I am working on a project and we are looking into using the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter to program SPI flash devices. Our setup will have two separate flash chips, which will be selected through their chip select (CS) signals. I understand that the Cheetah adapter can be used to program these chips. My question - is this also supported by the Flash Center Software and could we use one binary image to program both flash devices? One flash chip will have the “lower” address space and the other flash chip will have the “higher” address space.

Alternatively, could we open a binary file and select part of that file to be written to address the first flash device, and then select the other part of that file to be written to the address of the second flash device?

Thanks for your questions! There are two solutions for programming two flash devices: one solution uses the Flash Center Software and two Cheetah adapters; the other solution uses Cheetah Software API and one Cheetah adapter to program both flash devices.

Solution 1: Cheetah Adapter with Flash Center Software:

With two Cheetah adapters connected to the host PC and with their 10-pin headers connected to the flash chips, open Flash Center and connect both Cheetah adapters to the software.  Load your binary file and simply use the hex editor to cut and paste the data you want written to your flash chips.  Remember to select the checkboxes as appropriate in the Adapters section to make sure that you programming the right chip.

Figure 1: Programming with the Flash Center Software

For more information about programming and SPI flash with the Cheetah adapter and the Flash Center Software, please refer to the knowledge base articles:

• Programming SPI Flash Using Cheetah Adapter and Flash Center
• Programming a Single Sector of an SPI Flash Using the Cheetah Adapter and Flash Center

Solution 2: Cheetah Adapter with Cheetah API:

You can use the Cheetah Software API to control the adapter, and to write a custom program for your test setup and test. You can create a program to use the SS1 and SS2 signals from one Cheetah adapter, as well as program the flash devices with separate binary files.

The Cheetah Software API supports multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, and Mac) and multiple languages (C, Python, Net, and C#), and includes examples. For more information about the Cheetah Software API, please refer to section 5 of the Cheetah Host Adapter User Manual.

For more information, please refer to the following documents:

• Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Flash Center Software User Manual

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our Cheetah SPI Host Adapter or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com or submit a request for technical support.