A self-reconfiguring platform

Abstract. A self-reconfiguring platform is reported that enables an FPGA to dynamically reconfigure itself under the control of an embedded microprocessor. This platform has been implemented on Xilinx Virtex II¦¨ § and Virtex II Pro¦© § devices. The platform’s hardware architecture has been designed to be the low level configuration interface. The Xilinx Partial Reconfiguration Toolkit (XPART), the higher level of the two APIs, provides methods for reading and modifying select FPGA resources. It also provides support for relocatable partial bitstreams. The presented self-reconfiguring platform enables embedded applications to take advantage of dynamic partial reconfiguration without requiring external circuitry.