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Designing RISC-V CPU in Verilog and its FPGA Implementation
112 students
Designing RISC-V CPU in Verilog and its FPGA Implementation
Understanding RISC-V ISA (RV32I), Verilog implementation of custom RISC-V CPU, LED GPIO, UART and porting to FPGA
Created bySubir Kumar Maity
Last updated 7/2025
English
English [Auto],
What you'll learn
- Able to develop and demonstrate a working RISC-V processor core on an FPGA, capable of executing basic programs and interacting with peripherals
- To demonstrate proficiency in using hardware description languages (Verilog) and FPGA synthesis tools
- Students will be able to integrate a RISC-V core with memory and peripherals, debug hardware and software, and analyze system performance on an FPGA
- To be familiar with real-world application of RISC-V architecture using your own CPU.
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Course content
6 sections • 41 lectures • 5h 51m total length
Requirements
- Essential: Basics of Digital Electronics and basic idea about C programming.
Description
This comprehensive course, "Designing RISC-V CPU in Verilog and its FPGA Implementation", offers a deep dive into the fascinating world of custom processor design, focusing on the open-source RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA). Participants will gain hands-on experience in architecting, describing, and implementing a functional RISC-V CPU core using the Verilog Hardware Description Language (HDL) and deploying it on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).
The course begins by establishing a strong foundation in digital logic design principles and reviewing essential Verilog constructs relevant to complex digital systems. We will then introduce the RISC-V ISA (RV-32I), exploring its modularity, extensibility, and key instruction formats. Students will learn how to interpret the ISA specifications and translate them into hardware logic.
This course also provides step-by-step guidelines to set up the RISC-V toolchain, including assembler and GCC compiler, to write an embedded-C programme and compile it to Hex code, which will be loaded into an FPGA to access peripherals such as LEDs and UART.
A significant portion of the course is dedicated to the step-by-step design of a single-cycle RISC-V CPU. Topics covered will include:
Instruction Fetch Unit: Designing the program counter and instruction memory interface.
Decode Unit: Implementing instruction decoding logic, register file access, and control signal generation.
Execute Unit: Building the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and handling data path operations.
Memory Unit: Designing data memory interfaces for load and store operations.
Write-back Unit: Updating the register file with computed results.
Control Unit: Developing the finite state machine (FSM) or combinational logic to orchestrate CPU operations.
Emphasis will be placed on best practices in Verilog coding for synthesis, including modular design, parameterization, and robust test bench creation. Students will learn how to simulate their Verilog designs using industry-standard tools to verify functional correctness at each stage of the CPU development.
The latter part of the course focuses on the practical aspects of FPGA implementation. Participants will learn how to:
Synthesize their Verilog CPU design into a gate-level netlist.
Perform Place and Route to map the design onto specific FPGA resources.
Generate bitstreams for programming the FPGA.
Debug and test their implemented CPU on actual FPGA hardware, often by integrating peripherals like LEDs and UART for basic I/O and interaction.
By the end of this course, students will not only have a thorough understanding of RISC-V architecture and CPU design principles but also possess the practical skills to bring a complex digital design from concept to a working hardware implementation on an FPGA. This knowledge is invaluable for careers in embedded systems, custom silicon design, hardware acceleration, and research in computer architecture. A basic understanding of digital logic and Verilog is recommended.
Note: Only Base Integer Instruction (RV32I) is discussed and implemented in Verilog and FPGA. Also, you need one FPGA board for the hardware implementation of CPU. A basic FPGA board, such as Tang-9K, is sufficient for this.
Who this course is for:
- This course is primarily designed for electrical , electronics and computer engineering students, particularly for undergraduate or postgraduate . These learners are expected to have a foundational understanding of digital logic design, computer architecture, and basic programming concepts. Furthermore, it caters to practicing engineers and hardware enthusiasts who wish to deepen their knowledge in custom CPU design, embedded systems, and FPGA development. Professionals working with ASICs, SoCs, or embedded systems who want to explore open-source CPU architectures and their practical implementation will find this course highly beneficial. A strong interest in hardware description languages (specifically Verilog), digital circuit synthesis, and a desire to build and test a functional CPU from the ground up are crucial for prospective learners. While some prior exposure to Verilog helpful, the course will also accommodate those willing to learn these languages within the context of CPU design. Ultimately, the intended learner is someone keen on hands-on hardware development and the intricate details of modern CPU architectures.