Question from the Customer:
We use several Cheetah SPI Host Adapters for programming in our production runs and the R&D department. We have been using Atmel AT45DD041D-SSU SPI serial data flash device in our designs. However, Atmel no longer manufactures this device, so we have to change our design. The SPI flash device that we chose is the Adesto Technologies AT45DB041E-SSHN-T. We didn't find it in the Flash Center Software parts list, so we're trying to modify the Atmel XML file to work with this part.
We have used the information in the datasheet to modify the XML files. So far, we haven't made it work for the page sizes we need to use, 256 bytes and 264 bytes - can you help us?
Response from Technical Support:Thanks for your question! We regularly update the parts files for the Flash Center Software, and a re adding support for new parts all the time. The new devices can be supported by using an existing file of a similar device and then modifying the fields to match your serial data flash device. The fields are located in the device's data sheet, such as device ID and timing parameters. For additional information about using XML files, please refer to section 4.3 of the Flash Center Software User Manual. To help you get started, we created a beta version of an xml parts file that supports a few Adesto AT45 memory chips:
<manufacturerName> Integrated Device Technology </manufacturerName>
<maxBitrate> 400 </maxBitrate>
<writeTime> 5000 </writeTime>
<baseDeviceAddress> 0x50 </baseDeviceAddress>
<deviceAlgorithm> I2C EEPROM </deviceAlgorithm>
</default>
<device version="1.0>
<deviceDescription>
DDR4 Temperature Sensor with Integrated 4Kbit EEPROM for Memory Modules
</deviceDescription>
<maxBitrate> 1000 </maxBitrate>
<capacity> 256 </capacity>
<addressWidth> 1 </addressWidth>
<writeSize> 16 </writeSize>
</device>
To work with your particular page sizes, we recommend the following additions to the XML file above:
- To use the AT45DB041E XML file with 256 bytes page size, add the field "userTransaction1" with the data "3D 2A 80 A6". This will add the “Power of 2 binary page size (256 bytes): 3D 2A 80 A6" command in the beginning of the operation.
- To use the AT45DB041E XML file with 264 bytes page size, add the field "userTransaction1" with the data "3D 2A 80 A7". This will add the “DataFlash page size (264 bytes): 3D 2A 80 A7" command in the beginning of the operation.
For more details, please refer to section 4.3.7 of the Flash Center Software User Manual.
Figure 1: Flash Center SoftwareThe Cheetah adapter and Flash Center software is quite flexible with its expandable parts library so we hope you can use the file above to support any other devices you wish to program in the future. We hope this answers your question and that your production lines will continue to run smoothly.
Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:
If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.