CDCE6214-Q1: TICS Pro Settings clarification

Hello Igor,

Igor Orlovich said:

When the TICS Pro generates several frequency plans, and the difference is the order of dividers or a higher VCO frequency, is there benefit to selecting one vs another?

There is, but after you click on "Calculate Frequency Plan," TICS Pro automatically selects the VCO frequency that will result in the best performance. The VCO frequency is related to the PFD which has a direct effect on the phase noise; therefore, the GUI chooses the VCO frequency that will result in the higher PFD (which results in the best performance).

Igor Orlovich said:

do the loop filter values need to be touched from the defaults?

Yes, if you change your f_PFD and f_VCO, as shown in Table 9-3 on the data sheet (that I believe you mentioned). However, TICS Pro should make certain changes, at times, if needed, as you noticed yourself. In other words, with a different PFD and VCO frequencies, the loop filter may need to change to ensure lock of the PLL.

Igor Orlovich said:

And if so, how does one come up with  setting for a value not in the table, such as 66MHz?

I believe if your use case has similar frequencies to the ones suggested on the table (such as 61.44 MHz in your case), then attempt to use the loop filter values from the table. If you see a lock on your PLL and the desired performance, you should be good to go. Hope this helps!

Best,

Andrea

Hello Igor,

It should not.

Best,

Andrea

Hello Igor,

Igor Orlovich said:

1. Is this the correct sequence? Seems like there should be a cleaner/easier flow

I have included the correct sequence below. Some steps on your sequence were correct but some were not correct/I'm unsure what you did exactly.

1) Scan I2C bus

2) If address found, load EVM default configuration by selecting "Default Configurations" from menu and selecting "EVM Default"

3) Make any changes required for your application. Then, on the PLL tab, recalibrate the PLL by clicking on "Recalibrate." Finally check that the PLL is still locked by clicking on "Check Lock Status." If the PLL is not locked, then you need to go back and make changes to the settings to ensure lock for the device to work correctly. Answer for your second question and steps to do so.

4) Write all registers to EVM by clicking on "Write All Regs" from menu.

5) On the EEPROM tab, select the page you want to write to EEPROM. Then, click the "Register to EEPROM" button. Repeat steps 3-5 to write to the unused EEPROM page.

6) Turn off the power to the board and set HW_SW_CTRL pin to the page you want to load to the device (HW_SW_CTRL = 0 = page 0 by setting jumper J8 in the EVM board to headers 1-2 or HW_SW_CTRL = 1 = page 1 by setting jumper J8 in the EVM board to headers 2-3)

7) Turn the board back on. The settings for the chosen page in step 6 should now be loaded to the device.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Andrea