External Memory Interfaces Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX FPGA IP User Guide

Download PDF
ID 683663
Date 3/29/2021
Public

A newer version of this document is available. Customers should click here to go to the newest version.

Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Release Information 2. External Memory Interfaces Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX FPGA IP Introduction 3. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Product Architecture 4. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP End-User Signals 5. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF – Simulating Memory IP 6. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP for DDR3 7. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP for LPDDR3 8. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Timing Closure 9. Optimizing Controller Performance 10. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Debugging 11. External Memory Interfaces Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX FPGA IP User Guide Archives 12. Document Revision History for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX External Memory Interfaces FPGA IP User Guide
2. External Memory Interfaces Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX FPGA IP Introduction x
2.1. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Design Flow 2.2. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Design Checklist
3. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Product Architecture x
3.1. EMIF Architecture: Introduction 3.2. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF Sequencer 3.3. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF Calibration 3.4. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF Controller 3.5. Hardware Resource Sharing Among Multiple EMIFs 3.6. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF Ping Pong PHY
3.1. EMIF Architecture: Introduction x
3.1.1. I/O Subsystem 3.1.2. I/O Column 3.1.3. I/O AUX 3.1.4. I/O Bank 3.1.5. I/O Lane 3.1.6. Input DQS Clock Tree 3.1.7. PHY Clock Tree 3.1.8. PLL Reference Clock Networks 3.1.9. Clock Phase Alignment
3.1.4. I/O Bank x
3.1.4.1. Implementing a x8 Interface with Hard Memory Controller 3.1.4.2. Implementing a x72 Interface with Hard Memory Controller
3.2. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF Sequencer x
3.2.1. DQS Tracking
3.3. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF Calibration x
3.3.1. Calibration Stages 3.3.2. Calibration Stages Descriptions 3.3.3. Calibration Algorithms 3.3.4. Calibration Flowchart
3.4. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF Controller x
3.4.1. Hard Memory Controller 3.4.2. Hard Memory Controller Rate Conversion Feature
3.4.1. Hard Memory Controller x
3.4.1.1. Hard Memory Controller Features 3.4.1.2. Hard Memory Controller Main Control Path 3.4.1.3. Data Buffer Controller
3.5. Hardware Resource Sharing Among Multiple EMIFs x
3.5.1. I/O Aux Sharing 3.5.2. I/O Bank Sharing 3.5.3. PLL Reference Clock Sharing 3.5.4. Core Clock Network Sharing
3.6. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF Ping Pong PHY x
3.6.1. Ping Pong PHY Feature Description 3.6.2. Ping Pong PHY Architecture 3.6.3. Ping Pong PHY Limitations 3.6.4. Ping Pong PHY Calibration 3.6.5. Using the Ping Pong PHY 3.6.6. Ping Pong PHY Simulation Example Design
4. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP End-User Signals x
4.1. Interface and Signal Descriptions 4.2. AFI Signals 4.3. AFI 4.0 Timing Diagrams 4.4. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX Memory Mapped Register (MMR) Tables
4.1. Interface and Signal Descriptions x
4.1.1. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP Interfaces for DDR3 4.1.2. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP Interfaces for LPDDR3
4.1.1. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP Interfaces for DDR3 x
4.1.1.1. pll_ref_clk for DDR3 4.1.1.2. pll_locked for DDR3 4.1.1.3. pll_extra_clk_0 for DDR3 4.1.1.4. pll_extra_clk_1 for DDR3 4.1.1.5. pll_extra_clk_2 for DDR3 4.1.1.6. pll_extra_clk_3 for DDR3 4.1.1.7. oct for DDR3 4.1.1.8. mem for DDR3 4.1.1.9. status for DDR3 4.1.1.10. afi_reset_n for DDR3 4.1.1.11. afi_clk for DDR3 4.1.1.12. afi_half_clk for DDR3 4.1.1.13. afi for DDR3 4.1.1.14. emif_usr_reset_n for DDR3 4.1.1.15. emif_usr_clk for DDR3 4.1.1.16. emif_usr_reset_n_sec for DDR3 4.1.1.17. emif_usr_clk_sec for DDR3 4.1.1.18. cal_debug_reset_n for DDR3 4.1.1.19. cal_debug_clk for DDR3 4.1.1.20. cal_debug_out_reset_n for DDR3 4.1.1.21. cal_debug_out_clk for DDR3 4.1.1.22. clks_sharing_master_out for DDR3 4.1.1.23. clks_sharing_slave_in for DDR3 4.1.1.24. clks_sharing_slave_out for DDR3 4.1.1.25. ctrl_amm for DDR3 4.1.1.26. ctrl_auto_precharge for DDR3 4.1.1.27. ctrl_user_priority for DDR3 4.1.1.28. ctrl_ecc_user_interrupt for DDR3 4.1.1.29. ctrl_ecc_readdataerror for DDR3 4.1.1.30. ctrl_mmr_slave for DDR3 4.1.1.31. cal_debug for DDR3 4.1.1.32. cal_debug_out for DDR3
4.1.2. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP Interfaces for LPDDR3 x
4.1.2.1. pll_ref_clk for LPDDR3 4.1.2.2. pll_locked for LPDDR3 4.1.2.3. pll_extra_clk_0 for LPDDR3 4.1.2.4. pll_extra_clk_1 for LPDDR3 4.1.2.5. pll_extra_clk_2 for LPDDR3 4.1.2.6. pll_extra_clk_3 for LPDDR3 4.1.2.7. oct for LPDDR3 4.1.2.8. mem for LPDDR3 4.1.2.9. status for LPDDR3 4.1.2.10. afi_reset_n for LPDDR3 4.1.2.11. afi_clk for LPDDR3 4.1.2.12. afi_half_clk for LPDDR3 4.1.2.13. afi for LPDDR3 4.1.2.14. emif_usr_reset_n for LPDDR3 4.1.2.15. emif_usr_clk for LPDDR3 4.1.2.16. cal_debug_reset_n for LPDDR3 4.1.2.17. cal_debug_clk for LPDDR3 4.1.2.18. cal_debug_out_reset_n for LPDDR3 4.1.2.19. cal_debug_out_clk for LPDDR3 4.1.2.20. clks_sharing_master_out for LPDDR3 4.1.2.21. clks_sharing_slave_in for LPDDR3 4.1.2.22. clks_sharing_slave_out for LPDDR3 4.1.2.23. ctrl_user_priority for LPDDR3 4.1.2.24. ctrl_mmr_slave for LPDDR3 4.1.2.25. cal_debug for LPDDR3 4.1.2.26. cal_debug_out for LPDDR3
4.2. AFI Signals x
4.2.1. AFI Clock and Reset Signals 4.2.2. AFI Address and Command Signals 4.2.3. AFI Write Data Signals 4.2.4. AFI Read Data Signals 4.2.5. AFI Calibration Status Signals 4.2.6. AFI Shadow Register Management Signals
4.3. AFI 4.0 Timing Diagrams x
4.3.1. AFI Address and Command Timing Diagrams 4.3.2. AFI Write Sequence Timing Diagrams 4.3.3. AFI Read Sequence Timing Diagrams 4.3.4. AFI Calibration Status Timing Diagram
4.4. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX Memory Mapped Register (MMR) Tables x
4.4.1. ctrlcfg0 4.4.2. ctrlcfg1 4.4.3. dramtiming0 4.4.4. sbcfg1 4.4.5. caltiming0 4.4.6. caltiming1 4.4.7. caltiming2 4.4.8. caltiming3 4.4.9. caltiming4 4.4.10. caltiming9 4.4.11. dramaddrw 4.4.12. sideband0 4.4.13. sideband1 4.4.14. sideband2 4.4.15. sideband3 4.4.16. sideband4 4.4.17. sideband5 4.4.18. sideband6 4.4.19. sideband7 4.4.20. sideband8 4.4.21. sideband9 4.4.22. sideband10 4.4.23. sideband11 4.4.24. sideband12 4.4.25. sideband13 4.4.26. dramsts 4.4.27. niosreserve0 4.4.28. niosreserve1 4.4.29. ecc3: ECC Error and Interrupt Configuration 4.4.30. ecc4: Status and Error Information 4.4.31. ecc5: Address of Most Recent SBE/DBE 4.4.32. ecc6: Address of Most Recent Correction Command Dropped
5. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF – Simulating Memory IP x
5.1. Simulation Options 5.2. Simulation Walkthrough
5.2. Simulation Walkthrough x
5.2.1. Calibration Modes 5.2.2. Abstract PHY Simulation 5.2.3. Simulation Scripts 5.2.4. Functional Simulation with Verilog HDL 5.2.5. Functional Simulation with VHDL 5.2.6. Simulating the Design Example
6. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP for DDR3 x
6.1. Parameter Descriptions 6.2. Board Skew Equations 6.3. Pin and Resource Planning 6.4. DDR3 Board Design Guidelines
6.1. Parameter Descriptions x
6.1.1. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: General 6.1.2. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: FPGA I/O 6.1.3. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: Memory 6.1.4. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: Mem I/O 6.1.5. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: Mem Timing 6.1.6. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: Board 6.1.7. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: Controller 6.1.8. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: Diagnostics 6.1.9. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP DDR3 Parameters: Example Designs
6.2. Board Skew Equations x
6.2.1. Equations for DDR3 Board Skew Parameters
6.3. Pin and Resource Planning x
6.3.1. Interface Pins 6.3.2. FPGA Resources 6.3.3. Pin Guidelines for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP
6.3.1. Interface Pins x
6.3.1.1. Estimating Pin Requirements 6.3.1.2. DIMM Options 6.3.1.3. Maximum Number of Interfaces
6.3.2. FPGA Resources x
6.3.2.1. OCT 6.3.2.2. PLL
6.3.3. Pin Guidelines for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP x
6.3.3.1. General Guidelines 6.3.3.2. x4 DIMM Implementation 6.3.3.3. Command and Address Signals 6.3.3.4. Clock Signals 6.3.3.5. Data, Data Strobes, DM/DBI, and Optional ECC Signals 6.3.3.6. Resource Sharing Guidelines (Multiple Interfaces) 6.3.3.7. Ping-Pong PHY Implementation
6.4. DDR3 Board Design Guidelines x
6.4.1. Terminations and Slew Rates with Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX Devices 6.4.2. Channel Signal Integrity Measurement 6.4.3. Layout Approach 6.4.4. Design Layout Guidelines 6.4.5. Package Deskew
6.4.1. Terminations and Slew Rates with Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX Devices x
6.4.1.1. Dynamic On-Chip Termination (OCT) in Intel® Cyclone® 10 Devices 6.4.1.2. Choosing Terminations on Intel® Cyclone® 10 Devices 6.4.1.3. On-Chip Termination Recommendations for Intel® Cyclone® 10 Devices 6.4.1.4. Slew Rates
6.4.2. Channel Signal Integrity Measurement x
6.4.2.1. Importance of Accurate Channel Signal Integrity Information 6.4.2.2. Understanding Channel Signal Integrity Measurement 6.4.2.3. How to Enter Calculated Channel Signal Integrity Values 6.4.2.4. Guidelines for Calculating DDR3 Channel Signal Integrity
6.4.4. Design Layout Guidelines x
6.4.4.1. General Layout Guidelines 6.4.4.2. Layout Guidelines 6.4.4.3. Length Matching Rules 6.4.4.4. Spacing Guidelines 6.4.4.5. Layout Guidelines for DDR3 SDRAM Wide Interface (>72 bits) 6.4.4.6. Fly-By Network Design for Clock, Command, and Address Signals
6.4.5. Package Deskew x
6.4.5.1. DQ/DQS/DM Deskew 6.4.5.2. Address and Command Deskew 6.4.5.3. Package Deskew Recommendations for Intel® Cyclone® 10 Devices 6.4.5.4. Deskew Example 6.4.5.5. Package Migration
7. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP for LPDDR3 x
7.1. Parameter Descriptions 7.2. Board Skew Equations 7.3. Pin and Resource Planning 7.4. LPDDR3 Board Design Guidelines
7.1. Parameter Descriptions x
7.1.1. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: General 7.1.2. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: FPGA I/O 7.1.3. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: Memory 7.1.4. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: Mem I/O 7.1.5. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: Mem Timing 7.1.6. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: Board 7.1.7. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: Controller 7.1.8. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: Diagnostics 7.1.9. Intel Cyclone 10 GX EMIF IP LPDDR3 Parameters: Example Designs
7.2. Board Skew Equations x
7.2.1. Equations for LPDDR3 Board Skew Parameters
7.3. Pin and Resource Planning x
7.3.1. Interface Pins
7.3.1. Interface Pins x
7.3.1.1. Estimating Pin Requirements 7.3.1.2. Maximum Number of Interfaces 7.3.1.3. FPGA Resources 7.3.1.4. OCT 7.3.1.5. PLL 7.3.1.6. Pin Guidelines for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP
7.3.1.6. Pin Guidelines for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP x
7.3.1.6.1. General Guidelines Multiple Interfaces in the Same I/O Column I/O Banks Selection Address/Command Pins Location CK Pins Assignment PLL Reference Clock Pin Placement RZQ Pin Placement DQ and DQS Pins Assignment Sharing an I/O Bank Across Multiple Interfaces 7.3.1.6.2. LPDDR3 Clock Signal 7.3.1.6.3. LPDDR3 Command and Address Signal 7.3.1.6.4. LPDDR3 Data, Data Strobe, and DM Signals 7.3.1.6.5. Resource Sharing Guidelines (Multiple Interfaces)
7.4. LPDDR3 Board Design Guidelines x
7.4.1. Terminations and Slew Rates with Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX Devices 7.4.2. Channel Signal Integrity Measurement 7.4.3. Layout Approach 7.4.4. Design Layout Guidelines 7.4.5. Package Deskew
7.4.1. Terminations and Slew Rates with Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX Devices x
7.4.1.1. Dynamic On-Chip Termination (OCT) in Intel® Cyclone® 10 Devices 7.4.1.2. Choosing Terminations on Intel® Cyclone® 10 Devices 7.4.1.3. On-Chip Termination Recommendations for Intel® Cyclone® 10 Devices
7.4.2. Channel Signal Integrity Measurement x
7.4.2.1. Importance of Accurate Channel Signal Integrity Information 7.4.2.2. Understanding Channel Signal Integrity Measurement 7.4.2.3. How to Enter Calculated Channel Signal Integrity Values 7.4.2.4. Guidelines for Calculating DDR3 Channel Signal Integrity
7.4.4. Design Layout Guidelines x
7.4.4.1. General Layout Guidelines 7.4.4.2. Layout Guidelines 7.4.4.3. Length Matching Rules 7.4.4.4. Spacing Guidelines 7.4.4.5. Layout Guidelines for DDR3 SDRAM Wide Interface (>72 bits) 7.4.4.6. Fly-By Network Design for Clock, Command, and Address Signals
7.4.5. Package Deskew x
7.4.5.1. DQ/DQS/DM Deskew 7.4.5.2. Address and Command Deskew 7.4.5.3. Package Deskew Recommendations for Intel® Cyclone® 10 Devices 7.4.5.4. Deskew Example 7.4.5.5. Package Migration
8. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Timing Closure x
8.1. Timing Closure 8.2. Timing Report DDR 8.3. Optimizing Timing 8.4. Early I/O Timing Estimation
8.1. Timing Closure x
8.1.1. Timing Analysis
8.1.1. Timing Analysis x
8.1.1.1. PHY or Core 8.1.1.2. I/O Timing
8.1.1.2. I/O Timing x
8.1.1.2.1. Read Capture 8.1.1.2.2. Write 8.1.1.2.3. Address and Command 8.1.1.2.4. DQS Gating / Postamble 8.1.1.2.5. Write Leveling
8.4. Early I/O Timing Estimation x
8.4.1. Performing Early I/O Timing Analysis
9. Optimizing Controller Performance x
9.1. Interface Standard 9.2. Bank Management Efficiency 9.3. Data Transfer 9.4. Improving Controller Efficiency
9.4. Improving Controller Efficiency x
9.4.1. Auto-Precharge Commands 9.4.2. Latency 9.4.3. Calibration 9.4.4. Bank Interleaving 9.4.5. Additive Latency and Bank Interleaving 9.4.6. User-Controlled Refresh 9.4.7. Frequency of Operation 9.4.8. Series of Reads or Writes 9.4.9. Data Reordering 9.4.10. Starvation Control 9.4.11. Command Reordering 9.4.12. Bandwidth 9.4.13. Enable Command Priority Control
9.4.2. Latency x
9.4.2.1. Additive Latency
9.4.6. User-Controlled Refresh x
9.4.6.1. Back-to-Back User-Controlled Refresh Usage
10. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Debugging x
10.1. Interface Configuration Performance Issues 10.2. Functional Issue Evaluation 10.3. Timing Issue Characteristics 10.4. Verifying Memory IP Using the Signal Tap II Logic Analyzer 10.5. Hardware Debugging Guidelines 10.6. Categorizing Hardware Issues 10.7. Debugging Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP 10.8. Using the Traffic Generator with the Generated Design Example
10.1. Interface Configuration Performance Issues x
10.1.1. Interface Configuration Bottleneck and Efficiency Issues
10.2. Functional Issue Evaluation x
10.2.1. Intel® IP Memory Model 10.2.2. Vendor Memory Model 10.2.3. Transcript Window Messages 10.2.4. Modifying the Example Driver to Replicate the Failure
10.3. Timing Issue Characteristics x
10.3.1. Evaluating FPGA Timing Issues 10.3.2. Evaluating External Memory Interface Timing Issues
10.4. Verifying Memory IP Using the Signal Tap II Logic Analyzer x
10.4.1. Signals to Monitor with the Signal Tap II Logic Analyzer
10.5. Hardware Debugging Guidelines x
10.5.1. Create a Simplified Design that Demonstrates the Same Issue 10.5.2. Measure Power Distribution Network 10.5.3. Measure Signal Integrity and Setup and Hold Margin 10.5.4. Vary Voltage 10.5.5. Operate at a Lower Speed 10.5.6. Determine Whether the Issue Exists in Previous Versions of Software 10.5.7. Determine Whether the Issue Exists in the Current Version of Software 10.5.8. Try A Different PCB 10.5.9. Try Other Configurations 10.5.10. Debugging Checklist
10.6. Categorizing Hardware Issues x
10.6.1. Signal Integrity Issues 10.6.2. Hardware and Calibration Issues
10.6.1. Signal Integrity Issues x
10.6.1.1. Characteristics of Signal Integrity Issues 10.6.1.2. Evaluating SignaI Integrity Issues
10.6.1.2. Evaluating SignaI Integrity Issues x
10.6.1.2.1. Skew 10.6.1.2.2. Crosstalk 10.6.1.2.3. Power System 10.6.1.2.4. Clock Signals 10.6.1.2.5. Read Data Valid Window and Eye Diagram 10.6.1.2.6. Write Data Valid Window and Eye Diagram 10.6.1.2.7. OCT and ODT Usage
10.6.2. Hardware and Calibration Issues x
10.6.2.1. Postamble Timing Issues and Margin 10.6.2.2. Intermittent Issue Evaluation
10.7. Debugging Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP x
10.7.1. Debugging With the External Memory Interface Debug Toolkit 10.7.2. On-Chip Debug Port for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP 10.7.3. Efficiency Monitor and Protocol Checker
10.7.1. Debugging With the External Memory Interface Debug Toolkit x
10.7.1.1. User Interface 10.7.1.2. Communication 10.7.1.3. Setup and Use 10.7.1.4. Configuring Your EMIF IP for Use with the Debug Toolkit 10.7.1.5. Reports 10.7.1.6. Driver Margining for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP 10.7.1.7. Example Tcl Script for Running the EMIF Debug Toolkit
10.7.1.4. Configuring Your EMIF IP for Use with the Debug Toolkit x
10.7.1.4.1. Daisy-Chaining Additional EMIF IP Cores for Debugging 10.7.1.4.2. General Workflow 10.7.1.4.3. Linking the Project to a Device 10.7.1.4.4. Establishing Communication to Connections 10.7.1.4.5. Selecting an Active Interface
10.7.2. On-Chip Debug Port for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP x
10.7.2.1. EMIF On-Chip Debug Port 10.7.2.2. Access Protocol
10.7.3. Efficiency Monitor and Protocol Checker x
10.7.3.1. Including the Efficiency Monitor and Protocol Checker in Your Generated IP 10.7.3.2. Running the Efficiency Monitor with the External Memory Debug Toolkit 10.7.3.3. Communicating Directly to the Efficiency Monitor and Protocol Checker
1. Release Information
2. External Memory Interfaces Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX FPGA IP Introduction
3. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Product Architecture
4. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP End-User Signals
5. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF – Simulating Memory IP
6. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP for DDR3
7. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP for LPDDR3
8. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Timing Closure
9. Optimizing Controller Performance
10. Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX EMIF IP Debugging
11. External Memory Interfaces Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX FPGA IP User Guide Archives
12. Document Revision History for Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX External Memory Interfaces FPGA IP User Guide

7.3.1.6.1. General Guidelines

You should follow the recommended guidelines when performing pin placement for all external memory interface pins targeting Intel® Cyclone® 10 devices, whether you are using the hard memory controller or your own solution.

If you are using the hard memory controller, you should employ the relative pin locations defined in the <variation_name>/altera_emif_arch_nf_version number/<synth|sim>/<variation_name>_altera_emif_arch_nf_version number_<unique ID>_readme.txt file, which is generated with your IP.

Observe the following general guidelines when placing pins for your Intel® Cyclone® 10 external memory interface:

  1. Ensure that the pins of a single external memory interface reside within a single I/O column.
  2. An external memory interface can occupy one or more banks in the same I/O column. When an interface must occupy multiple banks, ensure that those banks are adjacent to one another.
  3. Any pin in the same bank that is not used by an external memory interface is available for use as a general purpose I/O of compatible voltage and termination settings.
  4. All address and command pins and their associated clock pins (CK and CK#) must reside within a single bank. The bank containing the address and command pins is identified as the address and command bank.
  5. To minimize latency, when the interface uses more than two banks, you must select the center bank of the interface as the address and command bank.
  6. The address and command pins and their associated clock pins in the address and command bank must follow a fixed pin-out scheme, as defined in the Intel® Cyclone® 10 External Memory Interface Pin Information File, which is available on www.altera.com.

    You do not have to place every address and command pin manually. If you assign the location for one address and command pin, the Fitter automatically places the remaining address and command pins.

    Note: The pin-out scheme is a hardware requirement that you must follow, and can vary according to the topology of the memory device. Some schemes require three lanes to implement address and command pins, while others require four lanes. To determine which scheme to follow, refer to the messages window during parameterization of your IP, or to the <variation_name>/altera_emif_arch_nf_<version>/<synth|sim>/<variation_name>_altera_emif_arch_nf_<version>_<unique ID>_readme.txt file after you have generated your IP.
  7. An unused I/O lane in the address and command bank can serve to implement a data group, such as a x8 DQS group. The data group must be from the same controller as the address and command signals.
  8. An I/O lane must not be used by both address and command pins and data pins.
  9. Place read data groups according to the DQS grouping in the pin table and Pin Planner. Read data strobes (such as DQS and DQS#) or read clocks (such as CQ and CQ# / QK and QK#) must reside at physical pins capable of functioning as DQS/CQ and DQSn/CQn for a specific read data group size. You must place the associated read data pins (such as DQ and Q), within the same group.
  10. You can implement two x4 DQS groups with a single I/O lane. The pin table specifies which pins within an I/O lane can be used for the two pairs of DQS and DQS# signals. In addition, for x4 DQS groups you must observe the following rules:
    • There must be an even number of x4 groups in an external memory interface.
    • DQS group 0 and DQS group 1 must be placed in the same I/O lane. Similarly, DQS group 2 and group 3 must be in the same I/O lane. Generally, DQS group X and DQS group X+1 must be in the same I/O lane, where X is an even number.
  11. You should place the write data groups according to the DQS grouping in the pin table and Pin Planner.
  12. For protocols and topologies with bidirectional data pins where a write data group consists of multiple read data groups, you should place the data groups and their respective write and read clock in the same bank to improve I/O timing.

    You do not need to specify the location of every data pin manually. If you assign the location for the read capture strobe/clock pin pairs, the Fitter will automatically place the remaining data pins.

  13. Ensure that DM/BWS pins are paired with a write data pin by placing one in an I/O pin and another in the pairing pin for that I/O pin. It is recommended—though not required—that you follow the same rule for DBI pins, so that at a later date you have the freedom to repurpose the pin as DM.

Multiple Interfaces in the Same I/O Column

To place multiple interfaces in the same I/O column, you must ensure that the global reset signals (global_reset_n) for each individual interface all come from the same input pin or signal.

I/O Banks Selection

  • For each memory interface, select consecutive I/O banks.
  • A memory interface can only span across I/O banks in the same I/O column.
  • Because I/O bank 2A is also employed for configuration-related operations, you can use it to construct external memory interfaces only when the following conditions are met:
    • The pins required for configuration related use (such as configuration bus for Fast Passive Parallel mode or control signals for Partial Reconfiguration) are never shared with pins selected for EMIF use, even after configuration is complete.
    • The I/O voltages are compatible.
    • The design has achieved a successful fit in the Intel® Quartus® Prime software.

    Refer to the Intel® Cyclone® 10 Device Handbook and the Configuration Function column of the Pin-Out files for more information about pins and configuration modes.

  • The number of I/O banks that you require depends on the memory interface width.
  • The 3V I/O bank does not support dynamic OCT or calibrated OCT. To place a memory interface in a 3V I/O bank, ensure that calibrated OCT is disabled for the address/command signals, the memory clock signals, and the data bus signals, during IP generation.
  • In some device packages, the number of I/O pins in some LVDS I/O banks is less that 48 pins.

Address/Command Pins Location

  • All address/command pins for a controller must be in a single I/O bank.
  • If your interface uses multiple I/O banks, the address/command pins must use the middle bank. If the number of banks used by the interface is even, any of the two middle I/O banks can be used for address/command pins.
  • Address/command pins and data pins cannot share an I/O lane but can share an I/O bank.
  • The address/command pin locations for the soft and hard memory controllers are predefined. In the External Memory Interface Pin Information for Devices spreadsheet, each index in the "Index within I/O bank" column denotes a dedicated address/command pin function for a given protocol. The index number of the pin specifies to which I/O lane the pin belongs:
    • I/O lane 0—Pins with index 0 to 11
    • I/O lane 1—Pins with index 12 to 23
    • I/O lane 2—Pins with index 24 to 35
    • I/O lane 3—Pins with index 36 to 47
  • For memory topologies and protocols that require only three I/O lanes for the address/command pins, use I/O lanes 0, 1, and 2.
  • Unused address/command pins in an I/O lane can be used as general-purpose I/O pins.

CK Pins Assignment

Assign the clock pin (CK pin) according to the number of I/O banks in an interface:

  • If the number of I/O banks is odd, assign one CK pin to the middle I/O bank.
  • If the number of I/O banks is even, assign the CK pin to either of the middle two I/O banks.

Although the Fitter can automatically select the required I/O banks, Intel® recommends that you make the selection manually to reduce the pre-fit run time.

PLL Reference Clock Pin Placement

Place the PLL reference clock pin in the address/command bank. Other I/O banks may not have free pins that you can use as the PLL reference clock pin:

  • If you are sharing the PLL reference clock pin between several interfaces, the I/O banks must be consecutive.

The Intel® Cyclone® 10 external memory interface IP does not support PLL cascading.

RZQ Pin Placement

You may place the RZQ pin in any I/O bank in an I/O column with the correct VCCIO and VCCPT for the memory interface I/O standard in use. However, the recommended location is in the address/command I/O bank, for greater flexibility during debug if a narrower interface project is required for testing.

DQ and DQS Pins Assignment

Intel® recommends that you assign the DQS pins to the remaining I/O lanes in the I/O banks as required:

  • Constrain the DQ and DQS signals of the same DQS group to the same I/O lane.
  • You cannot constrain DQ signals from two different DQS groups to the same I/O lane.

If you do not specify the DQS pins assignment, the Fitter selects the DQS pins automatically.

Sharing an I/O Bank Across Multiple Interfaces

If you are sharing an I/O bank across multiple external memory interfaces, follow these guidelines:

  • The interfaces must use the same protocol, voltage, data rate, frequency, and PLL reference clock.
  • You cannot use an I/O bank as the address/command bank for more than one interface. The memory controller and sequencer cannot be shared.
  • You cannot share an I/O lane. There is only one DQS input per I/O lane, and an I/O lane can connect to only one memory controller.
Level Two Title