Signals and Connections for DDR4 Interfaces

Versal Adaptive SoC PCB Design User Guide (UG863)

Document ID
UG863
Release Date
2024-04-01
Revision
1.8 English

The required signals used in DDR4 applications are shown in the following table. The signal list might vary slightly depending on the particular DDR4 architecture used.

Important: For dual-slot DIMM topologies, place DIMM #0 on the furthest connector from the adaptive SoC to reduce the effect of SI reflections. The DIMM #1 connector should be placed nearest to the adaptive SoC.
Table 1. DDR4 Signal Definitions
Signal Description Required PCB Termination 1 Signal Routing Methodology
Clock Signals
CK_T/CK_C 2 Address/Command Clock See Figure 2 Fly-by
Address Signals
A[17], A[13:0] Address 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
RAS_N/A[16] Row Access Strobe 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
CAS_N/A[15] Column Access Strobe 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
WE_N/A[14] Write Enable 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
BA[1:0] Bank Address 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
BG[1:0] Bank Group 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
Command/Control Signals
ACT_N Activate Command 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
CKE Clock Enable 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
CS_N Chip Select 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
ODT On-Die Termination Enable 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
PAR Command/Address Parity 39Ω to VTT at far end Fly-by
Data Signals
DQ byte/nibble

(8 or 4 bits each)

Data None, uses ODT Point-to-point
DM/DBI

(If present, one per byte)

Data Mask/Data Bus Inversion None, uses ODT Point-to-point (4.7kΩ pull-up to VDDQ if unused)
Data Strobe Signals
DQS_T/DQS_C

(one pair per byte/nibble)

Data Strobe None, uses ODT Point-to-point
Miscellaneous Signals
RESET_N Reset 4.7 kΩ to GND at far end Fly-by
DDR4 Devices/DIMMs Only
ALERT_N (devices) CRC Error Flag Open-Drain Output Connect ALERT_N pins as fly-by and terminate to VDD with a 50Ω resistor Shared Pull-up
ALERT_N (DIMMs) CRC Error Flag Open-Drain Output None None
TEN (devices) Connectivity Test Mode Input 500Ω to GND One per memory device
ZQ (devices) Calibration Reference 240Ω to GND One per memory device
EVENT_N (DIMM) Temperature Event Open-Drain Output Tie all EVENT_N pins in same interface to VDDSPD through 4.7 kΩ resistor Shared Pull-up
Adaptive SoC Only

IO_VR_7xx

IO_VR_8xx (if present)

Calibration Reference

240Ω to VCCO_7xx

240Ω to VCCO_8xx (if present)

 
  1. Clock and address/command/control signals only require PCB termination for component interfaces.
  2. To reduce loading on CK when using DDP-wide or DDP-deep component interfaces, two CK pairs are required for interfaces that have larger than nine loads and a data rate of 1866 Mb/s or higher.
  3. For more information, see Figure 10 and Figure 11.
Important: For single-rank and single-slot RDIMM configurations using the Optimum setting for Future Expansion for PCB Design in the Vivado AXI NoC IP customization tool, the DDR4 output clock pin sites are swapped in the nibble. The CK_T pin is at an N site and the CK_C pin is at a P site. This is a known behavior and does not have any functional impact during operation. Do not manually swap these pins on the external memory interface because this causes the DDR4 clock to be out of phase with the rest of the external signals.

Command/address/control (CAC) signals are routed in a fly-by pattern with far-end termination. DQ and DQS signals are routed point-to-point. The following figure shows examples of fly-by and point-to-point routing.

Figure 1. Point-to-Point (DQ/DQS) and Fly-by (CAC) Routing
Important: When creating a DDR4 interface, all components in the interface must be the same (i.e., share the same part number, data width, density, and speed grade).
Figure 2. Far-End Termination for Differential Clock CK_T/CK_C (Component Interfaces Only)