Nios® V Processor Reference Manual

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ID 683632
Date 5/25/2025
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Overview 2. Nios® V/c Processor 3. Nios® V/m Processor 4. Nios® V/g Processor 5. Nios V Processor Reference Manual Archives 6. Document Revision History for the Nios® V Processor Reference Manual
1. Overview x
1.1. Quartus® Prime Software Support
2. Nios® V/c Processor x
2.1. Processor Performance Benchmarks 2.2. Processor Architecture 2.3. Programming Model 2.4. Core Implementation
2.2. Processor Architecture x
2.2.1. General-Purpose Register File 2.2.2. Arithmetic Logic Unit 2.2.3. Reset Signals 2.2.4. Memory and I/O Organization 2.2.5. Error Correction Code (ECC)
2.2.4. Memory and I/O Organization x
2.2.4.1. Instruction and Data Buses 2.2.4.2. Address Map
2.2.4.1. Instruction and Data Buses x
2.2.4.1.1. Instruction Manager Port 2.2.4.1.2. Data Manager Port 2.2.4.1.3. Choosing a Suitable Interface
2.3. Programming Model x
2.3.1. Privilege Levels
2.4. Core Implementation x
2.4.1. Instruction Set Reference
3. Nios® V/m Processor x
3.1. Processor Performance Benchmarks 3.2. Processor Pipeline 3.3. Processor Architecture 3.4. Programming Model 3.5. Core Implementation
3.1. Processor Performance Benchmarks x
3.1.1. Pipelined 3.1.2. Non-pipelined
3.2. Processor Pipeline x
3.2.1. Pipelined Architecture 3.2.2. Non-pipelined Architecture
3.3. Processor Architecture x
3.3.1. General-Purpose Register File 3.3.2. Arithmetic Logic Unit 3.3.3. Reset and Debug Signals 3.3.4. Control and Status Registers 3.3.5. Instruction Cycles 3.3.6. Trap Controller (CLINT) 3.3.7. Memory and I/O Organization 3.3.8. RISC-V based Debug Module 3.3.9. Error Correction Code (ECC)
3.3.6. Trap Controller (CLINT) x
3.3.6.1. Related Control and Status Register 3.3.6.2. Direct Mode 3.3.6.3. Vectored Mode
3.3.6.1. Related Control and Status Register x
3.3.6.1.1. Machine Status Register (mstatus) 3.3.6.1.2. Machine Trap-Vector Base-Address Register (mtvec) 3.3.6.1.3. Machine Interrupt Register (mip and mie) 3.3.6.1.4. Machine Exception Program Counter Register (mepc) 3.3.6.1.5. Machine Cause Register (mcause) 3.3.6.1.6. Machine Trap Value Register (mtval)
3.3.6.2. Direct Mode x
3.3.6.2.1. Hardware Implementation 3.3.6.2.2. Software Implementation
3.3.6.3. Vectored Mode x
3.3.6.3.1. Hardware Implementation 3.3.6.3.2. Software Implementation
3.3.7. Memory and I/O Organization x
3.3.7.1. Instruction and Data Buses 3.3.7.2. Address Map
3.3.7.1. Instruction and Data Buses x
3.3.7.1.1. Instruction Manager Port 3.3.7.1.2. Data Manager Port 3.3.7.1.3. Choosing a Suitable Interface
3.3.8. RISC-V based Debug Module x
3.3.8.1. Debug Module 3.3.8.2. Abstract Commands 3.3.8.3. Program Buffer 3.3.8.4. Debug Mode 3.3.8.5. Hardware Trigger Module 3.3.8.6. JTAG Debug Transport Module 3.3.8.7. Nios® V Processor Implementation
3.3.8.1. Debug Module x
3.3.8.1.1. Reset/Halt/Run Control 3.3.8.1.2. Hart States 3.3.8.1.3. Debug Module Register
3.3.8.2. Abstract Commands x
3.3.8.2.1. Access Register Command 3.3.8.2.2. Using Access Register Command
3.3.8.3. Program Buffer x
3.3.8.3.1. Using Program Buffer
3.3.8.4. Debug Mode x
3.3.8.4.1. Enter Debug Mode 3.3.8.4.2. Exit Debug Mode 3.3.8.4.3. Core Debug Registers
3.3.8.5. Hardware Trigger Module x
3.3.8.5.1. Trigger Registers 3.3.8.5.2. Type of Address/Data Match Triggers 3.3.8.5.3. Using Triggers
3.3.8.6. JTAG Debug Transport Module x
3.3.8.6.1. JTAG DTM Registers 3.3.8.6.2. Accessing Debug Module Interface
3.4. Programming Model x
3.4.1. Privilege Levels 3.4.2. Control and Status Registers (CSR) Mapping
3.4.1. Privilege Levels x
3.4.1.1. Machine Mode (M-mode) 3.4.1.2. Debug Mode (D-mode)
3.4.2. Control and Status Registers (CSR) Mapping x
3.4.2.1. Control and Status Register Field 3.4.2.2. Memory Mapped Registers Fields
3.5. Core Implementation x
3.5.1. Instruction Set Reference
4. Nios® V/g Processor x
4.1. Processor Performance Benchmarks 4.2. Processor Pipeline 4.3. Processor Architecture 4.4. Programming Model 4.5. Core Implementation
4.3. Processor Architecture x
4.3.1. General-Purpose Register File 4.3.2. Shadow Register 4.3.3. Arithmetic Logic Unit 4.3.4. Multipy and Divide Units 4.3.5. Floating-Point Unit 4.3.6. Custom Instruction 4.3.7. Instruction Cycles 4.3.8. Reset and Debug Signals 4.3.9. Control and Status Registers 4.3.10. Trap Controller (CLINT) 4.3.11. Trap Controller (CLIC) 4.3.12. Memory and I/O Organization 4.3.13. RISC-V based Debug Module 4.3.14. Error Correction Code (ECC) 4.3.15. Branch Prediction 4.3.16. Lockstep Module
4.3.2. Shadow Register x
4.3.2.1. Shadow Register Implementation 4.3.2.2. Shadow Register Set Management
4.3.2.1. Shadow Register Implementation x
4.3.2.1.1. CLINT 4.3.2.1.2. CLIC with Number of CLIC interrupt levels option 4.3.2.1.3. CLIC with Number of CLIC interrupt levels – 1 Option
4.3.2.2. Shadow Register Set Management x
4.3.2.2.1. Shadow Register File Status CSR (msrfstatus) 4.3.2.2.2. Read Previous Shadow Register CSR (mrdpsrf) 4.3.2.2.3. Write Previous Shadow Register CSR (mwrpsrf)
4.3.5. Floating-Point Unit x
4.3.5.1. IEEE 754 Exception Conditions 4.3.5.2. Floating Point Operations
4.3.5.2. Floating Point Operations x
4.3.5.2.1. Floating Point Classification
4.3.10. Trap Controller (CLINT) x
4.3.10.1. Related Control and Status Register 4.3.10.2. Direct Mode 4.3.10.3. Vectored Mode
4.3.10.1. Related Control and Status Register x
4.3.10.1.1. Machine Status Register (mstatus) 4.3.10.1.2. Machine Trap-Vector Base-Address Register (mtvec) 4.3.10.1.3. Machine Interrupt Register (mip and mie) 4.3.10.1.4. Machine Exception Program Counter Register (mepc) 4.3.10.1.5. Machine Cause Register (mcause) 4.3.10.1.6. Machine Trap Value Register (mtval) 4.3.10.1.7. Machine Second Trap Value Register (mtval2)
4.3.10.2. Direct Mode x
4.3.10.2.1. Hardware Implementation 4.3.10.2.2. Software Implementation
4.3.10.3. Vectored Mode x
4.3.10.3.1. Hardware Implementation 4.3.10.3.2. Software Implementation
4.3.11. Trap Controller (CLIC) x
4.3.11.1. Related Control and Status Register Fields 4.3.11.2. Hardware Implementation 4.3.11.3. Software Implementation
4.3.11.1. Related Control and Status Register Fields x
4.3.11.1.1. CLIC Registers 4.3.11.1.2. Indirect Access M-mode CSRs 4.3.11.1.3. New M-mode CSRs 4.3.11.1.4. Existing CSRs with Changes 4.3.11.1.5. Existing CSRs without Changes
4.3.11.1.1. CLIC Registers x
4.3.11.1.1.1. CLIC Interrupt Attribute (clicintattr) 4.3.11.1.1.2. CLIC Interrupt Input Control (clicintctl) 4.3.11.1.1.3. CLIC Interrupt Pending (clicintip) 4.3.11.1.1.4. CLIC Interrupt Enable clicintie
4.3.11.1.2. Indirect Access M-mode CSRs x
4.3.11.1.2.1. Packing of Indirectly Accessed CLIC Registers 4.3.11.1.2.2. Read/Write clicintctl[i] and clicintattr[i] 4.3.11.1.2.3. Read/Write clicintip[i] and clicintie[i]
4.3.11.1.3. New M-mode CSRs x
4.3.11.1.3.1. Machine Trap-handler Vector Table base address Register (mtvt) 4.3.11.1.3.2. Machine Next Interrupt Handler Address and Interrupt Enable Register (mnxti) 4.3.11.1.3.3. Machine Interrupt Status Register (mintstatus) 4.3.11.1.3.4. Machine Interrupt-Level Threshold Register (mintthresh) 4.3.11.1.3.5. Machine Scratch Swap for Interrupt-Level Register (mscratchcswl)
4.3.11.1.4. Existing CSRs with Changes x
4.3.11.1.4.1. Machine Status Register (mstatus) 4.3.11.1.4.2. Machine Interrupt Register (mie & mip) 4.3.11.1.4.3. Machine Trap-Vector Base-Address Register (mtvec) 4.3.11.1.4.4. Machine Cause Register (mcause)
4.3.11.1.5. Existing CSRs without Changes x
4.3.11.1.5.1. Machine Scratch Register (mscratch) 4.3.11.1.5.2. Machine Exception Program Counter Register (mepc) 4.3.11.1.5.3. Machine Trap Value Register (mtval)
4.3.11.2. Hardware Implementation x
4.3.11.2.1. Asynchronous Interrupt Handling 4.3.11.2.2. Synchronous Exception Handling 4.3.11.2.3. Trap Handling with Pre-emption 4.3.11.2.4. Uninterruptible Critical Section in an Interrupt Handlers 4.3.11.2.5. Returns from Handlers
4.3.11.2.1. Asynchronous Interrupt Handling x
4.3.11.2.1.1. Software-Vectored Interrupt Handling 4.3.11.2.1.2. Hardware-Vectored Interrupt Handling
4.3.12. Memory and I/O Organization x
4.3.12.1. Instruction and Data Buses 4.3.12.2. Address Map 4.3.12.3. Cache Memory 4.3.12.4. Tightly Coupled Memory
4.3.12.1. Instruction and Data Buses x
4.3.12.1.1. Instruction Manager Port 4.3.12.1.2. Data Manager Port
4.3.12.3. Cache Memory x
4.3.12.3.1. Instruction Cache 4.3.12.3.2. Data Cache 4.3.12.3.3. Configurable Cache Memory 4.3.12.3.4. Bypassing Cache (Peripheral Region) 4.3.12.3.5. Using Cache Memory Effectively
4.3.12.4. Tightly Coupled Memory x
4.3.12.4.1. Instruction and Data Tightly Coupled Memory 4.3.12.4.2. Accessing Tightly Coupled Memory 4.3.12.4.3. Using Tightly Coupled Memory Effectively
4.3.13. RISC-V based Debug Module x
4.3.13.1. Debug Module 4.3.13.2. Abstract Commands 4.3.13.3. Program Buffer 4.3.13.4. Debug Mode 4.3.13.5. Hardware Trigger Module 4.3.13.6. JTAG Debug Transport Module 4.3.13.7. Nios® V Processor Implementation
4.3.13.1. Debug Module x
4.3.13.1.1. Reset/Halt/Run Control 4.3.13.1.2. Hart States 4.3.13.1.3. Debug Module Register
4.3.13.2. Abstract Commands x
4.3.13.2.1. Access Register Command 4.3.13.2.2. Using Access Register Command
4.3.13.3. Program Buffer x
4.3.13.3.1. Using Program Buffer
4.3.13.4. Debug Mode x
4.3.13.4.1. Enter Debug Mode 4.3.13.4.2. Exit Debug Mode 4.3.13.4.3. Core Debug Registers
4.3.13.5. Hardware Trigger Module x
4.3.13.5.1. Trigger Registers 4.3.13.5.2. Type of Address/Data Match Triggers 4.3.13.5.3. Using Triggers
4.3.13.6. JTAG Debug Transport Module x
4.3.13.6.1. JTAG DTM Registers 4.3.13.6.2. Accessing Debug Module Interface
4.3.14. Error Correction Code (ECC) x
4.3.14.1. ECC Interface 4.3.14.2. ECC Error Injection 4.3.14.3. Affected CSR during ECC Event
4.4. Programming Model x
4.4.1. Privilege Levels 4.4.2. Control and Status Registers (CSR) Mapping (CLINT) 4.4.3. Control and Status Registers (CSR) Mapping (CLIC)
4.4.1. Privilege Levels x
4.4.1.1. Machine Mode (M-mode) 4.4.1.2. Debug Mode (D-mode)
4.4.2. Control and Status Registers (CSR) Mapping (CLINT) x
4.4.2.1. Control and Status Register Field (CLINT) 4.4.2.2. Memory Mapped Registers Fields
4.4.3. Control and Status Registers (CSR) Mapping (CLIC) x
4.4.3.1. Control and Status Register Fields (CLIC) 4.4.3.2. Memory Mapped Registers Fields 4.4.3.3. CLIC Control and Status Registers Fields
4.5. Core Implementation x
4.5.1. Instruction Set Reference
1. Overview
2. Nios® V/c Processor
3. Nios® V/m Processor
4. Nios® V/g Processor
5. Nios V Processor Reference Manual Archives
6. Document Revision History for the Nios® V Processor Reference Manual

4.3.12.4. Tightly Coupled Memory

Tightly coupled memory (TCM) guarantees fixed low-latency memory access for performance-critical applications. The advantages of TCM over cache memory are as follows:

  • Performance similar to cache memory
  • Software can guarantee that performance-critical code or data is located in TCM
  • No real-time caching overhead, such as loading, invalidating, or flushing memory

Physically, a TCM is a dedicated on-chip memory within the Nios® V processor core. Altera implements TCM using the M20K memory blocks. The Nios® V processor architecture supports four TCMs for instruction access and data access (two per access type). Each TCM provide an AXI4-Lite interface for connection with an external master, or manager. The interconnect allows you to connect Avalon® or other supported manager, gaining access to read or write the respective TCMs.


Section Content
Instruction and Data Tightly Coupled Memory
Accessing Tightly Coupled Memory
Using Tightly Coupled Memory Effectively

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