External Interface - 4.1 English

Soft Error Mitigation Controller Product Guide (PG036)

Document ID
PG036
Release Date
2023-11-01
Version
4.1 English

The External Interface is present when controllers require access to external data. When present, the EXT shim in the system-level design example is a fixed-function SPI bus master. This shim accepts commands from controllers that consist of an address and a byte count. The shim generates SPI bus transactions to fetch the requested data from an external SPI flash. The shim formats the returned data for controllers to pick up.

The shim uses standard SPI bus protocol, implementing the most common mode (CPOL = 0, CPHA = 0, often referred to as “Mode 0”). The SPI bus clock frequency is locked to one half of the master clock for the system-level design example. See Designing with the Core for information on external timing budgets.

The resulting interface is directly compatible with a wide array of standard SPI flash. External level translators might be necessary depending on system requirements.

Table 5-4: External Interface Details

Name

Sense

Direction

Description

external_c

EDGE

OUT

SPI bus clock for an external SPI flash.

external_d

HIGH

OUT

SPI bus “master out, slave in” signal for an external SPI flash.

external_s_n

LOW

OUT

SPI bus select signal for an external SPI flash.

external_q

HIGH

IN

SPI bus “master in, slave out” signal for an external SPI flash.