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Interfacing FPGA to on-board SRAM Stratix EP1S40F780C5

Hello All,

I am trying to interface the on-board SRAM (IDT71V416 256Kx16) to the FPGA on the Stratix. It is not installed among the library components in the SOPC builder so I cannot instantiate it automatically.

I have the datasheet for the SRAM but I need to know where the address, data pins etc. are connected to the FPGA. The pin-out table doesn't seem to specify that in the Stratix handbook.

Can anybody tell me where to look for information or an alternative methodology? That would be really helpful.

Thanks a mil! Ed

Reply to
Edward
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which board?

I would expect to find it in the circuit board docs.

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-- Mike Treseler

Reply to
Mike Treseler

Hi Ed,

Hmm, sounds awfully like you have the Nios dev kit ('pro' edition).

The easy way to get your SRAM going is to locate your Nios kit installation CD and make sure your install is up-to-date. That SRAM chip *should* be included with SOPC Builder if you have Nios properly installed. It will be listed under the components for the Nios 1S40 dev board.

For pin-outs, the various Nios/Nios II example designs (standard or standard_32) will have this SRAM instantiated and will have all the pins wired up and ready-to-go. This should save some time over manually assigning the pins! (a human-error-prone process I have never been fond of regardless of the tool).... so the ultra-easy way do use this SRAM would be to simply copy one of these Nios exampled designs off to a separate location, modify at-will to get the peripherals/system choices you need, and keep the SRAM/pinouts/Avalon connections the same.

Regards,

Jesse Kempa Altera Corp. jkempa at altera dot com

Reply to
Jesse Kempa

Thanks for the tip. Yes, I forgot to add that I have the Stratix Nios Development Kit (Professional). I have another problem though. I can add symbols in the .bdf files i.e. lpm_add, lpm_mult etc. However, these basic components are not avialable in the MegaWizard Plugin. I tried adding new IP blocks (SDRAM controller) to the wizard and this does not show in the Wizard like the guide said it would. That's after re-installation of the Quartus 2 (v4), service pack 1 and the Nios CD (Installation did not produce any errors). I tried editing the wizard.lst file and yes, it did show up on the Wizard interface but the component is still not available. An exhaustive search of manuals and online documentation didn't reveal anything. Any suggestions?

Reply to
Edward

Hi Edward,

I'm not sure about this -- you may want to give an FAE a call about it. I myself just removed Quartus & installed a new version, and sure enough, the basic lpm's are all included in the megawizard, so it is definitely something that should be present with a proper installation.

One note, however: the components available in the megawizard and those in SOPC Builder are mutually exclusive; the SDRAM controller in SOPC Builder that works with Nios (or any Avalon system) isn't the same as the one you can download and put into the megawizard independent of SOPC Builder... just wanted to address any confusion there.

Jesse Kempa Altera Corp. jkempa at altera dot com

Reply to
Jesse Kempa

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