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DS125DF410: PRBS output with free-running VCO

Part Number: DS125DF410

Hi TI Team,

We are trying to output PRBS under free-running VCO mode on Channel 0 with the following settings:

wrm(0xff, 0x04, 0x0f) # change to Channel 0 page
wrm(0x09, 0xfc, 0xff) # override a few controls
wrm(0x14, 0x80, 0xc0) # force signal detect
wrm(0x1b, 0x00, 0x03) # disable charge pump
wrm(0x18, 0x30, 0x70) # set VCO divider (Table 7), 4: 1/16, 3: 1/8
wrm(0x08, 0x08, 0x1f) # VCO cap count
wrm(0x1f, 0x12, 0x1f) # VCO LPF DAC
wrm(0x1e, 0x80, 0xe0) # select PRBS generator as o/p (Table 6) 4: prbs, 2: I-clock
wrm(0x1e, 0x10, 0x10) # enable PRBS
wrm(0x30, 0x08, 0x08) # toggle prbs_en_dig_clk to enable prbs output
wrm(0x30, 0x00, 0x08)
wrm(0x30, 0x08, 0x08)
wrm(0x08, 0x0e, 0x1f) # VCO cap count
wrm(0x1f, 0x14, 0x1f) # VCO LPF DAC

where wrm(register_address, value, mask) is our I2C write function

After recycling power of the EVM board and running the above code, we manage to see data output at a rate of 1.25Gbps. However, what's strange is that we get a very short repetitive pattern like below:
1111 0100 1010 0000

Can you explain why that happens and how we can fix it (ie. to get the default PRBS-7 pattern)?

Thanks.

  • Hi,

    I can try this out in lab next week to try to reproduce the issue.  Are you targeting an output rate of 1.25 Gbps?

    Could you also try adding step 7 of the table below to your sequence to see if this changes the behavior at all?

    Thanks,

    Drew

  • Drew,

    Adding Step 7 seems to have improved the issue. We can now output PRBS9 and 31 pattern. Can the chip support PRBS7 and PRBS15 at all? The info provided on the Programming Guide and the datasheet is quite inconsistent.

    From the Programming Guide:

    From the datasheet:

    Which one is correct? 

    In addition, how can we set the chip to output a specific data pattern? Can you provide more info to us?

    Thanks.

    Child

  • Hi Child,

    Sorry for the confusion on this.  The regmap in the datasheet is inaccurate on this.  Only PRBS9 and PRBS31 are supported.  This is corroborated by a PRBS description in the datasheet.

    In addition, how can we set the chip to output a specific data pattern?

    The retimer does not have the ability to output an arbitrary pattern, just PRBS9 and 31.

    Thanks,
    Drew