.