How to Design a High-Speed Memory Interface

Course Description

This course teaches hardware designers who are new to high-speed memory I/O to design a memory interface in Xilinx FPGAs. It introduces designers to the basic concepts of high-speed memory I/O design, implementation, and debugging using 7 series FPGAs.

Additionally, students will learn about the tools available for high-speed memory interface design, debug, and implementation of high-speed memory interfaces.

The major memory types covered are DDR2 and DDR3. The following memory types are covered on demand: RLDRAMII, LPDDR, and QDRII+. Labs are available for DDR3 on the Kintex™-7 FPGA KC705 board.

Release Date

November 2012

Level

Connectivity 3

Training Duration

2 days

Who Should Attend?
  • FPGA designers and logic designers
Prerequisites
  • VHDL or Verilog experience or Designing with VHDL or Designing with Verilog course
  • Familiarity with logic design: state machines and synchronous design
  • Very helpful to have:
    • Basic knowledge of FPGA architecture
    • Familiarity with Xilinx implementation tools
  • Nice to have:
    • Familiarity with I/O basics
    • Familiarity with high-speed I/O standard
Software Tools
  • Vivado™ System Edition 2012.3
  • Mentor HyperLynx SI
Hardware
  • Architecture: 7 series FPGAs*
  • Demo board: Kintex-7 FPGA KC705 board*

* This course focuses on the 7 series FPGA architectures. Check with your local Authorized Training Provider for the specifics of the in-class lab board or other customizations.

Skills Gained

After completing this comprehensive training, you will know how to:

  • Identify the FPGA resources required for memory interfaces
  • Describe different types of memories
  • Utilize the Xilinx tools to generate memory interface designs
  • Simulate memory interfaces with the Xilinx Vivado simulator
  • Implement memory interfaces
  • Identify the board design options for the realization of memory interfaces
  • Describe PCB-level simulation
  • Test and debug your memory interface design
Course Outline

Day 1

  • Course Introduction
  • 7 Series FPGAs Overview
  • Memory Devices Overview
  • 7 Series Memory Interface Resources
  • Memory Controller Details and Signals
  • MIG Design Generation
  • Lab 1: MIG Core Generation

Day 2

  • MIG Design Simulation
  • Lab 2: MIG Design Simulation
  • MIG Design Implementation
  • Lab 3: MIG Design Implementation
  • Memory Interface Test and Debugging
  • Lab 4: MIG Design Debugging
Lab Descriptions
  • Lab 1: MIG Core Generation – Create a DDR3 memory controller using the Memory Interface Generator (MIG) within the Vivado IDE IP Catalog. Customize the soft core memory controller for the board.
  • Lab 2: MIG Design Simulation – Simulate the memory controller created in Lab 1 using the Vivado simulator.
  • Lab 3: MIG Design Implementation – Implement the memory controller created in the previous labs. Modify constraints, synthesize, implement, create the bitstream, program the FPGA, and check the functionality.
  • Lab 4: MIG Design Debugging – Debug the memory interface design utilizing the ChipScope Pro™ tool.
Customer Reviews 
  • This is a new course; reviews will be posted as they are submitted
 
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