SDRAM Memory Controller for Terasic DE0-nano

jeorges F. (khal1985) OP (Company: xlue) 2015-03-19 17:59 #4058997

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Hi everyone,

I want to write an VHDL SDRAM controller for IS42S16160B-7 32MB SDRAM 
chip that comes with Terasic DE0-nano FPGA board.
First of all, i tried to look at some codes that developed for that 
purpose, the interesting one was the Hamster code: 
http://hamsterworks.co.nz/mediawiki/index.php/SDRAM_Memory_Controller
But i didn't understand the use of the counter used to make 
initialization, and also the different values of it.

I would like to know if anyone has an idea please.
Thanks in advance.
Best Regards

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Sigi Guest 2015-03-19 19:20 #4059118

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I'm not sure if you mean "init_counter", if yes:
it ensures the correct initialization, which requires
a minimum of e.g. 100us. This detail is specified
in the related datasheet and ensures that the related
pll, sdram's internal controller etc. runs stable.

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Sigi Guest 2015-03-19 19:21 #4059120

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And btw.: if this is your first controller, start with
hamster's first approach, it's very simple to implement
and it's used in several projects.

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jeorges F. (khal1985) OP (Company: xlue) 2015-03-20 10:22 #4059779

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Thanks Sigi,
Yes, it's my first controller. What i don't understand is this part of 
code:

 signal r : reg := ((others => '0'), (others => '0'), 
                      (others => '0'), "000000000001000", (others => '0'), 
                      '0', '0', '0', (others => '0'), (others => '0'), '0', (others => '0'));

specially the value of  "000000000001000", it doesn't correspond to 
100us minimum "init_counter"

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jeorges F. (khal1985) OP (Company: xlue) 2015-03-20 11:04 #4059829

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And also this part of code:

n.init_counter <= r.init_counter-1;
      -- Process the FSM
      case r.state(8 downto 4) is
         when s_init_nop(8 downto 4) =>
            n.state     <= s_init_nop;
            n.address <= (others => '0');
            n.bank    <= (others => '0');
            n.rf_counter   <= (others => '0');
            n.data_out_valid <= '1';
            -- T-130, precharge all banks.
            if r.init_counter = "000000010000010" then
               n.state     <= s_init_pre;
               n.address(10)   <= '1';
            end if;
            -- T-127, T-111, T-95, T-79, T-63, T-47, T-31, T-15, the 8 refreshes
            if r.init_counter(14 downto 7) = 0 and r.init_counter(3 downto 0) = 15 then
               n.state     <= s_init_ref;
            end if;
            -- T-3, the load mode register 
            if r.init_counter = 3 then
               n.state     <= s_init_mrs;
                           -- Mode register is as follows:
                           -- resvd   wr_b   OpMd   CAS=3   Seq   bust=4
                n.address   <= "000" & "0" & "00" & "011" & "0" & "010";
               n.bank      <= "00";
            end if;
            -- T-1 The switch to the FSM (first command will be a NOP
            if r.init_counter = 1 then
               n.state          <= s_idle;
            end if;

I I understand, the "init_counter" value must be: initialization 
time(100us for example) + tRP(precharge time)+ tRC(auto refresh 
time)+tMRD(mode register time).
Best regards

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Sigi Guest 2015-03-20 11:42 #4059872

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Hi,

yesterday I spent only few minutes to roughly understand the
different approaches and I thought/allready think they are more
or less easy to understand. And I spent only ~10 seconds to find
your initial signal, without trying to understand the code
completely.

So, after taking a deeper look into the code, my opinion is
now: "Ok Jesus, this is rocket science, hard to understand".
(init_counter is init with value 8, and then compared with
value 130 ??, this makes no sense, there is nothing like
"wait for 100 us" ??)

My advice is: Take the first approach as inspiration, download
a good datasheet from eg MICRON (MT48LC4M32B2.pdf) and start
with your own design. All the essential parts (Init, Read, Write,
Active, Precharge, Refresh) are "linear", so they are easy
to map into a simple FSM. Then download the verilog/VHDL design
of the SDRAM and check with a simple testbench the correctness.

(or try to find a "good" SDRAM-controller, a good starting
point are the classic computing designs like MiniMIG, AtariST
etc., almost all 16Bit Computer Designs uses SDRAMs)

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jeorges F. (khal1985) OP (Company: xlue) 2015-03-20 14:19 #4060085

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Thank you for you advice.

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