xSPI NOR/NAND Flash & HyperRAM Controller

Emerging high-performance applications demand increasingly fast read throughputs from NOR_Flash/ NAND Flash/ HyperRAM memory devices As new age lower-end microcontrollers (MCUs) continue to shrink in die size, their internal memory is very limited. They need a low pin count, high-performance memory subsystem. Similarly, there are consumer applications that are space-constrained and require instant-on, such as digital still cameras, DSLRs and home automation. So, OEMs are looking for simple, flexible, high performance and low-energy memory solutions with backward compatibility to meet their needs. The major NOR Flash memory device vendors responded with such devices by expanding from current Quad I/O to OctaFlash Memory (8 I/O) resulted in substantial increase in Serial NOR Flash throughput.

For example, the new-generation OctaFlash by Macronix is built on Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) and command set, providing extendable I/O capability(x8). The data transfer rate has been increased from 100MB/s of Quad I/O Serial NOR Flash to 400MB/s, claims Macronix.

This resulted in lower-density memory subsystem interfaces trending toward x4/x8 SPI (xSPI) interfaces and performance growing exponentially. Mobiveil’s approach on this emerging scenario results in adapting to JEDEC xSPI compliant NOR Flash/ NAND Flash controller supporting devices from various vendors. The IP can function as simple ‘SPI Flash Controller’ or, ‘Quad-SPI Flash Controller or Octa- SPI Flash Controller’ or ‘Dual QSPI Controller’, thus compatible with legacy devices also. The controller architecture is SoC friendly and supports multiple chip-selects.

•  Supports Octal/QSPI/DSPI/SPI NOR,  NAND Flash and HyperRAM device
  •  Winbond Octal NAND W35N04JWXXIC
  •  Winbond NAND W25N01GWxxIG
  •  Winbond NOR W25Q512JVxIQ
  •  Adesto AT25XP032
  •  Micron MT35XL256ABA
  •  Micron MT25QU01GBBB8E0 (x4)
  •  Macronix MX25UM51245G
  •  Cypress HyperFlash S26KL512S
  •  Cypress Semper S26HS01GT
  •  Supports Cypress Hyperram device with xSPI interface S27KL0643 
  • All similar devices in Market
•  Other Features
  •   Compliant to JESD251A Specification
  •   Memory mapped access to the connected flash devices
  •   Continuous Burst transfer support
  •   Auto boot support
  •  XIP support 
  • AXI4 or AHB-Lite system interface for memory access with outstanding address support
  •  AXI4-lite or APB interface for control registers accesses
  •  Custom protocol Sequence based design to support array of vendors 

• Design Attributes
  •   Highly modular and programmable design
  •   Fully synchronous design
  •   Software control for key features
•  Product Package
  •   RTL Code
  •   System Verilog/UVM based Testbench
  •   Test cases
  •   Protocol checkers and bus watchers
•   Documentation
  •   Design Guide
  •   Verification Guide
  •   Synthesis Guide
•   Licensing Options
  •   Single Design or Multi-project  license  (HDL Source Code)