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Supported Flash Devices for Cyclone® V SoC and Arria® V SoC

Overview

Cyclone® V SoC and Arria® V SoC support the following flash devices both as a boot source and for mass data storage:

  • Quad serial peripheral interface (QSPI) flash.
  • NAND flash.
  • Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC), Secure Digital extended Capacity (SDXC), MultiMediaCard (MMC), or Embedded MMC (eMMC) flash.

When choosing a flash device to incorporate with SoCs, it is important to consider the following:

  • Will the device work with the FPGA device BootROM?
  • The hard processor system (HPS) can only boot from flash devices supported in the BootROM.
  • Is the device verified to work and supported by software, such as the Preloader, U-Boot, and Linux*?
  • For supported devices, FPGA provides the Preloader, U-Boot, and Linux software. For other devices, this software must be developed by the user.
  • Is the device supported with the HPS Flash Programmer?
  • The HPS Flash Programmer enables writing to flash using a JTAG connection. This is primarily intended for programming the initial pre-loader or bootloader image.
  • If the device is not supported by the HPS Programmer, other flash programming methods may be used, such as using the HPS to program flash. For example, the flash programming capabilities of U-Boot can be used.

Based on the criteria above, the following categories of flash devices are identified:

  • Tested and Supported Flash Device - These devices meet the criteria listed above. These devices receive regression testing with FPGA tools and their use is fully supported by FPGA Technical Support.
  • Known to Work Flash Devices - These devices are not explicitly supported in the FPGA tools, but have been known to work with SoCs. Many of these devices are programmed using U-Boot as an alternate programming method, but source changes to U-Boot might have to be made by users in order to configure a specific device.
  • Incompatible Flash Devices - These devices will not work with Cyclone V SoC and Arria V SoC.

The following sections present the support level for various flash devices for Cyclone V SoC and Arria V SoC.

Quad SPI Flash Devices

The quad SPI flash devices have the following advantages:

  • Reliability: they typically support a minimum of 100,000 erase cycles per sector and a minimum of 20 years data retention. As a result, their management is simpler, with no need for error correction and bad block management.
  • Low pin count requirement: a quad SPI flash device typically requires six pins, but it can be used with as few as four pins.
  • High bandwidth.

A quad SPI flash device typically has smaller storage capacity than other flash devices. They are therefore mostly used as a boot source and not for mass storage.

Up to four quad SPI flash chip selects can be used with Cyclone V SoC and Arria V SoC. The device will boot from quad SPI flash connected to chip select zero.

The current list of tested and supported devices is presented below. Note that the device list applies only to the HPS Quad SPI controller, and does not apply for FPGA configuration.

Part NumberManufacturerCapacityVoltageSupport CategoryNotes
N25Q512A83GSF40FMicron512 Mb3.3 VTested and SupportedAvailable on Cyclone V SoC Development Kit
N25Q00AA13GSF40FMicron1 Gb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MT25QL01GBBB8ESF-0SITMicron1 Gb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MT25QL512ABA8ESF-0SITMicron512 Mb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MT25QL512ABB8ESF-0SITMicron512 Mb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MT25QL256ABA8ESF-0SITMicron256 Mb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MT25QU256ABA8ESF-0SITMicron256 Mb1.8 VKnown to Work 
N25Q128A13ESF40FMicron128 Mb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MT25QL128ABA8ESF-0SITMicron128 Mb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MT25QU128ABA8ESF-0SITMicron128 Mb1.8 VKnown to Work 
MX25L12833FMI-10GMacronix128 Mb3.3 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed. U-Boot used for flashing.
MX25L25645GMI-08GMacronix256 Mb3.3 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed.
MX25L25635FMI-10GMacronix256 Mb3.3 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed.
MX25L51245GMI-08GMacronix512 Mb3.3 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed. U-Boot used for flashing.
MX66L51235FMI-10GMacronix512 Mb3.3 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed. U-Boot used for flashing.
MX66U51235FMI-10G
(EOL, use MX25U51245GMI00 instead)
Macronix512 Mb1.8 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed.
MX25U51245GMI00Macronix512 Mb1.8 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed.
MX25U51245GXDI00Macronix512 Mb1.8 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed.
MX66L1G45GMI-10GMacronix1 Gb3.3 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed.
MX66U2G45GXR100Macronix2 Gb1.8 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed. U-Boot used for flashing.
S25FL128SAGMFI00Cypress128 Mb3.3 VKnown to Work 
S25FL256SAGMFI00Cypress256 Mb3.3 VKnown to Work 
S25FL512SAGMFI01Cypress512 Mb3.3 VKnown to Work 
S25FL512SAGMFIG11Cypress512 Mb3.3 VTested and Supported 
S70FL01GSAGMFI011Cypress1 Gb3.3 VKnown to WorkTwo chip selects. HPS Flash Programmer and BootROM use only CS0.
S70FS01GSCypress1 Gb1.8 VIncompatibleDoes not support RDSR instruction.
GD25Q127CFIGGigaDevice128 Mb3.3 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed. U-Boot used for flashing.
GD25Q256DFIGGigaDevice256 Mb3.3 VKnown to WorkU-Boot updates needed. U-Boot used for flashing.

NAND Flash Devices

The main advantage of the NAND flash devices is large storage capacity.

The disadvantages of NAND flash devices include:

  • A high pin count requirement (a minimum of 15 pins are required).
  • More difficult to manage, as individual bit reliability is lower compared to quad SPI flash, error correction, and bad block management are required.
  • Lower maximum bandwidth as compared to quad SPI flash devices.

The NAND flash devices are typically used for mass data storage, but they can also be used as a boot source.

The NAND flash devices to be used with Cyclone V SoC and Arria V SoC must satisfy at least the following requirements:

  • ONFI 1.0 compatibility.
  • x8 interface.
  • Single-level cell (SLC) or multi-level cell (MLC).
  • Only one ce# and only one rb# pin.
  • Page size: 512 bytes, 2 KB, 4 KB or 8 KB.
  • Pages per block: 32, 64, 128, 256, 384, or 512.
  • Error correction code (ECC) sector size can be programmed to 512 bytes (for 4, 8, or 16 bit correction) or 1,024 bytes (for 24 bit correction).

The current list of tested and supported devices is presented below:

Part NumberManufacturerCapacityVoltageSupport CategoryNotes
MT29F1G08ABBEAH4:EMicron1 Gb1.8 VKnown to Work 
MT29F4G08ABBEAH4:EMicron4 Gb1.8 VKnown to Work 
MT29F4G08ABADAWP:DMicron4 Gb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MT29F8G08ADADAH4-IT:DMicron8 Gb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MX30UF1G18AC-TIMacronix1 Gb1.8 VKnown to Work 
MX30LF1G18AC-TIMacronix1 Gb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MX30UF2G18AC-TIMacronix2 Gb1.8 VKnown to Work 
MX30LF2G18AC-TIMacronix2 Gb3.3 VKnown to Work 
MX30UF4G18AB-TIMacronix4 Gb1.8 VKnown to Work 
MX60LF8G18AC-TIMacronix8 Gb3.3 VKnown to Work 
S34MS01G200TFI90Cypress1 Gb1.8 VKnown to Work 
S34MS02G200TFI00Cypress2 Gb1.8 VKnown to Work 
S34MS04G200TFI00Cypress4 Gb1.8 VKnown to Work 
S34ML08G201TFI000Cypress8 Gb3.3 VKnown to Work 

SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/eMMC Flash Devices

The SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC cards have the following advantages:

  • Large storage capacities.
  • Internal error correction, bad block management, and wear levelling.
  • Inexpensive.

Some of the disadvantages of SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC are:

  • Typically less reliable than quad SPI (although higher reliability industrial versions are available).
  • They require a socket, which makes them more vulnerable mechanically.

The eMMC flash devices have the following advantages over SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC flash devices:

  • Improved reliability.
  • Smaller, not removable (soldered down) package.

The FPGA Cyclone V SoC and Arria V SoC are compatible with the following devices:

  • SD/SDHC/SDXC (including eSD) - version 3.0 compliant.
  • MMC and eMMC - version 4.41 compliant.

The current list of tested and supported eMMC devices is presented below:

Part NumberManufacturerCapacitySupport CategoryNotes
MTFC16GJDDQ-4M ITMicron16 GBKnown to WorkeMMC v4.51 compliant
MTFC16GAKAENA-4M ITMicron16 GBKnown to WorkeMMC v5.0 compliant
MTFC16GAKAEDQ-AITMicron16 GBKnown to WorkeMMC v5.0 compliant
MTFC8GACAANA-4M ITMicron8 GBKnown to WorkeMMC v4.51 compliant
MTFC8GACAEDQ-AITMicron8 GBKnown to WorkeMMC v5.0 compliant
S40410081B1B2W000Cypress8 GBKnown to WorkeMMC v4.51 compliant
S40410161B1B2W010Cypress16 GBKnown to WorkeMMC v4.51 compliant
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