AN 886: Intel Agilex® 7 Device Design Guidelines

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ID 683634
Date 10/09/2023
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Introduction to the Intel Agilex® 7 Device Design Guidelines 2. System Specification 3. Device Selection 4. Security Considerations 5. Design Entry 6. Board and Software Considerations 7. Design Implementation, Analysis, Optimization, and Verification 8. Debugging 9. Embedded Software Design Guidelines for Intel Agilex® 7 SoC FPGAs
1. Introduction to the Intel Agilex® 7 Device Design Guidelines x
1.1. Design Flow 1.2. Introduction to the Intel Agilex® 7 Device Design Guidelines Revision History
2. System Specification x
2.1. Design Specifications 2.2. Install Intel® Quartus® Prime Software 2.3. IP Selection 2.4. Simulation 2.5. Preparing for Design Entry 2.6. I/O Summary 2.7. Using Intel Agilex® 7 HPS in your Device 2.8. System Specification Revision History
2.3. IP Selection x
2.3.1. Evaluate Available HPS IP 2.3.2. Select Soft/Hardened IP and I/O Interfaces
2.5. Preparing for Design Entry x
2.5.1. Coding Styles and Design Recommendations 2.5.2. Platform Designer
3. Device Selection x
3.1. Device Variant 3.2. PLLs and Clock Routing 3.3. Logic, Memory, and Multiplier Density 3.4. I/O Pin Count, LVDS SERDES Channels, and Package Offering 3.5. Speed Grade 3.6. Device Migration 3.7. Device Selection Revision History
4. Security Considerations x
4.1. Security Considerations Revision History
5. Design Entry x
5.1. Design Entry for SoC Devices 5.2. Design Entry for FPGA-only Devices 5.3. Design Entry for NoC 5.4. EMIF Considerations 5.5. Nios® Software Processor IP 5.6. Transceiver Planning 5.7. Reconfiguration 5.8. Design Entry Revision History
5.1. Design Entry for SoC Devices x
5.1.1. Firewall Planning 5.1.2. Boot And Configuration Considerations 5.1.3. HPS Clocking and Reset Design Considerations 5.1.4. Reset Configuration 5.1.5. HPS Pin Multiplexing Design Considerations 5.1.6. HPS I/O Settings: Constraints and Drive Strengths 5.1.7. Design Guidelines for HPS Interfaces 5.1.8. Interfacing between the FPGA and HPS 5.1.9. Implementing the Intel Agilex® 7 HPS Component
5.1.2. Boot And Configuration Considerations x
5.1.2.1. Selecting HPS Boot Options 5.1.2.2. Configuration Sources 5.1.2.3. Remote System Update (RSU)
5.1.3. HPS Clocking and Reset Design Considerations x
5.1.3.1. HPS Clock Planning 5.1.3.2. Early Pin Planning and I/O Assignment Analysis 5.1.3.3. Pin Features and Connections for HPS Clocks, Reset and PoR 5.1.3.4. Direct to Factory Pin Support for Remote System Update (RSU) Feature 5.1.3.5. Internal Clocks
5.1.4. Reset Configuration x
5.1.4.1. HPS Peripheral Reset Management 5.1.4.2. System Reset Considerations
5.1.7. Design Guidelines for HPS Interfaces x
5.1.7.1. Design Considerations for Selecting PHY Interfaces 5.1.7.2. USB Interface Design Guidelines 5.1.7.3. SD/MMC and eMMC Card Interface Design Guidelines 5.1.7.4. Design Guidelines for Flash Interfaces 5.1.7.5. UART Interface Design Guidelines 5.1.7.6. I2C Interface Design Guidelines
5.1.7.1. Design Considerations for Selecting PHY Interfaces x
5.1.7.1.1. HPS EMAC PHY Interfaces 5.1.7.1.2. RMII and RGMII PHY Interfaces 5.1.7.1.3. PHY Interfaces Connected Through FPGA I/O 5.1.7.1.4. Consider Device Driver Availability 5.1.7.1.5. MDIO 5.1.7.1.6. Signal Integrity
5.1.7.4. Design Guidelines for Flash Interfaces x
5.1.7.4.1. NAND Flash Interface Design Guidelines
5.1.8. Interfacing between the FPGA and HPS x
5.1.8.1. Overview of HPS Memory-Mapped Interfaces 5.1.8.2. Recommended System Topologies 5.1.8.3. Recommended Starting Point for HPS-to-FPGA Interface Designs 5.1.8.4. Information on How to Configure and Use the Bridges
5.1.8.1. Overview of HPS Memory-Mapped Interfaces x
5.1.8.1.1. HPS-to-FPGA Bridge 5.1.8.1.2. Lightweight HPS-to-FPGA Bridge 5.1.8.1.3. FPGA-to-HPS Bridge 5.1.8.1.4. Interface Bandwidths
5.1.8.2. Recommended System Topologies x
5.1.8.2.1. System Level Cache Coherency 5.1.8.2.2. HPS Accesses to FPGA Fabric 5.1.8.2.3. MPU Sharing Data with FPGA 5.1.8.2.4. Examples of Cacheable and Non-Cacheable Data Accesses From the FPGA
5.2. Design Entry for FPGA-only Devices x
5.2.1. Clocking and Reset Design Considerations 5.2.2. I/O and Clock Planning
5.2.2. I/O and Clock Planning x
5.2.2.1. Making FPGA Pin Assignments 5.2.2.2. Early Pin Planning and I/O Assignment Analysis for the FPGA Device 5.2.2.3. I/O Features and Pin Connections 5.2.2.4. Clock and PLL Selection 5.2.2.5. PLL Feature Guidelines 5.2.2.6. Clock Control Features 5.2.2.7. I/O Simultaneous Switching Noise
5.2.2.3. I/O Features and Pin Connections x
5.2.2.3.1. I/O Signaling Type 5.2.2.3.2. Selectable Standards and Flexible I/O Banks 5.2.2.3.3. Dual-Purpose and Special Pin Connections 5.2.2.3.4. Intel Agilex® 7 I/O Features
5.2.2.5. PLL Feature Guidelines x
5.2.2.5.1. Clock Feedback Mode 5.2.2.5.2. Clock Outputs
5.3. Design Entry for NoC x
5.3.1. NoC Architecture Basics 5.3.2. NoC Design Flow 5.3.3. Configuring NoC IP 5.3.4. Instantiating NoC IP 5.3.5. NoC Assignments 5.3.6. NoC Physical Placement 5.3.7. Compilation 5.3.8. Simulation
5.4. EMIF Considerations x
5.4.1. Memory Interfaces 5.4.2. FPGA EMIF Design Considerations
5.5. Nios® Software Processor IP x
5.5.1. Nios® V 5.5.2. Nios® II
6. Board and Software Considerations x
6.1. Early System and Board Planning 6.2. Board Design Guidelines for Intel Agilex® 7 SoC FPGAs 6.3. Pin Connection Considerations for Board Design 6.4. Board Considerations Revision History
6.1. Early System and Board Planning x
6.1.1. SmartVID 6.1.2. Intel® FPGA Power and Thermal Calculator 6.1.3. Thermal Management and Design 6.1.4. Temperature Sensing for Thermal Management 6.1.5. Voltage Sensor 6.1.6. Device Power-Up 6.1.7. Power Pin Connections and Power Supplies 6.1.8. Planning for Device Configuration
6.1.7. Power Pin Connections and Power Supplies x
6.1.7.1. Decoupling Capacitors 6.1.7.2. PLL Board Design Guidelines 6.1.7.3. Transceiver Board Design Guidelines
6.1.8. Planning for Device Configuration x
6.1.8.1. Device Power Cycling and Reconfiguration 6.1.8.2. Configuration Scheme Selection 6.1.8.3. Configuration Features 6.1.8.4. Intel® Quartus® Prime Configuration Settings 6.1.8.5. Configuration Pin Connections
6.1.8.2. Configuration Scheme Selection x
6.1.8.2.1. Serial Configuration Devices 6.1.8.2.2. Intel® FPGA Download Cable
6.1.8.4. Intel® Quartus® Prime Configuration Settings x
6.1.8.4.1. Optional Configuration Pins 6.1.8.4.2. Dual Purpose Configuration Pins
6.1.8.5. Configuration Pin Connections x
6.1.8.5.1. Configuration Pin Voltage Level 6.1.8.5.2. Clock Trace Signal Integrity 6.1.8.5.3. JTAG Pins 6.1.8.5.4. MSEL Configuration Mode Pins 6.1.8.5.5. Other Configuration Pins
6.2. Board Design Guidelines for Intel Agilex® 7 SoC FPGAs x
6.2.1. Boundary Scan for HPS 6.2.2. Embedded Software Debugging and Trace
6.3. Pin Connection Considerations for Board Design x
6.3.1. Board-Related Intel® Quartus® Prime Settings 6.3.2. Signal Integrity Considerations 6.3.3. Board-Level Simulation and Advanced I/O Timing Analysis
6.3.1. Board-Related Intel® Quartus® Prime Settings x
6.3.1.1. Unused Pins
6.3.2. Signal Integrity Considerations x
6.3.2.1. High-Speed Board Design 6.3.2.2. Voltage Reference Pins 6.3.2.3. Simultaneous Switching Noise 6.3.2.4. I/O Termination
7. Design Implementation, Analysis, Optimization, and Verification x
7.1. Selecting a Synthesis Tool 7.2. Device Resource Utilization Reports 7.3. Intel® Quartus® Prime Messages 7.4. Timing Constraints and Analysis 7.5. Area and Timing Optimization 7.6. Preserving Performance and Reducing Compilation Time 7.7. Designing with Intel® Hyperflex™ 7.8. Simulation 7.9. Power Analysis 7.10. Power Optimization 7.11. Design Implementation, Analysis, Optimization, and Verification Revision History
7.4. Timing Constraints and Analysis x
7.4.1. Recommended Timing Optimization and Analysis Assignments
7.10. Power Optimization x
7.10.1. Device and Design Power Optimization Techniques 7.10.2. Intel® Quartus® Prime Power Optimization Techniques
7.10.1. Device and Design Power Optimization Techniques x
7.10.1.1. Device Speed Grade 7.10.1.2. Clock Power Management 7.10.1.3. Memory Power Reduction 7.10.1.4. I/O Power Guidelines
8. Debugging x
8.1. On-Chip Debug Overview 8.2. On-Chip Debugging Tools 8.3. Debugging Revision History
8.1. On-Chip Debug Overview x
8.1.1. Planning Guidelines for Debugging Tools
9. Embedded Software Design Guidelines for Intel Agilex® 7 SoC FPGAs x
9.1. Overview 9.2. Golden Hardware Reference Design (GHRD) 9.3. Define Software Requirements 9.4. Define Software Architecture 9.5. Selecting Software Tools 9.6. Choosing the Bootloader Software 9.7. Selecting an Operating System for Your Application 9.8. Assembling Your Software Development Platform for Linux* 9.9. Assembling your Software Development Platform for Partner OS or RTOS 9.10. Driver Considerations 9.11. Boot And Configuration Considerations 9.12. System Reset Considerations 9.13. Flash Considerations 9.14. Develop Application 9.15. Test and Validate 9.16. Embedded Software Design Guidelines Revision History
9.5. Selecting Software Tools x
9.5.1. Selecting Software Build Tools 9.5.2. Selecting Software Debug Tools 9.5.3. Selecting Software Trace Tools
9.7. Selecting an Operating System for Your Application x
9.7.1. Using Linux* or RTOS 9.7.2. Using the Bootloader as a Bare-Metal Framework 9.7.3. Using Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical Multiprocessing (SMP vs. AMP) Modes
9.8. Assembling Your Software Development Platform for Linux* x
9.8.1. Golden System Reference Design (GSRD) for Linux* 9.8.2. Source Code Management Considerations
9.11. Boot And Configuration Considerations x
9.11.1. Configuration Sources 9.11.2. Configuration Flash 9.11.3. Configuration Clock 9.11.4. Selecting HPS Boot Options 9.11.5. HPS Boot Sources 9.11.6. Remote System Update (RSU)
9.13. Flash Considerations x
9.13.1. Flash Programming Method 9.13.2. Using a Single flash for Both FPGA Configuration and HPS Mass Storage
1. Introduction to the Intel Agilex® 7 Device Design Guidelines
2. System Specification
3. Device Selection
4. Security Considerations
5. Design Entry
6. Board and Software Considerations
7. Design Implementation, Analysis, Optimization, and Verification
8. Debugging
9. Embedded Software Design Guidelines for Intel Agilex® 7 SoC FPGAs

5.4.2. FPGA EMIF Design Considerations

Table 41.  FPGA EMIF Checklist
Number Done? Checklist
1   Use the External Memory Interfaces Intel Agilex® 7 FPGA IP core for each memory interface, and follow connection guidelines and restrictions in the appropriate documentation.
2   For a given sub-bank, most memory pins are tied to a dedicated location. Refer to Intel Agilex® 7 External Memory Interface Pin Information to determine available pin usage for EMIF interfaces and the Intel Agilex® 7 Device Family Pin Connection Guidelines for pin assignments.
3   Generate the External Memory Interfaces Intel Calibration IP and connect it to all the EMIF interfaces located in the same I/O row.

Intel Agilex® 7 devices provide an efficient architecture to quickly and easily fit wide external memory interfaces with their small modular I/O banks. The Intel Agilex® 7 FPGA can support DDR external memory on any I/O banks located on the top or bottom I/O row. A memory interface can occupy one or more sub-banks. When multiple sub-banks are needed, the sub-banks must be consecutive.

The data strobe DQS and data DQ pin locations are fixed in Intel Agilex® 7 devices. Before you design your device pin-out, refer to the memory interface guidelines for details and important restrictions related to the connections for these and other memory-related signals.

Address and command pins within the address/command bank must follow a fixed pin-out scheme, as defined in the <variation_name>_readme.txt file generated with your IP core. The pin-out scheme varies according to the topology of the memory interface. The pin-out scheme is a hardware requirement that you must follow. Some schemes require three lanes to implement address and command pins, while others require four lanes.

The self-calibrating External Memory Interfaces IP core is optimized to take advantage of the Intel Agilex® 7 I/O structure. The External Memory Interfaces IP core allows you to set external memory interface features and helps set up the physical interface (PHY) best suited for your system. If you design multiple memory interfaces into the device using Intel FPGA IP core, generate a unique interface for each instance to ensure good results instead of designing it once and instantiating it multiple times.

In Intel Agilex® 7 devices, the calibration IP is instantiated separately from the EMIF IP core. Every EMIF IP core needs to be connected to the calibration IP. You can only have one calibration IP in an I/O row. If you have multiple EMIF IP core located in the same I/O row, connect all the interfaces in the row to the same calibration IP.

The following checklist supplements the restrictions found in the EMIF user guide.
Table 42.  Restrictions for FPGA EMIF Pin for Intel Agilex® 7 F-Series and Intel Agilex® 7 I-Series
Number Done? Checklist
1 All the 96 pins in a given bank (2 sub-banks: one sub-bank is for EMIF and the other is for GPIO) share the same voltage level.
2 Unused pins in I/O lane of used data bank or address/command bank of EMIF interface are not permitted as GPIO signals.
3 Arbitrary placement of data mask pins within data lanes is not permitted. Pin index 6 must be used as data mask pin if DM/RDI/WDBI is enabled.
4 Intel® recommends that every external memory interface to have its own PLL reference clock source. For more information about clock and voltage, refer to the Intel Agilex® 7 Device Data Sheet.
5 Every EMIF interface must have its own RZQ pin and must be placed in Lane 2, pin index 2 in the address/command tiles
Table 43.  Restrictions for FPGA EMIF Pin for Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series
Number Done? Checklist
1 All the 96 pins in a given bank (2 sub-banks: one sub-bank is for EMIF and the other is for GPIO) share the same voltage level.
2 Unused pins in I/O lane of used data bank or address/command bank of EMIF interface are not permitted as GPIO signals.
3 Arbitrary placement of data mask pins within data lanes is not permitted. Pin index 6 must be used as data mask pin if DM/RDI/WDBI is enabled.
4 Intel® recommends that every external memory interface to have its own PLL reference clock source. For more information about clock and voltage, refer to the Intel Agilex® 7 Device Data Sheet.
5 Every EMIF interface must have its own RZQ pin.
Table 44.  Recommended Board Guideline for Initial Board Bring Up
Number Done? Checklist
1 Perform board simulation to confirm adequate margin on address/command and data path.
2 If you are using DIMM, connect every signal from the FPGA to the DIMM if the design does not use it (for example: wider address width, all CS/CKE/ODT signals)
3 Have probe points for voltage rails, address/command channel signals and one data lane.
4 Use a programmable reference clock generator for EMIF to support multiple operating frequency
5 Leave adequate clearance for socket/cooling solution, and logic analyzer interfaces on the DIMM.

The guidelines above ensure the board is designed with adequate margin and allow easy probing of critical signals and stability of voltage rails during debug. If the interface works at a lower speed, the interface is correctly pinned out and functional.

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