REVEAL INTRODUCTION
FPGA ON-CHIP DEBUG 
Lattice Confidential
Reveal Training
Agenda
• Highlights
• User Tool Flow
• Key Concepts
• Tool Details
• Summary
• JTAG Builder Flow
Lattice Diamond Reveal
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© 2010 Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
Reveal Most Important to Remember!
• Reveal Users Guide
on-line help and website
– PDF (176 pages) available in 
– Complete information about 
all Reveal features
• Reveal Troubleshooting 
Guide
– PDF (9 pages) available in on-
line help and website
– Complete information about 
all Reveal features
• Look There First!
– Rare problem not covered in 
these documents
Lattice Diamond Reveal
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© 2010 Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
Reveal Introduction
• Hardware Debugging Tool
– Embedded Logic Analyzer for debugging internal signals
– Supports MachXO, EC/ECP, XP, ECP2/M, XP2, SC/M, ECP3 devices
– Many advanced features compared to ispTRACY
Lattice Diamond Reveal
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© 2010 Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
Reveal Highlights
• Project Navigator Integration
– Reveal “rvl” file indicates presence of debug
– Original design can be updated and debug automatically 
– Debug can be removed by deleting “rvl” file from Project 
reapplied
Navigator
• Uses Signal-Centric Method
– Eliminates user need to “design” and connect debug cores
– Significantly improved ease of use
• Advanced Triggering Capabilities
– Trigger Units (TU) for dynamic signal comparisons
– Trigger Expressions (TE) for dynamic combinations and 
sequences of trigger units
– Most advanced triggering capabilities of any on-chip debug 
tool
Lattice Diamond Reveal
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© 2010 Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
User Tool Flow
• User Flow
– Project Navigator
– Reveal Inserter
– ispVM
– Reveal Analyzer
• Simpler User 
Flow than 
Competitors
Project Navigator
Reveal Inserter
Build Database
MAP
PAR
Generate Bitfile
Debug IP Cores
Modified Design
Synthesis
.lpf 
file
.rvl 
file
.rvs 
file
.rva 
file
• Reveal Inserter 
and Analyzer 
Share Debug Data
ispVM
Lattice 
FPGA
Reveal Analyzer
Software Tools
Background Tasks
Lattice Diamond Reveal
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© 2010 Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
Datasets
• FPGA Being Debugged Contains
– User Design
– Debug Logic
• Dataset is a Container for Debug 
Information for a Design
– Debug logic can have multiple cores
– Each core has unique sample clock
– Each core has trigger logic & storage buffer
– Each core has unique settings
• Multiple Reveal Project Files can be Saved
Lattice Diamond Reveal
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© 2010 Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
Trigger Units & Trigger Expressions
• Trigger Units Compare 
Signals Against Operators 
And Values
– Operators for ==, !=, >, >=, <, =<, 
rising-edge, falling-edge, serial 
compare
• Trigger Expressions 
Combine Trigger Units 
Into Flexible Equations
– &, |, ^, !, THEN, NEXT operators
– Multiple expressions can be 
combined
– Expressions can be 
dynamically changed when 
debugging
Trigger Units
Trigger Expressions
Lattice Diamond Reveal
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© 2010 Lattice Semiconductor Corporation