External Memory Interface Handbook Volume 2: Design Guidelines: For UniPHY-based Device Families

ID 683385
Date 3/06/2023
Public
Document Table of Contents

1.1.10. RLDRAM II and RLDRAM 3 Clock Signals

RLDRAM II and RLDRAM 3 devices use CK and CK# signals to clock the command and address bus in single data rate (SDR). There is one pair of CK and CK# pins per RLDRAM II or RLDRAM 3 device.

Instead of a strobe, RLDRAM II and RLDRAM 3 devices use two sets of free-running differential clocks to accompany the data. The DK and DK# clocks are the differential input data clocks used during writes while the QK or QK# clocks are the output data clocks used during reads. Even though QK and QK# signals are not differential signals according to the RLDRAM II and RLDRAM 3 data sheets, Micron treats these signals as such for their testing and characterization. Each pair of DK and DK#, or QK and QK# clocks are associated with either 9 or 18 data bits.

The exact clock-data relationships are as follows:

  • RLDRAM II: For ×36 data bus width configuration, there are 18 data bits associated with each pair of write and read clocks. So, there are two pairs of DK and DK# pins and two pairs of QK or QK# pins.
  • RLDRAM 3: For ×36 data bus width configuration, there are 18 data bits associated with each pair of write clocks. There are 9 data bits associated with each pair of read clocks. So, there are two pairs of DK and DK# pins and four pairs of QK and QK# pins.
  • RLDRAM II: For ×18 data bus width configuration, there are 18 data bits per one pair of write clocks and nine data bits per one pair of read clocks. So, there is one pair of DK and DK# pins, but there are two pairs of QK and QK# pins.
  • RLDRAM 3: For ×18 data bus width configuration, there are 9 data bits per one pair of write clocks and nine data bits per one pair of read clocks. So, there are two pairs of DK and DK# pins, and two pairs of QK and QK# pins
  • RLDRAM II: For ×9 data bus width configuration, there are nine data bits associated with each pair of write and read clocks. So, there is one pair of DK and DK# pins and one pair of QK and QK# pins each.
  • RLDRAM 3: RLDRAM 3 does not have the ×9 data bus width configuration.

There are tCKDK timing requirements for skew between CK and DK or CK# and DK#.

For both RLDRAM II and RLDRAM 3, because of the loads on these I/O pins, the maximum frequency you can achieve depends on the number of memory devices you are connecting to the Intel® device. Perform SPICE or IBIS simulations to analyze the loading effects of the pin‑pair on multiple RLDRAM II or RLDRAM 3 devices.