Intel Cyclone V Instruction Manual

AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC
Device Design Guidelines
Updated for Intel® Quartus® Prime Design Suite: 18.0
Subscribe
Send Feedback
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
Latest document on the web: PDF | HTML

Contents
1. Overview of the Design Guidelines for Cyclone® V SoC FPGAs and Arria® V SoC
FPGAs........................................................................................................................ 4
1.1. The SoC FPGA Designer’s Checklist.......................................................................... 5
1.2. Overview of HPS Design Guidelines for SoC FPGA design.............................................7
1.3. Overview of Board Design Guidelines for SoC FPGA Design..........................................8
1.4. Overview of Embedded Software Design Guidelines for SoC FPGA Design...................... 9
2. Background: Comparison between Cyclone V SoC FPGA and Arria V SoC FPGA HPS
Subsystems............................................................................................................. 10
2.1. Guidelines for Interconnecting the HPS and FPGA.....................................................10
2.1.1. HPS-FPGA Bridges....................................................................................10
2.1.2. FPGA-to-HPS SDRAM Access......................................................................12
2.1.3. Connecting Soft Logic to HPS Component....................................................14
3. Design Guidelines for HPS portion of SoC FPGAs...........................................................15
3.1. Start your SoC-FPGA design here...........................................................................15
3.1.1. Recommended Starting Point for HPS-to-FPGA Interface Design..................... 15
3.1.2. Determining your SoC FPGA Topology......................................................... 15
3.2. Design Considerations for Connecting Device I/O to HPS Peripherals and Memory.........16
3.2.1. HPS Pin Assignment Design Considerations..................................................17
3.2.2. HPS I/O Settings: Constraints and Drive Strengths....................................... 18
3.3. HPS Clocking and Reset Design Considerations........................................................ 19
3.3.1. HPS Clock Planning.................................................................................. 20
3.3.2. Early Pin Planning and I/O Assignment Analysis........................................... 20
3.3.3. Pin Features and Connections for HPS JTAG, Clocks, Reset and PoR ............... 20
3.3.4. Internal Clocks........................................................................................ 21
3.4. HPS EMIF Design Considerations............................................................................21
3.4.1. Considerations for Connecting HPS to SDRAM.............................................. 21
3.4.2. HPS SDRAM I/O Locations.........................................................................23
3.4.3. Integrating the HPS EMIF with the SoC FPGA Device.....................................23
3.4.4. HPS Memory Debug................................................................................. 23
3.5. DMA Considerations............................................................................................. 24
3.5.1. Choosing a DMA Controller........................................................................ 24
3.5.2. Optimizing DMA Master Bandwidth through HPS Interconnect........................ 24
3.5.3. Timing Closure for FPGA Accelerators......................................................... 24
3.6. Managing Coherency for FPGA Accelerators............................................................. 25
3.6.1. Cache Coherency..................................................................................... 25
3.6.2. Coherency between FPGA Logic and HPS: Accelerator Coherency Port (ACP).... 25
3.6.3. Data Size Impacts ACP Performance........................................................... 25
3.6.4. FPGA Access to ACP via AXI or Avalon-MM...................................................26
3.6.5. Data Alignment for ACP and L2 Cache ECC accesses..................................... 26
3.7. IP Debug Tools.................................................................................................... 26
4. Board Design Guidelines for SoC FPGAs........................................................................ 28
4.1. Board Bring Up Considerations...............................................................................28
4.1.1. Reserved BSEL Setting............................................................................. 28
4.2. Boot and Configuration Design Considerations......................................................... 28
4.2.1. Boot Design Considerations....................................................................... 28
Contents
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
2

4.2.2. Configuration.......................................................................................... 32
4.2.3. Reference Materials..................................................................................32
4.3. HPS Power Design Considerations.......................................................................... 32
4.3.1. Early System and Board Planning...............................................................33
4.3.2. Design Considerations for HPS and FPGA Power Supplies for SoC FPGA
devices...................................................................................................34
4.3.3. Pin Connection Considerations for Board Designs..........................................34
4.3.4. Power Analysis and Optimization................................................................ 35
4.4. Boundary Scan for HPS.........................................................................................36
4.5. Design Guidelines for HPS Interfaces...................................................................... 36
4.5.1. HPS EMAC PHY Interfaces......................................................................... 36
4.5.2. USB Interface Design Guidelines................................................................ 43
4.5.3. QSPI Flash Interface Design Guidelines....................................................... 44
4.5.4. SD/MMC and eMMC Card Interface Design Guidelines................................... 45
4.5.5. NAND Flash Interface Design Guidelines......................................................46
4.5.6. UART Interface Design Guidelines...............................................................46
4.5.7. I2C Interface Design Guidelines..................................................................47
4.5.8. SPI Interface Design Guidelines................................................................. 47
5. Embedded Software Design Guidelines for SoC FPGAs.................................................. 49
5.1. Embedded Software for HPS: Design Guidelines.......................................................49
5.1.1. Assembling the Components of Your Software Development Platform..............49
5.1.2. Selecting an Operating System for Your Application...................................... 52
5.1.3. Assembling your Software Development Platform for Linux............................ 53
5.1.4. Assembling a Software Development Platform for a Bare-Metal Application...... 57
5.1.5. Assembling your Software Development Platform for a Partner OS or RTOS..... 58
5.1.6. Choosing Boot Loader Software................................................................. 58
5.1.7. Selecting Software Tools for Development, Debug and Trace.......................... 60
5.2. Flash Device Driver Design Considerations.............................................................. 61
5.3. HPS ECC Design Considerations............................................................................. 61
5.3.1. General ECC Design Considerations............................................................ 62
5.3.2. System-Level ECC Control, Status and Interrupt Management........................62
5.3.3. ECC for L2 Cache Data Memory................................................................. 62
5.3.4. ECC for Flash Memory.............................................................................. 63
5.4. HPS SDRAM Considerations...................................................................................63
5.4.1. Using the Preloader To Debug the HPS SDRAM............................................. 63
5.4.2. Access HPS SDRAM via the FPGA-to-SDRAM Interface...................................67
A. Support and Documentation......................................................................................... 69
A.1. Support..............................................................................................................69
A.2. Software Documentation.......................................................................................70
B. Additional Information................................................................................................. 71
B.1. Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Guidelines Revision History....................................71
Contents
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
3

1. Overview of the Design Guidelines for Cyclone® V SoC
FPGAs and Arria® V SoC FPGAs
The purpose of this document is to provide a set of design guidelines and
recommendations, as well as a list of factors to consider, for designs that use the
Cyclone V SoC and Arria V SoC FPGA devices. This document assists you in the
planning and early design phases of the SoC FPGA design, Platform Designer
(Standard) sub-system design, board design and software application design.
Note: This application note does not include all the Cyclone V/Arria V Hard Processor System
(HPS) device details, features or information on designing the hardware or software
system. For more information about the Cyclone V or Arria V HPS features and
individual peripherals, refer to the respective Hard Processor System Technical
Reference Manual.
Design guidelines for the FPGA portion of your design are provided in the Arria V and
Cyclone V Design Guidelines.
Related Information
•Arria V Hard Processor System Technical Reference Manual
•Cyclone V Hard Processor System Technical Reference Manual
•Intel MAX 10 FPGA Design Guidelines
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Altera, Arria, Cyclone, Enpirion, MAX, Nios, Quartus
and Stratix words and logos are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other
countries. Intel warrants performance of its FPGA and semiconductor products to current specifications in
accordance with Intel's standard warranty, but reserves the right to make changes to any products and services
at any time without notice. Intel 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 Intel. Intel
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.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
ISO
9001:2015
Registered

1.1. The SoC FPGA Designer’s Checklist
Table 1. The SoC FPGA Designer's Checklist
Step Title Links Check (X)
HPS Designer's Checklist for SoC FPGAs
Start your SoC FPGA Design here Start your SoC-FPGA design here on page 15
Determining your SoC FPGA Topology on page 15
Design Considerations for Connecting
Device I/O to HPS Peripherals and
Memory
HPS Pin Assignment Design Considerations on page 17
HPS I/O Settings: Constraints and Drive Strengths on page 18
HPS Clocking and Reset Design
Considerations
HPS Clock Planning on page 20
Early Pin Planning and I/O Assignment Analysis on page 20
Pin Features and Connections for HPS JTAG, Clocks, Reset and PoR
on page 20
Internal Clocks on page 21
HPS EMIF Design Considerations Considerations for Connecting HPS to SDRAM on page 21
HPS SDRAM I/O Locations on page 23
Integrating the HPS EMIF with the SoC FPGA Device on page 23
HPS Memory Debug on page 23
DMA Considerations Choosing a DMA Controller on page 24
Optimizing DMA Master Bandwidth through HPS Interconnect on page
24
Timing Closure for FPGA Accelerators on page 24
Managing Coherency for FPGA
Accelerators
Cache Coherency on page 25
Coherency between FPGA Logic and HPS: Accelerator Coherency Port
(ACP) on page 25
Data Size Impacts ACP Performance on page 25
FPGA Access to ACP via AXI or Avalon-MM on page 26
Data Alignment for ACP and L2 Cache ECC accesses on page 26
IP Debug Tools IP Debug Tools on page 26
Board Designer's Checklist for SoC FPGAs
HPS Power Design Considerations Early System and Board Planning on page 33
Early Power Estimation on page 33
Design Considerations for HPS and FPGA Power Supplies for SoC
FPGA devices on page 34
Pin Connection Considerations for Board Designs on page 34
Device Power-Up on page 34
Power Analysis and Optimization on page 35
Boundary Scan for HPS Boundary Scan for HPS on page 36
Design Guidelines for HPS Interfaces HPS EMAC PHY Interfaces on page 36
continued...
1. Overview of the Design Guidelines for Cyclone® V SoC FPGAs and Arria® V SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
5

Step Title Links Check (X)
USB Interface Design Guidelines on page 43
QSPI Flash Interface Design Guidelines on page 44
SD/MMC and eMMC Card Interface Design Guidelines on page 45
NAND Flash Interface Design Guidelines on page 46
UART Interface Design Guidelines on page 46
I2C Interface Design Guidelines on page 47
SPI Interface Design Guidelines on page 47
Embedded Software Designer's Checklist for SoC FPGAs
Assemble the components of your
Software Development Platform
Assembling the Components of Your Software Development Platform
on page 49
Golden Hardware Reference Design on page 50
Select an Operating System (OS) for
your application
Linux or RTOS on page 52
Bare Metal on page 52
Using Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical Multiprocessing (SMP vs. AMP)
Modes on page 53
Assemble your Software
Development Platform for Linux
Golden System Reference Design (GSRD) for Linux on page 54
GSRD for Linux Development Flow on page 54
GSRD for Linux Build Flow on page 55
Linux Device Tree Design Considerations on page 56
Assemble your Software
Development Platform for Bare-metal
Application
Assembling a Software Development Platform for a Bare-Metal
Application on page 57
Assemble your Software
Development Platform for Partner
OS/RTOS Application
Assembling your Software Development Platform for a Partner OS or
RTOS on page 58
Choose the Boot Loader Software Choosing Boot Loader Software on page 58
Selecting Software Tools for
Development, Debug and Trace
Select Software Build Tools on page 60
Select Software Debug Tools on page 60
Select Software Trace Tools on page 61
Board Bring Up Considerations Board Bring Up Considerations on page 28
Boot and Configuration Design
Considerations
Boot Design Considerations on page 28
Configuration on page 32
Flash Device Driver Considerations Flash Device Driver Design Considerations on page 61
HPS ECC Design Considerations HPS ECC Design Considerations on page 61
HPS SDRAM Considerations HPS SDRAM Considerations on page 63
1. Overview of the Design Guidelines for Cyclone® V SoC FPGAs and Arria® V SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
6

1.2. Overview of HPS Design Guidelines for SoC FPGA design
Table 2. HPS Design Guidelines Overview
Stages of the HPS Design Flow Guidelines Links
Hardware and Software Partitioning Determine your system topology and
use it as a starting point for your HPS
to FPGA interface design.
Guidelines for Interconnecting the HPS
and FPGA on page 10
HPS Pin Multiplexing and I/O
Configuration Settings
Plan configuration settings for the HPS
system including I/O multiplexing
options, interface to FPGA and SDRAM,
clocks, peripheral settings
Design Considerations for Connecting
Device I/O to HPS Peripherals and
Memory on page 16
HPS Clocks and Reset Considerations HPS clocks and cold and warm reset
considerations
HPS Clocking and Reset Design
Considerations on page 19
HPS EMIF Considerations Usage of the HPS EMIF controller and
related considerations
HPS EMIF Design Considerations on
page 21
FPGA Accelerator Design
Considerations
Design considerations to manage
coherency between FPGA accelerators
and the HPS
DMA Considerations on page 24
Recommended Tools for IP
Development
Signal Tap II, BFMs, System Console IP Debug Tools on page 26
1. Overview of the Design Guidelines for Cyclone® V SoC FPGAs and Arria® V SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
7

1.3. Overview of Board Design Guidelines for SoC FPGA Design
Table 3. Board Design: Design Guidelines Overview
Stages of the Board Design Flow Guidelines Links
HPS Power design considerations Power on board bring up, early power
estimation, design considerations for
HPS and FPGA power supplies, power
analysis and power optimization
HPS Power Design Considerations on
page 32
Board design guidelines for HPS
interfaces
Includes EMAC, USB, QSPI, SD/MMC,
NAND, UART and I2C
Design Guidelines for HPS Interfaces
on page 36
1. Overview of the Design Guidelines for Cyclone® V SoC FPGAs and Arria® V SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
8

1.4. Overview of Embedded Software Design Guidelines for SoC
FPGA Design
Table 4. Embedded Software: Design Guidelines Overview
Stages of the Embedded Software
Design Flow
Guidelines Links
Operating System (OS) considerations OS considerations to meet your
application needs, including real time,
software reuse, support and ease of
use considerations
Selecting an Operating System for Your
Application on page 52
Boot Loader considerations Boot loader considerations to meet
your application needs. including GPL
requirements, and features.
Choosing Boot Loader Software on
page 58
Boot and Configuration Design
Considerations
Boot source, boot clock, boot fuses,
configuration flows
Boot and Configuration Design
Considerations on page 28
HPS ECC Considerations ECC for external SDRAM interface, L2
cache data memory, flash memory
HPS ECC Design Considerations on
page 61
HPS SDRAM Considerations Using Preloader to debug HPS SDRAM,
Accessing the HPS SDRAM
HPS SDRAM Considerations on page
63
1. Overview of the Design Guidelines for Cyclone® V SoC FPGAs and Arria® V SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
9

2. Background: Comparison between Cyclone V SoC FPGA
and Arria V SoC FPGA HPS Subsystems
While the HPS subsystems in Cyclone V SoC and Arria V SoC are architecturally
similar, there are a few differences in features as listed below.
HPS Features Cyclone V SoC Arria V SoC
Maximum MPU Frequency Up to 925 MHz Up to 1.05 GHz
Controller Area Network (CAN) Yes No
Total HPS Dedicated I/O with Loaner capability Up to 67 94 (1)
Automotive Grade Option Yes No
Maximum supported DDR3 Frequency for HPS SDRAM 400 MHz 533 MHz
Related Information
Differences Among Intel SoC Device Families
2.1. Guidelines for Interconnecting the HPS and FPGA
The memory-mapped connectivity between the HPS and the FPGA fabric is a crucial
tool to maximize the performance of your design.
Design guidelines for the FPGA portion of your design are provided in the Arria V and
Cyclone V Design Guidelines.
Related Information
Arria V and Cyclone V Design Guidelines
2.1.1. HPS-FPGA Bridges
The HPS has three bridges that use memory-mapped interfaces to the FPGA based on
the Arm* Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA*) Advanced eXtensible
Interface (AXI*). Their purpose determines the direction of each bridge.
(1) You can only assign a maximum of 71 HPS I/O as Loaner I/O to the FPGA. For a detailed
comparison between the HPS subsystem for Cyclone V SoC and Arria V SoC, refer to
Differences Among Intel SoC Device Families.
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Altera, Arria, Cyclone, Enpirion, MAX, Nios, Quartus
and Stratix words and logos are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other
countries. Intel warrants performance of its FPGA and semiconductor products to current specifications in
accordance with Intel's standard warranty, but reserves the right to make changes to any products and services
at any time without notice. Intel 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 Intel. Intel
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.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
ISO
9001:2015
Registered

Figure 1. HPS-FPGA Bridges
LWH2F Bridge
32 bit
H2F Bridge
32/64/128 bit
F2H Bridge
32/64/128 bit
DMA
L3 Slave
Peripheral Switch
All Other
L3 Slaves
L3 Master
Peripheral Switch
All Other
L3 Masters
L3 Interconnect
Main Switch
FPGA Fabric
F2S Interface
MPU
SRAM
Controller
ACP
Key:
H2F: HPS-to-FPGA
LWH2F: Lightweight HPS-to-FPGA
F2H: FPGA-to-HPS
F2S: FPGA-to-SDRAM
2.1.1.1. Lightweight HPS-to-FPGA Bridge
GUIDELINE: Use the lightweight HPS-to-FPGA bridge to connect IP that
needs to be controlled by the HPS.
The lightweight HPS-to-FPGA bridge allows masters in the HPS to access memory-
mapped control slave ports in the FPGA portion of the SoC device. Typically, only the
MPU inside the HPS accesses this bridge to perform control and status register
accesses to peripherals in the FPGA.
GUIDELINE: Do not use the lightweight HPS-to-FPGA bridge for FPGA
memory. Instead use the HPS-to-FPGA bridge for memory.
When the MPU accesses control and status registers within peripherals, these
transactions are typically strongly ordered (non-posted). By dedicating the lightweight
HPS-to-FPGA bridge to register accesses, the access time is minimized because
bursting traffic is routed to the HPS-to-FPGA bridge instead.
The lightweight HPS-to-FPGA bridge has a fixed 32-bit width connection to the FPGA
fabric, because most IP cores implement 32-bit control and status registers. However,
Platform Designer (Standard) can adapt the transactions to widths other than 32 bits
within the FPGA-generated network interconnect.
2. Background: Comparison between Cyclone V SoC FPGA and Arria V SoC FPGA HPS Subsystems
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
11

2.1.1.2. HPS-to-FPGA Bridge
GUIDELINE: Use the HPS-to-FPGA bridge to connect memory hosted by the
FPGA to the HPS.
The HPS-to-FPGA bridge allows masters in the HPS such as the microprocessor unit
(MPU), DMA, or peripherals with integrated masters to access memory hosted by the
FPGA portion of the SoC device. This bridge supports 32, 64, and 128-bit datapaths,
allowing the width to be tuned to the largest slave data width in the FPGA fabric
connected to the bridge. This bridge is intended to be used by masters performing
bursting transfers and should not be used for accessing peripheral registers in the
FPGA fabric. Control and status register accesses should be sent to the lightweight
HPS-to-FPGA bridge instead.
GUIDELINE: If memory connected to the HPS-to-FPGA bridge is used for HPS
boot, ensure that its slave address is set to 0x0 in Platform Designer
(Standard).
When the HPS BSEL pins are set to boot from FPGA (BSEL = 1) the processor
executes code hosted by the FPGA residing at offset 0x0 from the HPS-to-FPGA
bridge. This is the only bridge that can be used for hosting code at boot time.
2.1.1.3. FPGA-to-HPS Bridge
GUIDELINE: Use the FPGA-to-HPS bridge for cacheable accesses to the HPS
from masters in the FPGA.
The FPGA-to-HPS bridge allows masters implemented in the FPGA fabric to access
memory and peripherals inside the HPS. This bridge supports 32, 64, and 128-bit
datapaths so that you can adjust it to be as wide as the widest master implemented in
the FPGA.
GUIDELINE: Use the FPGA-to-HPS bridge to access cache-coherent memory,
peripherals, or on-chip RAM in the HPS from masters in the FPGA.
Although this bridge has direct connectivity to the SDRAM subsystem, the main intent
of the bridge is to provide access to peripherals and on-chip memory, as well as
provide cache coherency with connectivity to the MPU accelerator coherency port
(ACP).
To access the HPS SDRAM directly without coherency you should connect masters in
the FPGA to the FPGA-to-SDRAM ports instead, because they provide much more
bandwidth and lower-latency access.
2.1.2. FPGA-to-HPS SDRAM Access
In addition to the FPGA-to-HPS bridge, FPGA logic can also use the FPGA-to-SDRAM
interface to access the HPS SDRAM.
GUIDELINE: Use the FPGA-to-SDRAM ports for non-cacheable access to the
HPS SDRAM from masters in the FPGA.
The FPGA-to-SDRAM ports allow masters implemented in the FPGA fabric to directly
access HPS SDRAM without the transactions flowing through the L3 interconnect.
2. Background: Comparison between Cyclone V SoC FPGA and Arria V SoC FPGA HPS Subsystems
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
12

These interfaces connect only to the HPS SDRAM subsystem so it is recommended to
use them in your design if the FPGA needs high-throughput, low-latency access to the
HPS SDRAM. The exception to this recommendation is if the FPGA requires cache
coherent access to SDRAM.
The FPGA-to-SDRAM interfaces cannot access the MPU ACP slave; so if you require a
master implemented in the FPGA to access cache coherent data, ensure that it is
connected to the FPGA-to-HPS bridge instead.
The FPGA-to-SDRAM interface has three port types that are used to create the AXI
and Avalon-MM interfaces:
• Command ports—issue read and/or write commands, and for receive write
acknowledge responses
• 64-bit read data ports—receive data returned from a memory read
• 64-bit write data ports—transmit write data
There is a maximum of six command ports, four 64-bit read data port and four 64-bit
write data port. The table below shows the possible port utilization.
Table 5. FPGA-to-HPS SDRAM Port Utilization
Bus Protocol Command Ports Read Data Ports Write Data Ports
32- or 64-bit AXI 2 1 1
128-bit AXI 2 2 2
256-bit AXI 2 4 4
32- or 64-bit Avalon-MM 1 1 1
128-bit Avalon-MM 1 2 2
256-bit Avalon-MM 1 4 4
32- or 64-bit Avalon-MM write-only 1 0 1
128-bit Avalon-MM write-only 1 0 2
256-bit Avalon-MM write-only 1 0 4
32- or 64-bit Avalon-MM read-only 1 1 0
128-bit Avalon-MM read-only 1 2 0
256-bit Avalon-MM read-only 1 4 0
For more information about the FPGA-to-HPS SDRAM interface, refer to the "SDRAM
Controller Subsystem" chapter of the Cyclone V or Arria V SoC Hard Processor System
Technical Reference Manual.
Note: To access the HPS SDRAM via the FPGA-to-SDRAM interface, follow the guidelines in
Access HPS SDRAM via the FPGA-to-SDRAM Interface on page 67.
Related Information
•SDRAM Controller Subsystem - Cyclone V Hard Processor System Technical
Reference Manual
•SDRAM Controller Subsystem - Arria V Hard Processor System Technical Reference
Manual
2. Background: Comparison between Cyclone V SoC FPGA and Arria V SoC FPGA HPS Subsystems
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
13

2.1.3. Connecting Soft Logic to HPS Component
Designers can connect soft logic components to the HPS using the Cyclone V/Arria V
HPS component in Platform Designer (Standard).
Note: Refer to the "Introduction to the HPS Component" and "Instantiating the HPS
Component" chapters of the appropriate Hard Processor System Technical Reference
Manual to understand the interface and available options. To connect a FPGA soft IP
component to the HPS, Platform Designer (Standard) provides the component editor
tool. For more information, refer to the "Creating Platform Designer (Standard)
Components" chapter of the Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Handbook,
Volume 1: Design and Synthesis.
Note: When designing and configuring high bandwidth DMA masters and related buffering in
the FPGA core, refer to the DMA Considerations on page 24 section of this document.
The principles covered in that section apply to all high bandwidth DMA masters (for
example Platform Designer (Standard) DMA Controller components, integrated DMA
controllers in custom peripherals) and related buffering in the FPGA core that access
HPS resources (for example HPS SDRAM) through the FPGA-to-SDRAM and FPGA-to-
HPS bridge ports, not just tightly coupled Arm CPU accelerators.
Related Information
•Introduction to the HPS Component - Cyclone V Hard Processor System Technical
Reference Manual
•Instantiating the HPS Component - Cyclone V Hard Processor System Technical
Reference Manual
•Introduction to the HPS Component - Arria V Hard Processor System Technical
Reference Manual
•Instantiating the HPS Component - Arria V Hard Processor System Technical
Reference Manual
2. Background: Comparison between Cyclone V SoC FPGA and Arria V SoC FPGA HPS Subsystems
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
14

3. Design Guidelines for HPS portion of SoC FPGAs
3.1. Start your SoC-FPGA design here
3.1.1. Recommended Starting Point for HPS-to-FPGA Interface Design
Depending on your topology, you can choose one of the two hardware reference
designs as a starting point for your hardware design.
GUIDELINE: Use the Golden System Reference Design (GSRD) as a starting
point for a loosely coupled system.
The Golden Hardware Reference Design (GHRD) has the optimum default settings and
timing that you can use as a basis for your "getting started" system. After initial
evaluation, you can move on to the Cyclone V HPS-to-FPGA Bridge Design Example
reference design to compare performance among the various FPGA-HPS interfaces.
Refer to "Golden Hardware Reference Design" for more information.
GUIDELINE: Use the Cyclone V HPS-to-FPGA Bridge Design Example
reference design to determine your optimum burst length and data-width for
accesses between FPGA logic and HPS.
The Cyclone V FPGA-to-HPS bridge design example contains modular SGDMAs in the
FPGA logic that allow you to program the burst length for data accesses from the FPGA
logic to the HPS.
Related Information
Golden Hardware Reference Design on page 50
3.1.2. Determining your SoC FPGA Topology
To determine which system topology best suits your application, you must first
determine how to partition your application into hardware and software.
GUIDELINE: Profile your software to identify functions for hardware
acceleration.
Use any good profiling tool (such as DS-5 streamline profiler) to identify functions that
are good candidates for hardware acceleration, and isolate functions that are best
implemented in software.
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Altera, Arria, Cyclone, Enpirion, MAX, Nios, Quartus
and Stratix words and logos are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other
countries. Intel warrants performance of its FPGA and semiconductor products to current specifications in
accordance with Intel's standard warranty, but reserves the right to make changes to any products and services
at any time without notice. Intel 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 Intel. Intel
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.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
ISO
9001:2015
Registered

3.2. Design Considerations for Connecting Device I/O to HPS
Peripherals and Memory
One of the most important considerations when configuring the HPS is to understand
how the I/O is organized in the Cyclone V/Arria V SoC devices. The HPS I/O is
physically divided into:
• HPS Column I/O: Contains the HPS Dedicated Function Pins and HPS Dedicated
I/O with loaner capability
• HPS Row I/O: Contains the HPS External Memory Interface (EMIF) I/O and HPS
General Purpose Input (GPI) pins
Figure 2. Example layout for HPS Column I/O and HPS Row I/O in Cyclone V SX and ST
device
Bank 8A HPS Column I/O
Bank 3B Bank 4ABank 3A
Bank 5B HPS Row I/OBank 5A
Transceiver Block
HPS Core
Note: For more information regarding the I/O pin layout, refer to the appropriate "I/O
Features" chapter in the Cyclone V or Arria V Device Handbook, Volume 1: Device
Interfaces and Integration.
Table 6. HPS I/O Pin Type Summary
Pin Type Purpose
HPS Dedicated Function Pins Each I/O has only one function and cannot be used for other purposes.
HPS Dedicated I/O with loaner
capability
These I/Os are primarily used by the HPS, but can be used on an individual basis
by the FPGA if the HPS is not using them.
HPS External Memory Interface (EMIF)
I/O
These I/Os are used for connecting to the HPS external memory interface
(EMIF). Refer to the "External Memory Interface in Cyclone V Devices" or
"External Memory Interface in Arria V Devices" chapter in the respective device
handbook for more information regarding the layout of these I/O pins.
HPS General Purpose Input (GPI) Pins These pins are also known as HLGPI pins. These input-only pins are located in
the same bank as the HPS EMIF I/O. Note that the smallest Cyclone V SoC
package U19 (484 pins) does not have any HPS GPI pins.
FPGA I/O These are general purpose I/O that can be used for FPGA logic and FPGA
External Memory Interfaces.
3. Design Guidelines for HPS portion of SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
16

The table below summarizes the characteristics of each I/O type.
Table 7. I/O Types
HPS Dedicated
Function Pins
HPS Dedicated
I/O with
loaner
capability
HPS External
Memory
Interface
HPS General
Purpose Input
FPGA I/O
Number of Available I/O 11 Up to 67
(Cyclone V
SoC) and 94
(Arria V SoC)
Up to 86 14 (except for
Cyclone V SoC
U19 package )
Up to 288
(Cyclone V
SoC) and Up to
592 (Arria V
SoC)
Voltages Supported 3.3V, 3.0V,
2.5V, 1.8V,
1.5V
3.3V, 3.0V,
2.5V, 1.8V,
1.5V
LVDS I/O for
DDR3, DDR2
and LPDDR2
protocols
Same as the
I/O bank
voltage used
for HPS EMIF
3.3V, 3.0V,
2.5V, 1.8V,
1.5V, 1.2V
Purpose Clock, Reset,
HPS JTAG
Boot source,
High speed
HPS
peripherals
Connect to
SDRAM
General
Purpose Input
General
Purpose I/O
Timing Constraints Fixed Fixed Fixed for legal
combinations
Fixed User defined
Recommended Peripherals JTAG QSPI, NANDx8,
eMMC, SD/
MMC, UART,
USB, EMAC
DDR3, DDR2
and LPDDR2
SDRAM
GPI Slow speed
peripherals
(I2C, SPI,
EMAC-MII)
Note: You can access the timing information to perform off-chip analysis by reviewing the
HPS timing in the Cyclone V Device Datasheet or Arria V Device Datasheet.
Related Information
•I/O Features in Cyclone V Devices
Chapter in the Cyclone V Device Handbook, Volume 1: Device Interfaces and
Integration
•I/O Features in Arria V Devices
Chapter in the Arria V Device Handbook, Volume 1: Device Interfaces and
Integration
3.2.1. HPS Pin Assignment Design Considerations
Because the HPS contains more peripherals than can all be connected to the HPS
Dedicated I/O, the HPS component in Platform Designer (Standard) offers pin
multiplexing settings as well as the option to route most of the peripherals into the
FPGA fabric. Any unused pins for the HPS Dedicated I/O with loaner capability
meanwhile can be used as general purpose I/O by the FPGA.
Note that a HPS I/O Bank can only support a single supply of either 1.2V, 1.35V, 1.5V,
1.8V, 2.5V, 3.0V, or 3.3V power supply, depending on the I/O standard required by the
specified bank. 1.35V is supported for HPS Row I/O bank only.
3. Design Guidelines for HPS portion of SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
17

GUIDELINE: Ensure that you route USB, EMAC and Flash interfaces to HPS
Dedicated I/O first, starting with USB.
It is recommended that you start by routing high speed interfaces such as USB,
Ethernet, and flash to the HPS Dedicated I/O first. USB must be routed to HPS
Dedicated I/O because it is not available to the FPGA fabric. The flash boot source
must also be routed to the HPS dedicated I/O (and not any FPGA I/O) since these are
the only I/Os that are functional before the FPGA I/Os have been configured.
Note: For Cyclone V SoC U19 package (484 pin count) only one USB controller (instead of
two) is usable due to reduced number of available HPS I/O. For more information,
refer to Why can't I map USB0 to HPS IO in my Cyclone V SoC U19 package (484 pin
count)? in the Knowledge Base.
GUIDELINE: Enable the HPS GPI pins in the Platform Designer (Standard)
HPS Component if needed
By default, the HPS GPI interface is not enabled in Platform Designer (Standard). To
enable this interface, you must select the checkbox "Enable HLGPI interface" in the
Platform Designer (Standard) HPS Component for Cyclone V/Arria V. These pins are
then exposed as part of the Platform Designer (Standard) HPS Component Conduit
Interface and can be individually assigned at the top level of the design.
3.2.2. HPS I/O Settings: Constraints and Drive Strengths
GUIDELINE: Ensure that you have I/O settings for the HPS Dedicated I/O
(drive strength, I/O standard, weak pull-up enable, etc.)
The HPS pin location assignments are managed automatically when you generate the
Platform Designer (Standard) system containing the HPS. As for the HPS SDRAM, the
I/O standard and termination settings are done once you run the
“hps_sdram_p0_pin_assignments.tcl” script that is created once the Platform
Designer (Standard) HPS Component has been generated.
Note: You can locate the script “hps_sdram_p0_pin_assignments.tcl” in the following
directory once the Platform Designer (Standard) HPS Component has been generated:
<Quartus project directory>\<Platform Designer (Standard) file
name>\synthesis\submodule. Shown below is an example of selecting the script in
Intel Quartus Prime.
3. Design Guidelines for HPS portion of SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
18

The only HPS I/O constraints you must manage are for HPS Dedicated Function Pins
and HPS Dedicated I/O. Constraints such as drive strength, I/O standards, and weak
pull-up enables are added to the Intel Quartus Prime project just like FPGA constraints
and are applied to the HPS at boot time when the second stage bootloader configures
the I/O. For FPGA I/O, the I/O constraints are applied to the FPGA configuration file.
Note: During power up, the HPS Dedicated I/O required for boot flash devices are configured
by the Boot ROM, depending on the BSEL values.
3.3. HPS Clocking and Reset Design Considerations
The main clock and resets for the HPS subsystem are HPS_CLK1, HPS_CLK2,
HPS_nPOR, HPS_nRST and HPS_PORSEL. HPS_CLK1 sources the Main PLL that
generates the clocks for the MPU, L3/L4 sub-systems, debug sub-system and the
Flash controllers. It can also be programmed to drive the Peripheral and SDRAM PLLs.
HPS_CLK2 meanwhile can be used as an alternative clock source to the Peripheral and
the SDRAM PLLs.
HPS_nPOR provides a cold reset input, and HPS_nRST provides a bidirectional warm
reset resource. As for the HPS_PORSEL, it is an input pin that can be used to select
either a standard POR delay or a fast POR delay for the HPS block.
Note: Refer to the Cyclone V Device Family Pin Connection Guidelines or Arria V GT, GX, ST,
and SX Device Family Pin Connection Guidelines for more information on connecting
the HPS clock and reset pins.
3. Design Guidelines for HPS portion of SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
19

3.3.1. HPS Clock Planning
GUIDELINE: Verify MPU and peripheral clocking using Platform Designer
(Standard)
Use Platform Designer (Standard) to initially define your HPS component
configuration. Set the HPS input clocks, and peripheral source clocks and frequencies.
Note any Platform Designer (Standard) warning or error messages. You can address
them by modifying clock settings. In some cases you might determine that a
particular warning condition does not impact your application.
3.3.2. Early Pin Planning and I/O Assignment Analysis
GUIDELINE: Choose an I/O voltage level for the HPS Dedicated Function I/O
HPS_CLK1, HPS_CLK2, HPS_nPOR and HPS_nRST are powered by
VCCRSTCLK_HPS. These HPS Dedicated Function Pins are LVCMOS/LVTTL at either
3.3V, 3.0V, 2.5V or 1.8V. The I/O signaling voltage for these pins are determined by
the supply level applied to VCCRSTCLK_HPS.
Note: HPS_PORSEL can be connected to either VCCRSTCLK_HPS (for fast HPS POR delay) or
GND (for standard HPS POR delay).
Note: VCCRSTCLK_HPS can share the same power and regulator with VCCIO_HPS and
VCCPD_HPS if they share the same voltage requirement. The functionality of powering
down the FPGA fabric, while keeping the HPS running, is not needed.
3.3.3. Pin Features and Connections for HPS JTAG, Clocks, Reset and PoR
GUIDELINE: With the HPS in use (powered), supply a free running clock on
HPS_CLK1 for SoC device HPS JTAG access.
Access to the HPS JTAG requires an active clock source driving HPS_CLK1.
GUIDELINE: When daisy chaining the FPGA and HPS JTAG for a single device,
ensure that the HPS JTAG is first device in the chain (located before the FPGA
JTAG).
Placing the HPS JTAG before the FPGA JTAG allows the ARM DS-5 debugger to initiate
warm reset to the HPS. However, in case of cold reset the entire JTAG chain is broken
until the cold reset completes, as discussed in the next section.
GUIDELINE: Consider board design to isolate HPS JTAG interface
The HPS Test Access Port (TAP) controller is reset on a cold reset. If the HPS JTAG and
FPGA JTAG are daisy-chained together, the entire JTAG chain is broken until the cold
reset completes. If access to the JTAG chain is required during HPS cold reset, design
the board to allow HPS JTAG to be bypassed.
GUIDELINE: HPS_nRST is an open-drain, bidirectional dedicated warm reset
I/O.
HPS_nRST is an active low, open-drain-type, bidirectional I/O. Externally asserting a
logic low to the HPS_nRST pin initiates a warm reset of the HPS subsystem. HPS warm
and cold reset can also be asserted from internal sources such as software-initiated
3. Design Guidelines for HPS portion of SoC FPGAs
AN-796 | 2018.06.18
AN 796: Cyclone V and Arria V SoC Device Design Guidelines
20