Cheetah SPI Host Adapter

The Cheetah SPI Host Adapter is the fastest SPI host adapter in the Total Phase product line, delivering SPI master speeds exceeding 40 MHz with a pipelined architecture that eliminates inter-transaction gaps. Transaction queuing with pipelined DMA provides continuous, gap-free SPI data shifting, which is critical for SPI flash programming where pause equals timeout.

SPI Programming Capabilities

Three independent slave select outputs address up to 3 SPI devices without external MUX hardware, and Flash Center compatibility enables one-click SPI flash chip programming, reading, and verification without coding. Cross-platform APIs in C, C++, C#, Python, .NET, and LabVIEW support automated SPI communication for flash programming, FPGA configuration, SPI ADC/DAC testing, and production verification. The same compact 64-gram form factor as the Aardvark and Beagle I2C/SPI makes the Cheetah equally portable.

Use Cases

• SPI flash programming: Program, read, and verify SPI NOR and NAND flash devices at maximum speed using Flash Center or scripted API calls for production and development workflows.
• FPGA configuration: Load bitstreams into SPI configuration memories for Xilinx, Intel, and Lattice FPGAs during board bring-up and prototype iteration.
• SPI ADC/DAC testing: Stream continuous data to SPI DACs or from SPI ADCs at full speed for signal chain validation and calibration.
• Production verification: Automate SPI flash content verification in test fixtures, ensuring correct firmware images and configuration data are programmed before shipping.

The Cheetah’s gap-free pipelined architecture is what distinguishes it from general-purpose USB-to-SPI adapters: many SPI flash devices have strict timing requirements between command sequences, and any pause in the SPI clock during a page program or sector erase operation can cause the device to abort the operation. The Cheetah’s hardware-level transaction queuing ensures the SPI clock runs continuously through multi-byte transfers, delivering reliable programming at speeds that software-driven adapters cannot achieve. GSAS Micro Systems provides the Cheetah alongside the Aardvark and Promira as part of a complete Total Phase serial protocol toolkit, with guidance on selecting the right adapter for each application.