The COE file provides a high-level method for specifying initial memory contents. When the core is generated the Vivado tools convert the COE file into a MIF file, which holds the actual binary data used to initialize the memory in the core and simulation models.
The MIF file consists of one line of text per memory location. The first line in the file corresponds to address 0, and the second line corresponds to address 1, and so forth. The text on each line must be the initialization value (MSB first) for the corresponding memory address in binary format, with exactly one binary digit per bit of memory width.
Note: For HDL simulations, the MIF file must reside in the simulation directory.