Summary

In this chapter, we’ve looked at external memory, in particular, DDR2, as that is what we have readily available on the Nexys A7. We’ve looked at generating a core using the Xilinx MIG controller and how to generate the example design. We then ran the example design on the board and, using the ILA, saw it in operation. We’ve also taken a quick look at other external memory types.

Up until now, we’ve limited ourselves to LEDs and seven-segment displays for our output. In the next chapter, we are going to take the DDR controller and create a VGA controller. Dust off your CRT or LCD with a VGA connector and we’ll work on displaying our temperature sensor data, our audio data, and calculator data using a real display.