Low Latency 40-Gbps Ethernet Intel® FPGA IP User Guide: Stratix® 10

ID 683600
Date 5/31/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents

6.8. Clocks

You must set the transceiver reference clock (clk_ref) frequency to a value that the IP core supports. The Stratix® 10 LL 40GbE IP core supports a clk_ref frequency of 644.53125 MHz ±100 ppm or 322.265625 MHz ±100 ppm. The ±100ppm value is required for any clock source providing the transceiver reference clock.

SyncE IP core variations are IP core variations for which you turn on Enable SyncE in the parameter editor. These variations provide the RX recovered clock as a top-level output signal.

The Synchronous Ethernet standard, described in the ITU-T G.8261, G.8262, and G.8264 recommendations, requires that the TX clock be filtered to maintain synchronization with the RX reference clock through a sequence of nodes. The expected usage is that user logic drives the TX PLL reference clock with a filtered version of the RX recovered clock signal, to ensure the receive and transmit functions remain synchronized. In this usage model, a design component outside the Stratix® 10 LL 40GbE IP core performs the filtering.

Table 20.  Clock InputsDescribes the input clocks that you must provide.

Signal Name

Description

clk_ref

The input clock clk_ref is the reference clock for the transceiver RX CDR PLL.

This clock must have a frequency of 644.53125 MHz or 322.265625 MHz with a ±100 ppm accuracy per the IEEE 802.3ba-2010 Ethernet Standard.

In addition, clk_ref must meet the jitter specification of the IEEE 802.3ba-2010 Ethernet Standard.

The PLL and clock generation logic use this reference clock to derive the transceiver and PCS clocks. The input clock should be a high quality signal on the appropriate dedicated clock pin. Refer to the relevant device datasheet for transceiver reference clock phase noise specifications.

clk_txmac_in If you turn on Use external TX MAC PLL in the Stratix® 10 LL 40GbE parameter editor, this clock drives the TX MAC. The port is expected to receive the clock from the external TX MAC PLL and drives the internal clock clk_txmac. The required TX MAC clock frequency is 312.5 MHz. User logic must drive clk_txmac_in from a PLL whose input is the PHY reference clock, clk_ref.

tx_serial_clk

This input clock is part of the external PLL interface. The IP core fans out the clock to target each of the four transceiver PHY links. You must drive this clock from a single TX transceiver PLL that you configure separately from the Stratix® 10 LL 40GbE IP core. The required frequency is 5156.25 MHz.

clk_status

Clocks the control and status interface. The clock quality and pin chosen are not critical. clk_status is expected to be a 100–161 MHz clock.

If you turn on Enable KR4/CR4, you must drive this clock and reconfig_clk with the same clock.

reconfig_clk

Clocks the transceiver reconfiguration interface. The clock quality and pin chosen are not critical. reconfig_clk is expected to be a 100–161 MHz clock.

If you turn on Enable KR4/CR4, you must drive this clock and clk_status with the same clock.

Table 21.  Clock OutputsDescribes the output clocks that the IP core provides. In most cases these clocks participate in internal clocking of the IP core as well.

Signal Name

Description

clk_txmac

The TX clock for the IP core is clk_txmac. The TX MAC clock frequency is 312.5  MHz.

If you turn on Use external TX MAC PLL in the Stratix® 10 LL 40GbE parameter editor, the clk_txmac_in input clock drives clk_txmac.

clk_rxmac

The RX clock for the IP core is clk_rxmac. The RX MAC clock frequency is 312.5 MHz.

This clock is only reliable when rx_pcs_ready has the value of 1. The IP core generates clk_rxmac from a recovered clock that relies on the presence of incoming RX data.

clk_rx_recover RX recovered clock. This clock is available only if you turn on Enable SyncE in the Stratix® 10 LL 40GbE parameter editor.

The RX recovered clock frequency is 156.25 MHz during normal operation. In 40GBASE-KR4CR4 variations, the clk_rx_recover clock frequency settles at 156.25 MHz only after the IP core completes auto-negotiation and link training.

The expected usage is that you drive the TX transceiver PLL reference clock with a filtered version of clk_rx_recover, to ensure the receive and transmit functions remain synchronized in your Synchronous Ethernet system. To do so you must instantiate an additional component in your design. The IP core does not provide filtering.