TriMatrix Memory in Stratix II GX Devices
Stratix® II GX devices feature TriMatrix™ memory, based on the same revolutionary memory architecture introduced in Stratix devices. TriMatrix memory is composed of three sizes of embedded RAM blocks. TriMatrix memory includes 512-bit M512 blocks, 4-Kbit M4K blocks, and 512-Kbit M-RAM blocks, each of which can be configured to support a wide range of features. Offering up to 9 Mbits of RAM, the TriMatrix memory structure makes the Stratix II GX device family an ideal choice for memory-intensive applications.
TriMatrix memory offers different memory structures that can implement a wide variety of memory functions found in complex designs. Designers can use the smaller M512 RAM blocks for FIFO functions and clock domain buffering where memory bandwidth is critical. M4K blocks are ideal for medium-sized memory applications such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cell processing. M-RAM blocks are ideal for large buffering applications such as intellectual property (IP) packet buffering and system cache. Figures 1 and 2 show the TriMatrix memory structure and a variety of its applications.
Figure 1. TriMatrix Memory Structure
Figure 2. TriMatrix Memory Applications
High-Performance & High-Efficiency Memory
Stratix II GX devices offer a very high memory-to-logic ratio, which is made possible by the area-efficient M-RAM blocks. Stratix II GX devices also have smaller M512 and M4K blocks which feature 18-bit- and 36-bit-wide data ports per block respectively, offering the highest FPGA-memory bandwidth and making them ideal for applications requiring extensive accessibility to the memory resources.
Table 1 shows the memory capacity available in Stratix II GX devices.
| Table 1. Memory Resources in Stratix II GX Devices |
| Device |
M512 Blocks |
M4K Blocks |
M-RAM Blocks |
Total Memory Bits |
| EP2SGX30C/D |
202 |
144 |
1 |
1,369,728 |
| EP2SGX60C/D/E |
329 |
255 |
2 |
2,544,192 |
| EP2SGX90E/F |
488 |
408 |
4 |
4,520,448 |
| EP2SGX130G |
699 |
609 |
6 |
6,747,840 |
The high-performance TriMatrix memory RAM blocks support several features, including true dual-port memory, mixed-clock mode, and mixed-data-width support, as shown in Table 2.
| Table 2. TriMatrix Memory Features |
| Memory Feature |
M512 Blocks
512-bits + Parity |
M4K Blocks
4-Kbits + Parity |
M-RAM Blocks
512-Kbits + Parity |
| Maximum Performance |
500 MHz |
550 MHz |
400 MHz |
| True Dual-Port Memory |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Simple Dual-Port Memory |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Single-Port Memory |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Address Enable |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Byte Enable |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Parity Bits |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Shift Register |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Mixed-Clock Mode |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Memory Preload |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Configurations |
512 x 1
256 x 2
128 x 4
64 x 8
64 x 9
32 x 16
32 x 18 |
4K x 1
2K x 2
1K x 4
512 x 8
512 x 9
256 x 16
256 x 18
128 x 32
128 x 36 |
64K x 8
64K x 9
32K x 16
32K x 18
16K x 32
16K x 36
8K x 64
8K x 72
4K x 128
4K x 144 |
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