The MicroZed Chronicles - Using the Zynq 101 - Complete Second Year
The complete year two of the MicroZed Chronicles, this book starts off with the linux operating system on the Zynq. Progresses on to constraints, using PicoBlaze with the Zynq. Ethernet Communications and a in depth SPI example. The second half of the book is focused upon the SDSoC tool and it completes with a in depth AES example.
Why Read This Book
You should read this if you want a pragmatic, project-driven walk through applying the Zynq-7000 SoC on the MicroZed platform — from booting Linux to building hardware-accelerated functions with SDSoC. The book focuses on real examples (Ethernet, SPI, PicoBlaze, AES) so you’ll learn concrete steps, tool flows and gotchas rather than just theory.
Who Will Benefit
Embedded/FPGA engineers or advanced hobbyists who already know basic embedded concepts and want a practical guide to building Linux+FPGA projects and hardware-accelerated applications on the Xilinx Zynq MicroZed.
Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: Familiarity with digital logic and basic FPGA toolchain concepts, comfortable with C programming and Linux basics; some prior exposure to Vivado or embedded development is helpful.
Key Takeaways
- Deploy and boot Linux on a Xilinx Zynq-7000 (MicroZed) platform and manage device trees and boot flow.
- Create and apply Vivado constraints and integrate soft cores (PicoBlaze) into a Zynq design.
- Implement and debug peripheral interfaces such as Ethernet and SPI on the Zynq PS/PL boundary.
- Use SDSoC to partition applications between software and FPGA-accelerated hardware and build accelerated kernels.
- Design and integrate a complete AES accelerator example demonstrating HW/SW co-design and performance tradeoffs.
Topics Covered
- Introduction to the MicroZed and Zynq-7000 architecture
- Toolchain and board bring-up: Vivado, SDK and MicroZed basics
- Booting Linux on Zynq: U-Boot, device tree and rootfs
- Applying constraints and PL/PS interfacing
- Integrating PicoBlaze into the Zynq design
- Ethernet communications: driver and application walkthrough
- In-depth SPI example: design, testing and troubleshooting
- Introduction to SDSoC: workflow and examples
- Building hardware-accelerated kernels with SDSoC
- In-depth AES HW/SW co-design example
- Appendices: board files, scripts and reference materials
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
More hands-on and project-focused than the more canonical The Zynq Book; complements Xilinx's official SDSoC/app notes by providing worked examples on a specific MicroZed board rather than broad reference material.
