Tool Configuration for XilSEM - Tool Configuration for XilSEM - 2026.1 English - UG643

Standalone Library Documentation: BSP and Libraries Document Collection (UG643)
Document ID
UG643
Release Date
2026-06-23
Version
2026.1 English

The XilSEM library configuration options available through the CIPS IP core are shown in the following figure. The configuration option is available to enable the mitigation of soft errors in Configuration RAM.

The XilSEM library configuration options is available through the CIPS Customize IP dialog box in the Vivado Design Suite are shown in the following figure.

Figure 1. XilSEM Library Configuration within CIPS Customize IP Dialog Box
Note: The above figure represents XilSEM configuration using CIPS IP in the Vivado. For the new version of devices (for example, VP1902), the configuration is available through PS_Wizard. The configuration options remain same between CIPS IP and PS_Wizard.

CRAM Scan

Within CIPS, the fundamental feature of the XilSEM library can be enabled. This feature is the soft error mitigation of the configuration RAM through a scan-based process automated by integrated logic and managed by the XilSEM library, which reads back the configuration RAM and uses ECC and CRC to detect and correct soft errors. The CRAM configuuration options are shown in the following table:

Table 1. XilSEM CRAM Scan properties
Property Name Supported Values Default Value Description
CONFIG.PS_PMC_CONFIG

{SEM_MEM_ENABLE_SCAN_AFTER 1}

1 (Immediate start)

0 (Deferred start)

 1 (Immediate start)

Immediate start: Enables automatic start of the configuration RAM scanning after boot.

Deferred start: Start of the scan during mission

The following are the different configuration options for CRAM scan.

  • Scan strategy:
    • Immediate start: Enables automatic start of CRAM scanning after boot.
    • Deferred start:Start of the CRAM scan during mission based on your request.
  • ECC Method:
    • HW ECC: The value calculated during the first scan is used as golden ECC values.
    • SW ECC: Tool generated values are used as golden ECC for CRAM scan.
    Note: It is highly recommended that the option SW ECC method is selected to detect if any faults present in the HW before programming the device.

NPI Scan

XilSEM library provides an optional feature for the soft error mitigation of NPI Registers if the supplemental hardware resources required for this feature are accessible. This feature is a scan-based process automated by integrated logic and managed by XilSEM library which reads back NPI Registers and uses SHA to detect errors. Some of the features of the NPI Scan are configured thorough properties as shown in Table: XilSEM NPI Properties.

NPI Register scan requires XilSEM library use of PMC cryptographic acceleration. The following are some of the scenarios in which the XilSEM library cannot offer this optional feature:

  • User operation of the SHA block in the PMC for purposes of the user design
  • Device is programmed for no end-user accessible cryptographic functions
Use the following two mechanism to identify if cryptographic acceleration block is disabled in your device.
  • Read device manual
  • During run time, XilSEM on PLM updates bit-31 in SEM_NPI_SCAN_STATUS register. The following bit status indicates if cryptographic acceleration block is present.
    • 0: cryptographic acceleration is present
    • 1: cryptographic acceleration is not present
  • If you perform NPI scan requests when cryptographic acceleration block is disabled, an error notification is generated. CRAM scan has no relevance to cryptographic acceleration block and is functional.

The following are the different configuration options for NPI scan.

  • Scan strategy:
    • Immediate start: Enables automatic start of NPI scanning after boot.
    • Deferred start: Start of the NPI scan during mission based on your request.
  • SHA Method:
    • HW SHA: The value calculated during the first scan is used as golden SHA.
    • SW SHA: Tool generated values are used as golden SHA for NPI scan.
      Note: It is highly recommended that the option SW SHA method is selected to detect if any faults present in the HW before configuring the device
Table 2. XilSEM NPI Properties
Property Name Supported Values Default Value Description
CONFIG.PS_PMC_CONFIG {SEM_NPI_ENABLE_SCAN_AFTER 0}

0 (Immediate start)

1 (Deferred start)

 0 (Immediate start)

Immediate start: Enables automatic start of NPI scanning after boot.

Deferred start: Start of the NPI scan during mission based on your request.
BITGEN.GENERATESWSHA

False (HW SHA)

True (SW SHA)

 True (SW SHA)

HW SHA: The value calculated during the first scan is used as golden SHA.

SW SHA: Tool generated values are used as golden SHA for NPI scan.
CONFIG.PS_PMC_CONFIG {SEM_TIME_INTERVAL_BETWEEN_SCANS 80 } >=80 msec && <=1000 msec 80 msec The interval in milliseconds at which the NPI scan is repeated. Recommended to use 80 msec.

Additional Configuration

Additional XilSEM library properties as referenced are available.

Table 3. Additional XilSEM Library Properties
Property Name Supported Values Default Value Description
CONFIG.PS_PMC_CONFIG {PMC_GPO_ENABLE 0}

0 (Disabled)

1 (Enabled)

 0 (Disabled)

Disabled: PMC_PL_GPO is not triggered for status and error information.

Enabled: PMC_PL_GPO is triggered for status and error information.