AN 720: Simulating the ASMI Block in Your Design

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AN-720 | 2020.07.29

1. Simulating the ASMI Block in Your Design

1.1. Supported Devices

You can simulate the ASMI block in your design for the following devices:

Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Intel^® Arria^® 10
Cyclone^® V
Stratix^® V

1.2. Overview

In the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software, the supported FPGA devices support the ASMI block, allowing you to access your EPCS or EPCQ flash devices.

1.2.1. Block Diagrams for ASMI Block

The Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software allows the instantiation of different ASMI block atoms according to the core interface in your respective FPGA devices.

Figure 1. ASMI Block Diagram for Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V, and Stratix^® V Devices

Figure 2. ASMI Block Diagram for Intel^® Arria^® 10 Devices

1.2.2. Signals for ASMI Block

This table lists the ASMI block signals.

Table 1. Signals for ASMI Block
Signal	Direction	Width (bits)	Description
`dclk`	Input	1	Clock signal from your FPGA design to the external DCLK pin through the ASMI hard logic.
`sce`	Input	3	Chip select signal from your FPGA design to the external nCSO pin through the ASMI hard logic.
`oe`	Input	1	Active-low signal to enable DCLK and nCSO pins to reach the flash. The DCLK and nCSO are fixed to high when you set this signal to high, blocking the connection between FPGA and flash.
`data0out`	Input of the ASMI block, which outputs the data from your FPGA design to the AS data pin	4	Control signal from your FPGA design to the AS data pin for sending data into the serial configuration device. If you want to connect your Intel^® Arria^® 10, Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V, or Stratix^® V device to the EPCS device, Altera recommends setting the data out ports to the following: `data0out` = FPGA design data to the EPCS through the `AS_DATA0` pin. `data1out` = 1'b0 `data2out` = 1'b1 `data3out` = 1'b1
`data1out`
`data2out`
`data3out`
`data0oe`	Input	4	Controls data pin either as input or output because the dedicated pins for active serial data is bidirectional. To set the AS data pin as input, set the desired data pin oe to `0`. To set the AS data pin as output, set the desired data pin oe to `1`. If you want to connect your Intel^® Arria^® 10, Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V or Stratix^® V device to the EPCS device, then set the data pin oe to the following: `data0oe` = 1'b1 `data1oe` = 1'b0 `data2oe` = 1'b1 `data3oe` = 1'b1
`data1oe`
`data2oe`
`data3oe`
`data0in`	Output of the ASMI block, which receives input from the AS data pin and outputs to your FPGA design	4	Signal from the AS data pin to your FPGA design. If you want to connect your Intel^® Arria^® 10, Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V or Stratix^® V device to the EPCS device, then set the data in pin to the following: `data0in` = don't care `data1in` = EPCS device data to your FPGA design through the `AS_DATA1` pin. `data2in` = don't care `data3in` = don't care
`data1in`
`data2in`
`data3in`

1.2.3. WYSIWYG for ASMI Block

If you want to use ASMI in user mode, then you must instantiate the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) of the ASMI block in your design. Instantiating the WYSIWYG of the ASMI block in your design allows you to access the active serial pins from the FPGA user design.

Example of Verilog WYSIWYG for Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V, and Stratix^® V ASMI Block

<device>_asmiblock <name>
(
	.dclk(<clock source from user design>),
	.sce(<1 bit SCE from user design>),
	.oe(<output enable from user design>),
	.data0out(<AS_DATA0 from user design>),
	.data1out(<AS_DATA1 from user design>),
	.data2out(<AS_DATA2 from user design>),
	.data3out(<AS_DATA3 from user design>),

	.data0oe (<OE of data0out from user design>),
	.data1oe (<OE of data1out from user design>),
	.data2oe (<OE of data2out from user design>),
	.data3oe (<OE of data3out from user design>),

	.data0in(<AS_DATA0 to user design>),
	.data1in(<AS_DATA1 to user design>),
	.data2in(<AS_DATA2 to user design>),
	.data3in(<AS_DATA3 to user design>)
);
defparam <name>.enable_sim = "false";

Example of VHDL WYSIWYG for Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V, and Stratix^® V ASMI Block

component <device>_asmiblock
    generic(
      enable_sim :     string    :=  "false"
    );
    port(
        dclk     :    in    std_logic;
        sce      :    in    std_logic;
        oe       :    in    std_logic;
        data0out :    in    std_logic;
        data1out :    in    std_logic;
        data2out :    in    std_logic;
        data3out :    in    std_logic;
        data0oe  :    in    std_logic;
        data1oe  :    in    std_logic;
        data2oe  :    in    std_logic;
        data3oe  :    in    std_logic;
        data0in  :    out  std_logic;
        data1in  :    out  std_logic;
        data2in  :    out  std_logic;
        data3in  :    out  std_logic
    );
  end component;

Example of Verilog WYSIWYG for Intel^® Arria^® 10 ASMI Block

<device>_asmiblock <name>
(
	.dclk(<clock source from user design>),
	.sce(<3 bit SCE from user design>),
	.oe(<output enable from user design>),
	.data0out(<AS_DATA0 from user design>),
	.data1out(<AS_DATA1 from user design>),
	.data2out(<AS_DATA2 from user design>),
	.data3out(<AS_DATA3 from user design>),

	.data0oe (<OE of data0out from user design>),
	.data1oe (<OE of data1out from user design>),
	.data2oe (<OE of data2out from user design>),
	.data3oe (<OE of data3out from user design>),

	.data0in(<AS_DATA0 to user design>),
	.data1in(<AS_DATA1 to user design>),
	.data2in(<AS_DATA2 to user design>),
	.data3in(<AS_DATA3 to user design>)
);
defparam <name>.enable_sim = "false";

Example of VHDL WYSIWYG for Intel^® Arria^® 10 ASMI Block

component <device>_asmiblock
    generic(
      enable_sim :     string    :=  "false"
    );
    port(
        dclk     :    in    std_logic;
        sce      :    in    std_logic_vector(2 downto 0);
        oe       :    in    std_logic;
        data0out :    in    std_logic;
        data1out :    in    std_logic;
        data2out :    in    std_logic;
        data3out :    in    std_logic;
        data0oe  :    in    std_logic;
        data1oe  :    in    std_logic;
        data2oe  :    in    std_logic;
        data3oe  :    in    std_logic;
        data0in  :    out  std_logic;
        data1in  :    out  std_logic;
        data2in  :    out  std_logic;
        data3in  :    out  std_logic
    );
  end component;

1.3. Simulating the ASMI Block in Your Design

To simulate the ASMI block in your design with a flash simulation model, set the enable_sim parameter by referring to the model of flash device that you are using.

Set the enable_sim parameter to false, if you are using third-party flash devices. Otherwise, the default setting is true, which indicates EPCQ1024.

If you are using third-party devices, create a wrapper with the same module name in the simulation project.

Note: For Cyclone^® V, Arria^® V, and Stratix^® V devices, you can safely ignore if you are prompted Error (170084): Can't route signal "~GND" to atom "<signal hierarchy>" message.

1.3.1. Example: Simulating the ASMI Block in a Stratix V Device Using EPCQ Flash

To simulate the ASMI block in a Stratix^® V device using the EPCQ flash, (for example, EPCQ1024), follow these steps:

Create a design which instantiates the ASMI block, and set the enable_sim parameter to true.

Figure 3. Sample Code to Instantiate the ASMI Block Using EPCQ Flash
Compile the design in the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software and ensure that the design does not contain any syntax error.
In a simulation project, compile the following file to your working folder:
- quartus/eda/sim_lib/stratixv_atoms.v or quartus/eda/sim_lib/stratixv_atoms.vhd (if you are not using the ModelSim* - Intel^® FPGA Edition software)
  Note: The ModelSim* - Intel^® FPGA Edition software contains all device atom libraries, so no compilation is needed.
Run simulation. The FPGA design is connected to the flash simulation model via the ASMI interface.

1.3.2. Example: Simulating the ASMI Block in a Stratix V Device Using Third-Party Flash Devices

To simulate the ASMI block in a Stratix^® V device using third-party flash devices, follow these steps:

Create a design which instantiated the ASMI block and set the enable_sim parameter to false.

Figure 4. Sample Code to Instantiate the ASMI Block
Compile the design in the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software and ensure that the design does not contain any syntax error.
Create a wrapper to connect a third-party flash simulation model to the ASMI block through the asmi_sim_model module. Note that the interface for the asmi_sim_model module varies according to devices.

Figure 5. Sample Code for Wrapper to Connect the Flash Model with the ASMI Block
In a simulation project, compile the following file to your working folder:
- Flash simulation model
- asmi_sim_model design wrapper
- quartus/eda/sim_lib/stratixv_atoms.v or quartus/eda/sim_lib/stratixv_atoms.vhd (if you are not using the ModelSim* - Intel^® FPGA Edition software)
  Note: The ModelSim* - Intel^® FPGA Edition software contains all device atom libraries, so no compilation is needed.
Run simulation. The FPGA design is connected to the flash simulation model via the ASMI interface.

1.4. Document Revision History for AN 720: Simulating the ASMI Block in Your Design

Document Version	Changes
2020.07.29	Added a new topic, Example: Simulating the ASMI Block in a Stratix^® V Device Using Third-Party Flash Devices, to Simulating the ASMI Block in Your Design. Updated Example: Simulating the ASMI Block in a Stratix^® V Device Using EPCQ Flash. Updated for latest Intel^® branding standards. Made editorial updates through out the document.

Table 2. Document Revision History
Date	Version	Changes
August 2015	2015.08.03	Added example of VHDL WYSIWYG for Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V, Stratix^® V, and Intel^® Arria^® 10 ASMI Block. Added working folder path for VHDL. Removed statement stating compiling and simulating the active serial memory interface (ASMI) block is available from Quartus II version 14.0 onwards.
December 2014	2014.12.15	Initial release.

Example of Verilog WYSIWYG for Arria® V, Arria® V GZ, Cyclone® V, and Stratix® V ASMI Block

Example of VHDL WYSIWYG for Arria® V, Arria® V GZ, Cyclone® V, and Stratix® V ASMI Block

Example of Verilog WYSIWYG for Intel® Arria® 10 ASMI Block

Example of VHDL WYSIWYG for Intel® Arria® 10 ASMI Block

Example of Verilog WYSIWYG for Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V, and Stratix^® V ASMI Block

Example of VHDL WYSIWYG for Arria^® V, Arria^® V GZ, Cyclone^® V, and Stratix^® V ASMI Block

Example of Verilog WYSIWYG for Intel^® Arria^® 10 ASMI Block

Example of VHDL WYSIWYG for Intel^® Arria^® 10 ASMI Block