Tuesday, December 27, 2011

High Density eMMC NAND Flash Devices Supported on SuperPro7000


Xeltek is the leading provider of programmers supporting high capacity eMMC devices. Xeltek’s latest flash programmer, SuperPro7000, is fast and reliable when programming high density flash devices. Initial capability includes support of eMMC NAND Flash devices with up to 256 GB memory space. Also, it programs eMMC devices up to ten times faster than the standard programmers!

Depending on the type of devices, new SuperPro 7000 module adapters can program up to four IC devices concurrently. Adapters with four sockets are developed upon customer request and available for small size chips such as serial EPROMS and MCUs. Universal and device independent socket adapters with up to 144 pins are available for various packages. All socket adapters do not require connection through DIP adapters, thus increasing the connection reliability.

Xeltek’s engineers constantly analyze end user needs to provide unique programming solutions. Xeltek’s programmers provide what majorities look for, but it also includes unique features that minorities seek.

  • Production efficiency especially for NOR / NAND FLASH, Serial EEPROM / FLASH.
  • Optional socket booster extends operation life and increase efficiency.
  • Network Interface enhance sharing capability.
  • Reliable Security features.
  • Program devices as low as 1.2V
  • CE, RoHS compliant
  • ISO 9001, ISO 14001 Certified

Monday, September 12, 2011

Xeltek now supports Panasonic AM3 (MN103)

Panasonic AM3 (MN103) Series of 32-bit microcontrollers with flash such as MN103SFC2D and MN103SFJ9D are now supported on SuperPro Programmers. Major application areas of AM3(MN103) flash based microcontrollers are optical disc players, video CD players, digital still cameras, digital television systems, navigation systems, portable information devices, air conditioner compressors, washing machines, refrigerators, ventilation fans, etc.

To list SuperPro Programmers that support MN103 family, please run your search on following Xeltek tool;

Xeltek Device Search Tool

Thursday, September 8, 2011

SuperPro IS01 Supports Xilinx Spartan 3AN FPGA

Programming a Xilinx Spartan 3AN FPGA device requires running an SVF player, and generating a programmable data file with *.svf extension.

XPlayer
is a special programming tool which resides within SuperPro IS01 and can be used for programming Xilinx FPGA devices. As long as the customer provides corresponding SVF file (similar files can be generated using design tools such as iMPACT), the device can be programmed.

cid:image001.jpg@01CC6971.6FEA78C0

The dialogue box displayed below, appears in SPIS01 software when “XPlayer” is selected on the “Device” menu bar.

cid:image002.jpg@01CC6971.6FEA78C0

Device related information is already included within SVF file; therefore there is no need to select any device for programming.

When "device information" in tool bar or in the menu of SuperPro IS01 software is opened, the cable connection (JTAG signals) can be seen as follows:

cid:image003.png@01CC6971.6FEA78C0

Internal supply voltage (VCCint) of Spartan family of Xilinx FPGA is 1.2V, and VCCaux, VCCo are 3.3V.

SuperPro IS01 can supply 3.3V, however 1.2V is not supported. Users need external power supply to support internal supply voltage (VCCint).

Therefore, connect VCC or VPP (3.3V) of SuperPro IS01 to VCCaux, VCCo, Vref of Xilinx FPGA; and supply VCCint (core work VCC=1.2V) via an external source. Also connect GND (ground) of external power supply (1.2V) to GND of SuperPro IS01.

Supported devices are:

Xilinx CPLD: XC9500 / XC9500XL / XC9500XV / CoolRunner / CoolRunner-II
Xilinx PROM: XC18V00 / XCF00S / XCF00P
Xilinx FPGA: Virtex Families, Spartan Families, and JTAG-configurable XC4000 Families

If you need to search other programmable Xilinx devices, please check the device search tool. And for questions you may have, please feel free to contact us at techsupport@xeltek.com

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Common Xeltek SuperPro Memory Card Errors

Please find couple common questions usually SuperPro users experience;

Question : I am using SP5000/SP5000E/SP501S programmer and getting CF card error on LCD screen whenever I press any button. Please help.

Answer : Please insert a Compact Flash card in programmer before pressing any button on your programmer. If you don't have CF card then please use the programmer in PC mode or buy a CF card from the following link:
http://www.xeltek.com/product.php?productid=16534&cat=0&page=1

Question : When I insert 2GB CF card into SP501S, "Project FAT Error" message appears on LCD.

Answer : You may be copying project file on Compact Flash card using a memory card reader/writer which is incorrect mehod. Please download project file on CF card of SP501S using SP501S software only.
1. Please connect the SuperPro 501S programmer (or other SuperPro Standalon Programmers) to the PC. Insert CF card and open the software.
2. Now download the projectflile on CF card
3. Restart the programmer to operate it in standalone mode.

Pls also refer to the following web page for more information on standalone operation:

http://www.xeltek.com/Stand-Alone-And-Concurrent-Operations-pages-311

All these questions and many others can be found with their answers on our FAQ page;

http://www.xeltek.com/faq.html

our new user friendly interface will help you to find any answer to your question within couples of seconds. In case you find no matching question, please submit yours;


Please contact techsupport@xeltek.com if you have further questions.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Using the ATE Port to Control ISP Programmers

In-system programming is the ability of programming IC which is already soldered in circuit using serial programming algorithms. The major advantage of ISP programming is that the manufacturer can have single production phase, eliminating programming stage prior to assembling the system.

Code or design changes are also possible during the production process without the need of de soldering the chip by reprogramming the chip which is already installed on target PCB. Xeltek ISP programmer; SuperPro IS01, is a portable, stand-alone, self-powered universal ISP programmer. It supports most ISP protocols, e.g. I2C, SPI, UART, BDM, MW, JTAG, CAN, RS232 etc and also operates in standalone mode using SD cards. It comes with standard ATE (Automated Test Equipment) which provides the possibility of operating and controlling programmer through external signals. This article will help you to understand ATE interface and its functionality in a better way.

ATE control port is used for communication with external host or integration into the automatic programming or test equipment. Therefore, besides the keyboard, the user can also operate ISP programmer through ATE interface. ATE equipment interface adopts opto-coupling device to isolate signals, in order to ensure security and accuracy of signals between the two equipments. In addition, while using ATE interface, it is required to set the power voltage of external equipment signal and appropriate reference voltage point correctly.

The pinout for ATE port:
Pin out for ATE port



For the signals of ATE port, please refer to the diagram below:

signals of ATE port

Description of signals:

OPTO_VCC: Working power of ATE controlling port is supplied by exterior controlling equipment and it should match signal voltage.
SEL0-SEL5: These input signals are used to select project file which is already stored on SD card.
START, RESET: These are Input signals discussed later.
PASS, FAIL: These are output signals discussed later.
OPTO_GND1: Exterior controlling equipment GND1, which is used to input signals of SEL0-SEL5, START and RESET.
OPTO_GND2:Exterior controlling equipment GND2, which is used to output signals of PASS and FAIL.
VCC, GND:IS01 supplies 3.3V output, GND output

When the system starts, it performs initialization until “XELTEK IS01” is shown on display screen. After that, it will be testing interface of USB, keyboard and ATE all the time. If any of the signals SEL0-SEL5 of ATE interface is high, then IS01 will enter ATE work mode.

Create a project:
Create a project by SPIS01 software. After the project is generated, it can be downloaded into SD card by SPIS01 software or a card reader.

ATE workflow chart

ATE workflow chart
Project Selection:
SEL0-SEL5 of IS01 ATE interface is used to select projects. Using binary format; from 1 to 63, means, user can select no more than 63 projects. For example, if SEL0 is high and the others are low, project# 1 is selected; if both SEL0 and SEL1 are high, the others are low, project# 3 is selected, etc…

Run algorithm:
After User selects the project, set pin START high, then the system starts programming.

Thus, we can witness ATE interface is built for easy external hardware control which utilizes standalone feature of SuperPro IS01 programmer. Total of 6 signal lines SEL0 to SEL5 are for project selection (maximum 64 project files); 2 command lines for START and STOP; 3 STATUS lines such as PASS, FAIL and BUSY. All signals are optical-isolated thus providing noise free operation.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

SuperPro software now supports Hungarian Language

Xeltek SuperPro software is now available to Hungarian speaking customers. Hungarian is official language of Hungary; and it is also being spoken by Hungarian communities in the seven neighboring countries and by Diaspora communities worldwide. There are about 16 million native speakers, and being able to use SuperPro Programmers with their own language will be considered as a privilege.

Xeltek is proud to be the first device programmer manufacturer who supports Hungarian language. No other universal programmer in the industry comes with Hungarian language pack. Besides Hungarian, Xeltek supports 8 languages on SuperPro Programmers such as;

English

Chinese

Spanish

German

French

Turkish

Korean

Hungarian

And you may found all these languages supports on all SuperPro 5000 series programmers such as;

SuperPro 5000 / SuperPro 5000E

SuperPro 5004GP / SuperPro 5004EGP

SuperPro 6000 / SuperPro 6004GP

SuperPro 501S / SuperPro 501S 4-Cluster

SuperPro 500P / SuperPro M

If you have any comments about this new feature released at Xeltek; please write to us. Please also feel free to write to us if you want your mother language to be support on Xeltek programmers. For more information, please log in to www.Xeltek.com.

Friday, July 8, 2011

SuperPro Programmers now support Spansion’s fastest family of NOR Flash devices

It is our pleasure to announce that Xeltek is now supporting industry’s fastest family of NOR Flash memory devices from Spansion; GL-S family;

http://www.spansion.com/Products/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?ProdID=S29GL-S

The GL-S family expanded to include densities from 128Mb to 2Gb, and delivers up to a 45% performance advantage over other NOR products. The programming speed of the GL-S is two times faster than legacy GL products and 30% faster over the competition based on third party benchmarks.

SuperPro programmers; such as SuperPro 5000, SuperPro 5004GP, SuperPro 5000E and SuperPro 5004EGP, support;

S29GL01GS 1 Gbit (128 Mbyte),
S29GL512S 512 Mbit (64 Mbyte),
S29GL256S 256 Mbit (32 Mbyte),
S29GL128S 128 Mbit (16 Mbyte),

CMOS 3.0 Volt Core with Versatile I/O™. For more information, please check the Xeltek’s device search tool;

http://www.xeltek.com/device_search/search_x.php?company=0

About Xeltek

Xeltek is a manufacturer of universal programmer devices. Xeltek is the leading supplier of cost effective programming solutions for memories, microcontrollers and programmable logic devices. Xeltek's family of SuperPro® series universal programmers and adapters, combined with unparalleled device, software and customer support, provide a complete range of solutions from engineering development to volume production.


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Pay as low as $595 for SuperPro Programmers!

Pay less than $600 to have SuperPro quality at your desk. Since early 2011, Xeltek has been offering the lowest cost SuperPro Programmer which follows the SupePro 5000 series technology. It comes with a built-in ARM RISC processor and programs chips at a very high speed. The programmer supports almost 20,000 devices, and offers a wide variety of device type support. It supports the most popular EPROM, Flash, PIC, etc.; devices that you can program with a 48-pin drive programmer. Please check the device support list on the product page:

http://www.xeltek.com/SuperPro-M-product-17713

The programmer is capable of programming chips as low as 1.2V, and it is compatible with all Windows O/S, including Win 7 x64 bits.

To get an additional 10% discount, you need to match your order to $1000 and use the coupon code of “20th.anniv”. Please check Xeltek’s Facebook fan page to get more information about the coupon:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Xeltek-Inc/206632932695838?sk=app_4949752878

Contact sales@xeltek.com to place your order, or to get more information.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

I2C programming using Xeltek IS01 Serial programmer

Serial EEPROMs are suitable when a less amount of nonvolatile, read/write memory is needed in a design. These are small and inexpensive which are extremely useful when a minimum number of I/Os are used. There are different kinds of serial EEPROM devices which can be categorized on the basis of communication protocol they use for ISP programming.

– IIC (Inter Integrated Circuit),

– SPI(Serial Peripheral Interface),

– MW (Micro Wire),

– JTAG (Joint Test Action Group).

In this article, we will discuss EEPROM programming through I²C interface using ISP programmers such as Xeltek IS01.

I²C only uses two bidirectional open-drain lines, Serial Data Line (SDA) and Serial Clock (SCL), pulled up with resistors. Typical voltages used are +5 V or +3.3 V although systems with other voltages are also permitted.

The 24C04serial EEPROM supports the I2C protocol. This protocol defines any device that sends data ontothe bus as a transmitter and any device that reads the data as a receiver. The device that controls thedata transfer is known as the master and the other as the slave. The master will always initiate a datatransfer and will provide the serial clock for synchronization. The 24/25x04 are always slavedevices in all communications.

In order to program any serial EEPROM in-circuit, the PCB has to be designed to be able to program serially. The following points should be kept in mind:

1. Serial input, Output, and clock pins must be separated from the rest of the circuit and easily accessible externally. Otherwise, signals may clash and proper programming may not be possible.

2. If the device power pin is separated from the circuit, then the programmer power may be applied to the device. Otherwise, separate power must be applied to the target PCB.

Let us take an example of M24C04 chip from Microchip in order to understand the connection with ISP cable of Xeltek Superpro IS01. The following is the pin out of M24C04 chip:



Front view of color coded ISP connector of Superpro IS01:



Connection table:



The programming operation steps are as follows:

1. Search for the type of the chip to be operated in the ISP programming software and view the

Device information dialogue box.

2. Connect the signal lines (including GND) for the corresponding interfaces of the ISP

programmer with the target board.

3. If the above “mass production” function is to be used, TPIN and TPOUT signal lines

should also be connected.

4. It is recommended that the power of the target board is supplied independently, especially for the target board with high power consumption and with multiple power systems. If it is confirmed that the power is supplied by the programmer ISP cable, the VPP should be connected.

5. The independent power supplier of the target board switches on the power.

6. Run programming operations such as erase/blank check/ program/ verify.

Apart from dedicated ISP programmer SPIS01, parallel standalone programmers like SP5000 and SP501S can also be used for ISP programming using ISP header connector on Zif48 socket. If you have any further questions, please contact techsupport@xeltek.com

Friday, February 25, 2011

Clustering SuperPro Programmers: Why do you need clustering programmers?

This article contains common questions and related answers considering the cluster programming is still an unknown solution for most of us. Clustering Universal Programmers term has been first brought up by Xeltek in 2004. First and foremost, what does “clustering programmers” mean?

Simply, it means gathering bunch of single socket programming units together, and creating your own gang programming environment.

How does the SuperPro Cluster programming stack up against conventional fixed socket gang programmers?

Many reasons…

1) Often gang programmers do not provide flexibility and economy due to fixed number (4, 8, 16 )of sockets. And the ones on the market may not be the best match for your budget! However, a single socket programmer is not enough for planned output. The best solution for such conflict is clustering SuperPro Programmers. Start with 2-3 units, and expand your gang by adding new units as it needed in future.

2) Other limitation of the traditional gang programming is that all sockets share one central CPU(or MCU) and there is only one data buffer to program chips with. This architecture leaves two
problems;

a. The first issue is that all chips can be programmed simultaneously but have to be read or verified one at a time. In asynchronous programming, all operations are done independent of other chips, which increases programming efficiency.

b. The 2nd and more important issue is that some of the newer chips require calibration information and serial numbers, which are different from chip to chip. Traditional gang programmers have only one data buffer so they cannot accommodate programming each chip with different data.

Conventional gang programmers come in 4, 8, or 16 socket heads. But, there are several questions.

What if my volume is not enough to justify purchasing a 4socket gang programmer at high cost?

The solution is in the Cluster programming. Here, you can start with 2 or 3 units and add more later as needed.

What if my volume requirement has increased beyond my 4 or 8socket programmer purchased a year ago?

In the SuperPro Cluster set up, just add more units as needed. No need to buy a whole new set of 4 or 8gang programmer at high cost.

What if my volume has reduced and no longer need the 8gang programmer purchased a year ago?

In the SuperPro Cluster set up, just remove the unit(s) not needed and utilize elsewhere needed. You no longer have to be stuck with the expensive 8gang programmer not needed.

Any Programmer can be clustered?

Absolutely, NOT! In order to cluster programmers, use of stand-alone programmers is necessary.

What is Stand-alone mode?

Stand-alone is a technology first being introduced to the market in August 2000 by Xeltek SuperPro 2000. Stand-alone means, programmer can be used without being connected to a PC. Setup is made through the built-in keyboard/LCD panel. Multiple project files may be stored in the removable memory card.

Cluster Programming is better than Multiprogramming?

It is comparing apple and orange. But we would like to compare SuperPro 501S 4Cluster vs. Beehive 204 for your understanding. When the production requirement increases beyond 4socket heads, incremental addition from 4 to 5 to 6 to 7… sockets heads is possible. For a small increase in production, only one SP501S unit needs to be purchased. In the case of Beehive204, a full set of the same unit purchase is necessary, causing high expense and low efficiency.

Or, if the production requirement is decreased in the Superpro501S Cluster operation, one or more SP501S may be removed and utilized on other project. This is not possible in the Beehive204 operation.

When a socket head becomes defective in the Superpro501S Cluster, only the defective module is removed and sent for repair. In the Beehive204, entire unit must be sent back for repair, causing production operation stoppage.

What else do Xeltek Cluster Programmers offer?

· Asynchronous fast programming is ensured by each module being independent from one another.

· The programming starts automatically when a chip is inserted. Anyone can operate the units.

· Operator interaction is minimized. Therefore, any operator induced error is also minimized.

· An operator can easily operate 10 or more units at a time.

· Security of the data has been proven. Remove the CF card for safekeeping at end of each day.

· Grow with production demand. Additional programming units can be added easily as the volume grows.

· When one unit goes bad, only send that faulty unit for repair, and continue the operation with the rest. In a case of 8 socket gang programmer, the entire unit has to be sent back for repair effectively shutting down the entire operation.

· For most devices, 5 sets of clustered programmers can easily provide same throughput of an 8 gang synchronous programmer.

Model

SuperPro 501S 4C w/ CF cards

Multimax 8g+

Labtool 848XP

Beehive 204

Chiprog G4

Device Support

32654

8000

around 8K *

58700

35681 *

Programming sequence

Concurrent

Concurrent

Synchronous

Concurrent

Concurrent

Programmer architecture

Standalone (no PC)

Standalone

PC required

PC required

PC required

Socket support

Flexible, 1-n (16) sockets

Fixed, 8 sockets

Fixed, 8 sockets

Fixed, 4 sockets

Fixed, 4 sockets

Pin support

48pin each

48pin each

48pin each

48pin each

48pin each

Programspeed (prog+verify)

64mbit nor 11.3 sec

64mbit nor 85 sec

8mb flash in 75 sec

64mbit nor 9sec

64mbit nor 50sec

2.5mbit/s

480 mbit/s

Support O/S

all o/s

only xp and win 2000

no win 7 support

all o/s

all o/s

Supported Devices

universal

universal but limited

support eprom, eeprom and flash only

universal

universal but limited

Compliances

CE and RoHS compliant

CE compliant

CE compliant

RoHS Compliant

Ease of maintenance

Yes

No

No

No

No

Operator induced error

Minimal

High

High

High

High

Additional cost factor

None

None

PC + trained operator

PC + trained operator

PC + trained operator

Data security

High

Low / internal memory

Low

Low

Low

Ease of expansion/ reduction

Flexible, incremental

Fixed, High

Fixed, High

Fixed, High

Fixed, High

Low Voltage support

1.2V

1.8V

2V

1.8V

1.8V

Total Weight

6 lbs

19 lbs

19 lbs

8 lbs

Price

4 unit bundle/ $3980

$5,950

$2,995

$3,650

$2,450

If you have further questions regarding clustering SuperPro programmers, please contact us immediately at info@xeltek.com