External Memory Interface Handbook Volume 2: Design Guidelines: For UniPHY-based Device Families

ID 683385
Date 3/06/2023
Public
Document Table of Contents

9.7.4. Memory Calibration

All the timing paths reported include one or more memory parameters, such as tDQSS and tDQSQ. These specifications indicate the amount of variation that occurs in various timing paths in the memory and abstracts them into singular values so that they can be used by others when interfacing with the memory device.

JEDEC defines these parameters in their specification for memory standards, and every memory vendor must meet this specification or improve it. However, there is no proportion of each specification due to different types of variations. Variations that are of interest are typically grouped into three different types: process variations (P), voltage variations (V), and temperature variations (T). These together compose PVT variations that typically define the JEDEC specification. You can determine the maximum P variation by comparing different dies, and you can determine the maximum V and T variations by operating a design at the endpoints of the range of voltage and temperature. P variations do not change once the chip has been fabricated, while V and T variations change over time.

The timing analysis for Stratix V FPGAs at 667 MHz of various paths (if the analysis is comprehensive and includes all the sources of noise) indicate that there is no timing margin available. However, the designs do actually work in practice with a reasonable amount of margin. The reason for this behavior is that the memory devices typically have specifications that easily beat the JEDEC specification and that our calibration algorithms calibrate out the process portion of the JEDEC specification, leaving only the V and T portions of the variations.

The memory calibration figure determination includes noting what percentage of the JEDEC specification of various memory parameters is caused by process variations for which UniPHY calibration algorithms can calibrate out, and to apply that to the full JEDEC specification. The remaining portion of the variation is caused by voltage and temperature variations which cannot be calibrated out.

You can find the percentage of the JEDEC specification that is due to process variation is set in <variation_name>_report_timing.tcl .