Altera Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board User Manual

Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board

Reference Manual

101 Innovation Drive San Jose, CA 95134

www.altera.com

Document Version: 1.0 Document Date: March 2010

Copyright © 2010 Altera Corporation. All rights reserved. Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations, and all other words and logos that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holders. Altera products are protected under numerous U.S. and foreign patents and pending applications, maskwork rights, and copyrights. Altera warrants performance of its semiconductor products to current specifications in accordance with Altera's standard warranty, but reserves the right to make changes to any products and services at any time without notice. Altera assumes no responsibility or liability arising out of the application or use of any information, product, or service described herein except as expressly agreed to in writing by Altera Corporation. Altera customers are advised to obtain the latest version of device specifications before relying on any published information and before placing orders for products or services.

MNL-01053-1.0

Chapter 1. Overview

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1

General Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1

Board Component Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–2

Starter Board Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–4

Handling the Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–4

Chapter 2. Board Components

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–1

Board Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–1

Featured Device: Cyclone IV GX Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–4

I/O Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–5

MAX II CPLD EPM2210 System Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–6

Configuration, Status, and Setup Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–9

Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–9

FPGA Configuration over Embedded USB-Blaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–9

FPGA Configuration from Flash Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–11

FPGA Configuration using External USB-Blaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–12

FPGA Configuration using EPCS Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–12

Status Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–13

Setup Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–13

Board Settings DIP Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–14

Configuration Settings DIP Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–14

Configuration Push-Button Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–15

Clock Circuitry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–16

Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Clock Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–16

General User Input/Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–17

User-Defined Push-Button Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–17

User-Defined LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–17

LCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–18

Components and Transceiver Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–19

PCI Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–19

10/100/1000 Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–21

Transceiver SMA Connectors (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–22

Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–22

SSRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–22

Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–24

Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–26

Power Distribution System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–26

Power Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–28

Statement of China-RoHS Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–29

Additional Information

Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Info–1

How to Contact Altera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Info–1

Typographic Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Info–2

Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board Reference Manual © March 2010 Altera Corporation

ary

Introduction

This document describes the hardware features of the Cyclone® IV GX Transceiver starter board, including the detailed pin-out and component reference information required to create custom FPGA designs that interface with all components of the board.

General Description

The Cyclone IV GX transceiver starter board provides a hardware platform for developing and prototyping low-power, high-volume, feature-rich designs as well as to demonstrate the Cyclone IV GX device's on-chip memory, embedded multipliers, and the Nios memory interfaces to facilitate the development of the Cyclone IV GX transceiver designs.

1. Overview

II embedded soft processor. The board provides peripherals and

The Cyclone IV GX transceiver starter board is especially suitable for cost-sensitive applications that require high-speed transceivers and power integrity solutions.

f For more information on the Cyclone IV device family, refer to the Cyclone IV Device

Handbook.

1–2 Chapter 1: Overview

Board Component Blocks

The board features the following major component blocks:

■ Cyclone IV GX EP4CGX15BF14 FPGA in the 169-pin FineLine BGA (FBGA)

package

■ 14,400 LEs

■ 540-kilobit (Kb) on-die memory

■ 20 global clocks

■ 72 user I/Os

■ 3 phase locked loops (PLLs)

■ 1 PCI Express hard IP block

■ 1.2-V core power

■ MAX

■ MAX II EPM240M100 CPLD in the 100-pin Micro FBGA (MBGA) package

II EPM2210F256 CPLD in the 256-pin FBGA package

■ 2.5-V core power

■ FPGA configuration circuitry

■ MAX

II CPLD EPM2210 System Controller and flash passive serial (PS)

configuration

■ On-board USB-Blaster

■ JTAG header for external USB-Blaster with the Quartus II Programmer

■ Erasable programmable configurable serial (EPCS) device

■ On-Board ports

■ USB 2.0

■ One gigabit Ethernet port

■ Transceiver interfaces

■ PCI Express x1 edge connector

■ 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet PHY with RJ-45 connector

■ One optional TX/RX transceiver to SMA connectors (requires a minor

for use with the Quartus® II Programmer

modification on the board)

■ On-Board memory

■ 18-megabit (Mb) Synchronous Static Random Access Memory (SSRAM)

■ 128-Mb flash

■ On-Board clocking circuitry

■ 6-MHz, 24-MHz, 25-MHz, and 50-MHz oscillators

■ 125-MHz LVDS oscillator

■ SMA clock input

Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board Reference Manual © March 2010 Altera Corporation

Chapter 1: Overview 1–3

Board Component Blocks

■ General user I/O

■ LEDs and display

■ Four FPGA user LEDs

■ One configuration done LED

■ One max error LED

■ Five Ethernet status LEDs

■ One USB status LED

■ One power status LED

■ Two PGM LEDs

■ A two-line character LCD display

■ Push-Button switches

■ One CPU reset push-button switch

■ One MAX II configuration reset push-button switch

■ One PGM configure push-button switch (configure the FPGA from flash

memory)

■ One PGM select push-button switch (select image to load from flash

memory)

■ Two general user push-button switches

■ DIP switches

■ Board setting DIP switch

■ Configuration setting DIP switch

■ Power supply

■ 9-V – 16-V DC input

■ 2.5-mm barrel jack for DC power input

■ On/Off slide power switch

■ On-Board power measurement circuitry

■ Mechanical

■ 6.6” x 2.713” board

■ PCI Express chassis or bench-top operation

1–4 Chapter 1: Overview

Starter Board Block Diagram

Figure 1–1 shows the block diagram of the Cyclone IV GX transceiver starter board.

Figure 1–1. Cyclone IV GX transceiver Starter Board Block Diagram

USB

2.0

PHY (SGMII)

Gigabit

Ethernet

Embedded

USB-Blaster

TX/RX SMAs

SMA

JTAG Chain

2nd Channel

SMA

Clock_SMA

EPCS

EP4CGX15BF14

Push-button

Switches

CPLD EPM2210

System Controller

User LEDs

2x16 LCD

x47

18-Mb

SSRAM

128-Mb

Flash

1st Channel

x1 Edge

Handling the Board

When handling the board, it is important to observe the following static discharge precaution:

c Without proper anti-static handling, the board can be damaged. Therefore, use

anti-static handling precautions when touching the board.

User LEDs

Push-button

Switches

Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board Reference Manual © March 2010 Altera Corporation

Introduction

1 A complete set of schematics, a physical layout database, and GERBER files for the

f For information about powering up the board and installing the demonstration

2. Board Components

This chapter introduces the major components on the Cyclone IV GX Transceiver starter board. provides a brief description of all component features of the board.

starter board reside in the Cyclone IV GX Transceiver starter kit documents directory.

software, refer to the Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Kit User Guide.

This chapter consists of the following sections:

■ “Board Overview”

■ “Featured Device: Cyclone IV GX Device” on page 2–4

Figure 2–1 illustrates major component locations and Ta bl e 2–1

■ “MAX II CPLD EPM2210 System Controller” on page 2–6

■ “Configuration, Status, and Setup Elements” on page 2–9

■ “Clock Circuitry” on page 2–16

■ “General User Input/Output” on page 2–17

■ “Components and Transceiver Interfaces” on page 2–19

■ “Memory” on page 2–22

■ “Power Supply” on page 2–26

■ “Statement of China-RoHS Compliance” on page 2–29

Board Overview

This section provides an overview of the Cyclone IV GX Transceiver starter board, including an annotated board image and component descriptions. provides an overview of the starter board features.

Figure 2–1

2–2 Chapter 2: Board Components

Clock Input

SMAs

Connector

(J2, J3)

Max II Reset Push-Button Switch (S3)

PGM Select Push-Button

Switch

(S2)

DC Input Jack (J4)

Cyclone

IV GX FPGA

(U8)

Character

LCD

(J6)

CPU Reset

Push-Button

Switch (S4)

Power Switch

(SW1)

Transceiver

TX SMA

Connectors

(J10, J11)

Ethernet

LEDs

(D14-D18)

MAX II

CPLD

EPM2210

System

Controller

(U10)

User

LEDs

(D5-D8)

Flash x16

Memory (U11)

PCI Express

Edge

Connector

(U14)

USB Type-B

Connector (J5)

Gigabit

Ethernet

Por t

(J16)

JTAG

Connector

(J1)

SSRAM x18

Memory

(U12)

Error and

Configuration

Done LEDs

(D1, D2)

PGM

Configure

Push-Button

Switch (S1)

Power LED

(D12)

Transceiver

RX SMA

Connectors

(J8, J9)

User

Push-Button

Switches (S5, S6)

MAX II

CPLD

EPM240

Embedded

USB-Blaster

(U4)

Resistor

Multiplexer

(R52, R53)

Capacitor Multiplexer (C58, C59)

Board Overview

Figure 2–1. Overview of the Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board Features

Tab le 2–1 describes the components and lists their corresponding board references.

Table 2–1. Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board Components (Part 1 of 3)

Board Reference Type Description

Featured Devices

U8 FPGA EP4CGX15BF14, 169-pin FBGA.

U10 CPLD EPM2210F256, 256-pin FBGA.

Configuration, Status, and Setup Elements

J5 USB Type-B connector Connects to the computer to enable embedded USB-Blaster JTAG.

J13 JTAG chain header Enables and disables devices in the JTAG chain.

S8 Board settings DIP switch Controls the MAX II CPLD EPM2210 System Controller functions

such as clock select, SMA clock input control, and which image to load from flash memory at power-up. This switch is located at the bottom of the board.

J1 JTAG connector Disables embedded blaster (for use with external USB-Blasters).

U15 EPCS128 serial configuration

device

Flash memory device with a serial interface which stores configuration data for FPGA device that supports active serial configuration and reloads the data to the FPGA upon power-up or reconfiguration.

Chapter 2: Board Components 2–3

Board Overview

Table 2–1. Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board Components (Part 2 of 3)

Board Reference Type Description

D2 Load LED Illuminates when the MAX II CPLD EPM2210 System Controller is

actively configuring the FPGA.

D1 Error LED Illuminates when the FPGA configuration from flash memory fails.

D14, D15, D16,

Ethernet LEDs Shows the connection speed as well as transmit or receive activity.

D17, D18

D12 Power LED Illuminates when 9-V – 16-V DC power is present.

S7 Configuration settings DIP

switch

Sets the configuration mode to either passive serial (flash) or active serial (EPCS). This switch is located at the bottom of the board.

S4 CPU reset push-button switch Press to reset the FPGA logic.

S3 MAX II reset push-button

Press to reset the MAX II CPLD EPM2210 System Controller.

switch

S2 PGM select push-button switch Toggles the PGM LEDs which selects the program image that loads

from flash memory to the FPGA.

S1 PGM configure push-button

switch

Configure the FGPA from flash memory based on the PGM LEDs setting.

Clock Circuitry

X1 125-MHz oscillator 125-MHz crystal oscillator for PCI Express or general use such as

memories. Multiplexed with CLKIN_SMA_P/N signals based on CLK_SEL switch value.

X5 50-MHz oscillator 50-MHz crystal oscillator for configuration purpose. This oscillator is

located at the bottom of the board.

J2, J3 Clock input SMAs Drive LVPECL-compatible clock inputs into the clock multiplexer

buffer (U6).

General User Input/Output

D5, D6, D7, D8 User LEDs Four user LEDs. Illuminates when driven low.

S5, S6 User push-button switches Two user push-button switches. Driven low when pressed.

J6 Character LCD Connector which interfaces to the provided 16 character × 2 line LCD

module.

Memory Devices

U12 SSRAM x18 memory Standard synchronous RAM which provides a 2-MB SSRAM port.

U11 Flash x16 memory Synchronous burst mode flash device which provides a 16-MB

non-volatile memory port.

Components and Transceiver Interfaces

J7 RJ-45 connector Provides 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet connection via a Marvell

88E1111 PHY and the FPGA-based Altera Triple Speed Ethernet MegaCore function in SGMII mode.

U9 Gigabit Ethernet A Marvell 88E1111 PHY device for 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet

connection. The device is an auto-negotiating Ethernet PHY with an SGMII interface to the FPGA.

U14 PCI Express edge connector Interfaces to a PCI Express root port such as an appropriate PC

motherboard. Made of gold-plated edge fingers for up to ×1 signaling in Gen1 mode.

2–4 Chapter 2: Board Components

Featured Device: Cyclone IV GX Device

Table 2–1. Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board Components (Part 3 of 3)

Board Reference Type Description

J8, J9 Transceiver RX SMA connectors Two input SMAs (optional) to the high-speed positive and negative

differential receiver channel. These connectors cannot be used together with the Gigabit Ethernet port.

J10, J11 Transceiver TX SMA connectors Two output SMAs (optional) from the high-speed positive and

negative differential transmitter channel. These connectors cannot be used together with the Gigabit Ethernet port.

C57, C58, C59, C60

R51, R52, R53, R54

Power Supply

J4 DC input jack Accepts a 9-V – 16-V DC power supply. Do not use this input jack

SW1 Power switch Switch to power on or off the board when power is supplied from the

Transceiver RX capacitor multiplexer

Transceiver TX resistor multiplexer

Capacitor multiplexer which requires a minor modification on the board if the optional transceiver RX SMA connectors (J8, J9) are used.

Resistor multiplexer which requires a minor modification on the board if the optional transceiver TX SMA connectors (J11, J10) are used.

while the board is plugged into a PCI Express slot.

DC input jack.

Featured Device: Cyclone IV GX Device

The Cyclone IV GX Transceiver starter board features the Cyclone IV GX EP4CGX15BF14 device (U8) in a 169-pin FBGA package.

f For more information about Cyclone IV device family, refer to the Cyclone IV Device

Handbook.

Tab le 2–2 describes the features of the Cyclone IV GX EP4CGX15BF14 device.

Table 2–2. Cyclone IV GX EP4CGX15BF14 Device Features

M9K RAM Blocks

Equivalent LEs

14,400 9 540 0 2 3 169-pin FBGA

(Kbits)

Tab le 2–3 lists the Cyclone IV GX device component reference and manufacturing

information.

Table 2–3. Cyclone IV GX Device Component Reference and Manufacturing Information

Board Reference Description Manufacturer

U8 FPGA, Cyclone IV GX,

169-pin FBGA package, 14K LEs, lead-free

Embedded

Memory (Kbits)

Altera

18-bit × 18-bit

Multipliers

Corporation EP4CGX15BF14 www.altera.com

Transceivers

(2.5 Gbps) PLLs Package Type

Manufacturing

Part Number

Manufacturer

Website

+ 28 hidden pages

Altera Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Starter Board

Reference Manual

Contents

Introduction

General Description

1. Overview

Board Component Blocks

Starter Board Block Diagram

Handling the Board

Introduction

2. Board Components

Board Overview

Featured Device: Cyclone IV GX Device