Method and system for providing programmable microcontroller unit (mcu) using two-phase configuration process

A programmable logic device (“PLD”) configurable to contain a configurable microcontroller unit (“CMU”) for processing information, the PLD comprising:

• an embedded processor able to perform logic functions based on instruction sets;
• a plurality of configurable logic blocks (“CLBs”) coupled to the embedded processor and organized by blocks of lookup tables (“LUTs”) able to be programmed to perform user defined logic functions;
• a first configuration memory coupled to the plurality of CLBs and configured to store PLD configuration data for configuring the PLD to contain a CMU;
• and
• a second configurable memory coupled to the plurality of CLBs and configured to store CMU configuration data for programming the CMU.

A method of configuring a field-programmable gate array (“FPGA”) to contain a configurable microcontroller unit (“MCU”) via a two-phase configuration process, the method comprising:

• retrieving first configuration data from a first configuration memory for configuring a field-programmable gate array (“FPGA”);
• configuring the FPGA to behave as one or more MCUs in accordance with the first configuration data;
• completing a first phase configuration after verifying functionality of the FPGA containing the configurable MCU;
• and
• obtaining second configuration data from a second configuration memory and configuring the configurable MCU in accordance with the second configuration data for performing one or more user-defined MCU logic functions.