External Memory Interfaces Intel® Agilex™ FPGA IP User Guide

ID 683216
Date 1/31/2022
Public

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3.4.1. Hard Memory Controller

The Intel® Agilex™ hard memory controller is designed for high speed, high performance, high flexibility, and area efficiency. The Intel® Agilex™ hard memory controller supports the DDR4 memory standard.

The hard memory controller implements efficient pipelining techniques and advanced dynamic command and data reordering algorithms to improve bandwidth usage and reduce latency, providing a high performance solution.

The controller architecture is modular and fits in a single I/O sub-bank. The structure allows you to:

  • Configure each I/O sub-bank as either:
    • A control path that drives all the address and command pins for the memory interface.
    • A data path that drives up to 32 data pins for DDR-type interfaces.
  • Place your memory controller in any location.
  • Pack up multiple banks together to form memory interfaces of different widths up to 72 bits.
  • Bypass the hard memory controller and use your own custom IP if required.
Figure 61. Hard Memory Controller Architecture

The hard memory controller consists of the following logic blocks:

  • Core and PHY interfaces
  • Main control path
  • Data buffer controller
  • Read and write data buffers

The core interface supports the Avalon® memory-mapped interface. The interface communicates to the PHY using the Altera PHY Interface (AFI). The whole control path is split into the main control path and the data buffer controller.