AN 802: Intel® Stratix® 10 SoC Device Design Guidelines

ID 683117
Date 8/05/2021
Public
Document Table of Contents

2.4.1.1.1. RMII

RMII uses a single centralized system-synchronous 50 MHz clock source (REF_CLK) for both transmit and receive paths across all ports. This simplifies system clocking and lowers pin counts in high port density systems, because your design can use a single board oscillator as opposed to per port TX_CLK/RX_CLK source synchronous clock pairs.

RMII uses two-bit wide transmit and receive data paths. All data and control signals are synchronous to the REF_CLK rising edge. The RX_ER control signal is not used. In 10Mbps mode, all data and control signals are held valid for 10 REF_CLK clock cycles.

Figure 1. RMII MAC/PHY Interface

Interface Clocking Scheme

EMACs and RMII PHYs can provide the 50 MHz REF_CLK source. Using clock resources already present such as HPS_OSC_CLK input, internal PLLs further simplifies system clocking design and eliminates the need for an additional clock source.

This section discusses system design scenarios for both HPS EMAC-sourced and PHY-sourced REF_CLK.

GUIDELINE: Consult the PHY datasheet for specifics on the choice of REF_CLK source in your application.

Note: Make sure your choice of PHY supports the REF_CLK clocking scheme in your application. Note any requirements and usage considerations specified in the PHY’s datasheet.
You can use one of the following two methods for sourcing REF_CLK:
  • HPS-Sourced REF_CLK
  • PHY-Sourced REF_CLK
Figure 2. HPS Sourced REF_CLKIn this scheme, connect the EMAC’s HPS RMII I/O TX_CLK output to both the HPS RMII I/O RX_CLK and PHY REF_CLK inputs.
Figure 3. PHY Sourced REF_CLKIn this scheme, connect the PHY’s REF_CLK output to the EMAC’s HPS RMII I/O RX_CLK input. Leave the EMAC’s HPS RMII I/O TX_CLK output unconnected. PHYs capable of sourcing REF_CLK are typically configured to do so through pin bootstrapping and require an external crystal or clock input to generate REF_CLK.