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Virtex-5 FPGA User Guide
UG190 (v5.0) June 19, 2009
Chapter 6:
SelectIO Resources
Virtex-5 FPGA Digitally Controlled Impedance (DCI)
Introduction
As FPGAs get bigger and system clock speeds get faster, PC board design and
manufacturing becomes more difficult. With ever faster edge rates, maintaining signal
integrity becomes a critical issue. PC board traces must be properly terminated to avoid
reflections or ringing.
To terminate a trace, resistors are traditionally added to make the output and/or input
match the impedance of the receiver or driver to the impedance of the trace. However, due
to increased device I/Os, adding resistors close to the device pins increases the board area
and component count, and can in some cases be physically impossible. To address these
issues and to achieve better signal integrity, Xilinx developed the Digitally Controlled
Impedance (DCI) technology.
DCI adjusts the output impedance or input termination to accurately match the
characteristic impedance of the transmission line. DCI actively adjusts the impedance of
the I/O to equal an external reference resistance. This compensates for changes in I/O
impedance due to process variation. It also continuously adjusts the impedance of the I/O
to compensate for variations of temperature and supply voltage fluctuations.
In the case of controlled impedance drivers, DCI controls the driver impedance to match
two reference resistors, or optionally, to match half the value of these reference resistors.
DCI eliminates the need for external series termination resistors.
DCI provides the parallel or series termination for transmitters or receivers. This
eliminates the need for termination resistors on the board, reduces board routing
difficulties and component count, and improves signal integrity by eliminating stub
reflection. Stub reflection occurs when termination resistors are located too far from the
end of the transmission line. With DCI, the termination resistors are as close as possible to
the output driver or the input buffer, thus, eliminating stub reflections.
DCI Cascading
Previously, using DCI I/O standards in a bank required connecting external reference
resistors to the VRN and VRP pins in that same bank. The VRN/VRP pins provide a
reference voltage used by internal DCI circuitry to adjust the I/O output impedance to
match the external reference resistors. As shown in
, a digital control bus is
internally distributed throughout the bank to control the impedance of each I/O.
The Virtex-5 FPGA banks using DCI I/O standards now have the option of deriving the
DCI impedance values from another DCI bank. With DCI cascading, one bank (the master
bank) must have its VRN/VRP pins connected to external reference resistors. Also, at least
one I/O in that bank (the master bank) must be configured as DCI. Other banks in the same
column (slave banks) can use DCI standards with the same impedance as the master bank,
X-Ref Target - Figure 6-4
Figure 6-4:
DCI Use within a Bank
UG190_6_95_019507
DCI
VRN/VRP
To
Local
Bank
Summary of Contents for Virtex-5 FPGA ML561
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