HC4GX15 Datasheet, PDF (235/668 Pages) Altera Corporation – HardCopy IV Device Handbook

HIV52004-2.0
4. Matching Stratix IV Power and
Configuration Requirements with
HardCopy IV Devices
This chapter describes power-up options for both HardCopy^® IV E and
HardCopy IV GX devices and provides examples of how to replace FPGAs in the
system with the HardCopy IV E and HardCopy IV GX devices. Both variants of
HardCopy IV devices have the same power-up options.
Configuring an FPGA is the process of loading the design data into the device. The
Altera^® SRAM-based Stratix^® IV FPGA requires configuration each time the device is
powered up. After the device is powered down, the configuration data within the
Stratix IV device is lost and must be loaded again on power up.
HardCopy IV devices are mask-programmed and do not require configuration. One
of the advantages of HardCopy IV devices is their instant-on capability upon power
up. In addition, there are options to increase delay to postpone HardCopy IV devices
power up.
HardCopy IV Power-Up Options
HardCopy IV devices feature two power-up modes:
■ Instant On (no added delay)
■ Instant On After 50ms Delay
The intent of the power-up modes is to give customers the option of choosing
between Instant On and Instant On After 50ms Delay.
Instant On mode is the fastest power-up option on a HardCopy IV device. This mode
is used when the HardCopy IV device powers up independently while other
components on the board require initialization and configuration. Therefore, you
must verify all signals that propagate to and from the HardCopy IV device (for
example, reference clocks and other input pins) are stable and do not interrupt
HardCopy IV device operation.
Some customers use Instant On After 50ms Delay mode because the system might
require the FPGA and HardCopy IV devices to wait until a neighboring processor
initializes completely. This mode holds the design in reset for 50ms prior to startup. In
addition to the considerations of the system, the software expects the delay from the
FPGA device, which will now be replaced with the HardCopy device, and in these
cases, customers choose this option.
1 You must choose the power-up option when submitting the design database to Altera
for HardCopy IV devices. After the HardCopy IV devices are manufactured, the
power-up option cannot be changed.
Instant On mode is the traditional power-up scheme of most ASIC and non-volatile
devices. Similar to Stratix IV devices, HardCopy IV devices go through four phases
before transitioning to user mode. However, because HardCopy IV devices do not
require configuration, the configuration phase is replaced by a delay phase with either
no added delay or a 50 ms delay.
© June 2009 Altera Corporation
HardCopy IV Device Handbook, Volume 2