PHY Lite for Parallel Interfaces Intel® FPGA IP User Guide

ID 683716
Date 6/21/2022
Public

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3.2.4. Input Path

The input path of the IP consists of a data path, a strobe path, and a read enable path.

Table 26.  Blocks in Data, Strobe, and Read Enable PathsThis table lists the information about these paths.
Path Description
Data Path

Receives data from external device to the FPGA core logic.

The data path consists of a PVT compensated delay chain, a DDIO and a read FIFO.
  • PVT compensated delay chain—Allows per-bit deskew. You can only control the PVT compensated delay chain over Avalon memory-mapped interface. For more information, refer to the Dynamic Reconfiguration topic.
  • DDIO and read FIFO—Responsible for deserialization with a factor of up to 8 (in DDR quarter-rate). The transfer between the DDIO and the read FIFO is a zero-cycle transfer.
Signals used in this path are:
  • data_in, data_in_n (input)—Input data from external device. data_in_n is used when data configuration is set to Differential.
  • data_io, data_io_n (bidirectional)—Input and output data from/to external device. data_io_n is used when data configuration is set to Differential.
  • data_to_core (output)—Output data to the Intel FPGA core.
  • phy_clk—This is an internal clock signal that provides clock to the blocks used in this path.

The IP supports SDR input by sending data on single clock cycle from the external device.

Strobe Path

Input strobe (dqs) to capture input data from external device.

The strobe path consists of pstamble_reg (a gating component) and a PVT compensated delay chain.
  • pstamble_reg—This gating circuitry ensures that only clock edges associated with valid input data are used.
  • PVT compensated delay chain—Provides a phase offset between the strobe and the data (for example, center aligning edge-aligned inputs).
Signals used in this path are:
  • strobe_in, strobe_in_n(input)—Input strobe from external device. strobe_in_n is used when strobe configuration is set to Differential or Complimentary.
  • strobe_io, strobe_io_n(bidirectional)—Input and output strobe from/to external device. strobe_io_n is used when strobe configuration is set to Differential or Complimentary.
  • dqs_clean(output)—This internal signal is the refined version of strobe_in signal.
  • dqs(input)—This internal signal is an input strobe to DDIO and Read FIFO in the data path, after phase shift adjustment.
Read and Strobe Enable Path

Generates control signals for strobe calibration and reading data from Read FIFO.

The read and strobe enable path consists of VFIFO, DQS_EN FIFO, and an interpolator.
  • VFIFO—Takes the rdata_en signal from the core and delays it separately for two outputs, one for the read enable on the Read FIFO, and one for the strobe enable. These delays are calculated at generation time based on the read latency that you provide. Individual control is not necessary, but if you are modifying these delays you can do so individually using dynamic reconfiguration.
  • DQS_EN FIFO and interpolator—Used for the strobe enable delay, the DQS_EN FIFO and interpolator are identical to the Write FIFO and interpolator circuitry in the output path. The DQS_EN FIFO and interpolator are configured to match the output delay for a group with no additional output delay (Write latency = 0). During dynamic reconfiguration, the DQS_EN FIFO and interpolator can be used for fine grained control of the strobe enable signal. Both of these delays are controlled by the Read latency parameter for the group.
Signals used in this path are:
  • rdata_valid(output)—This signal determines which data are valid when reading from Read FIFO. This signal is delayed by the Read latency value set in the parameter editor.
  • rdata_en(input)—This signal represents the number of expected words to read from the external device.
  • dqs_enable_in(input)—This is an internal signal that provides dqs delay value to the pstamble_reg module to process a refined dqs signal.
  • dqs_enable_out(output)— This is an internal strobe with the delayed value specified by the dqs_enable_in signal.
  • phy_clk—This is an internal clock for VFIFO and Read FIFO modules.
  • phy_clk_phs—This is an internal clock for the interpolator.
  • interpolator_clk—This is an internal clock for DQS_EN FIFO module.
Figure 31. Input PathThis figure shows the input path of the IP.


Table 27.  Read Operation SequenceA read operation is performed as listed in this table.
Read Operation Sequence Number Operation
1 The core asserts the rdata_en signal to the PHY Lite for Parallel Interfaces IP and issues a read command to the external device.
2 VFIFO and DQS_EN FIFO generate the dqs_enable signal to pstamble_reg. This signal is delayed by the programmed read latency (which should match the latency of the external device).
3 The pstamble_reg generates dqs_clean signal as valid data enters the read path.
4 The Delay Chain (PVT) adjusts the strobe with phase offset between the strobe and the input data (for example, 90° phase shift for DDR center-alignment).
5 The dqs signal is then used as strobe to read data from external device into the DDIO and Read FIFO modules.
6 The VFIFO asserts the read_enable signal to Read FIFO and the rdata_valid signal to the core simultaneously. The PHY Lite for Parallel Interfaces IP sends the captured data to the core with the associated valid signal.

The following figures show the waveform diagrams for the input path. The delays shown in the waveforms are just estimation based on simulations and these values are different with different core clock rate and VCO multiplier.

Figure 32. Input Path ─ Read Latency 7This simulation is based on the following PHY Lite for Parallel Interfaces IP configurations:
  • Interface Frequency: 1000 MHz
  • VCO Multiplier Factor: 1
  • User logic clock rate: Quarter rate