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66AK2G12: Hardware design differences between K2G Speed grades

Part Number: 66AK2G12

Hello,

What design changes must be made to change from the 66AK2G12ABY60 to the 66AK2G12ABY100?  I see in the datasheet that CVDD is changed from 0.9V to 1.0V.  Are there other changes that must be considered if either part is run at 600MHz, not 1GHz?

Thank you,

Jeff Limbocker

  • Clarification: I have a current board designed for 66AK2G12ABY60 at 0.9V for core voltage. What modifications if any are required to the board if I populate it with a 66AK2G12ABY100 but plan to run it at 600MHz?
  • Hi Jeff,

    Besides the CVDD voltage there shouldn't be any differences between these two parts.
    So if you plan to run 66AK2G12ABY100 at 600MHz you should be fine.

    Consider sections 2.2.1 PMIC & 2.2.2 Discrete Power Supplies from the Schematic Checklist: www.ti.com/.../sprac54a.pdf
    and section 7.3 Power Distribution Network (PDN) Implementation Guidance from the device Datasheet.

    Best Regards,
    Yordan
  • Yordan,

    Thank you for confirming this.

    On a related note, are there any special considerations we should take if we wanted to attempt to run the part at 1GHz? I don't see any additional constraints on the PDN for the higher speed grade. We modeled our PDN closely after the EVM.

    Thanks,

    Jeff
  • Hi Jeff,
    Besides the change to 1V you will need need to re-run the power consumption model to determine if your power supply solution will provided enough current. Also review your PDN design to see if the number, value and position of your bypass capacitors is sufficient. You need to review your thermal analysis to determine if additional airflow or a heat sink is necessary. You also need to consider whether you are going to keep your DDR3L solution at 800MT/s or if you are planning to bump that up to 1066MT/s. If you are going to operate at the faster DDR speed than the layout of the interface and the power supply requirements for the memories needs review.
    Regards, Bill
  • Jeff,

    The software correctly checks for silicon revision and configures the core clocks and and DDR accordingly so other than replacing the silicon you also need to make sure software sets the clock to 600 Mhz.

    Check board library code for evmK2G , pdk_am57xx_1_0_11\packages\ti\board\src\evmK2G\evmK2G.c. The following code needs to be updated and rebuilt so the PLL is set at 600 Mhz:

    if(var == DEVSPEED1G)
    {
    ret = Board_PLLInit_1G();
    }
    else if(var == DEVSPEED600)
    {
    ret = Board_PLLInit();
    }
    else
    return BOARD_UNSUPPORTED_FEATURE;

    If you want to run the device at 600, you can remove all the if else code and hard code this to use default Board_PLLInit(); which configures the device to 600 Mhz configuration.

    Similarly for DDR check the file pdk_am57xx_1_0_11\packages\ti\board\src\evmK2G\evmK2G_ddr.c.

    if(var == DEVSPEED1G)
    {
    if (init_ddrphy(CSL_DDR_0_PHY_CFG_REGS, &ddr3phy_1066, 0) == false)
    return BOARD_INIT_DDR_FAIL;
    init_ddremif((CSL_Emif4fHandle)CSL_DDR3_0_SLV_CFG_REGS, &ddr3_1066);
    }
    else
    {
    if (init_ddrphy(CSL_DDR_0_PHY_CFG_REGS, &ddr3phy_800, 0) == false)
    return BOARD_INIT_DDR_FAIL;
    init_ddremif((CSL_Emif4fHandle)CSL_DDR3_0_SLV_CFG_REGS, &ddr3_800);
    }

    Remove the if else and only keep the code in the else that sets DDR to 800 MTs.

    Regards,
    Rahul
  • Understood, thank you all for your input.

    Jeff
  • Hi Jeff,
    Just FYI, we simulated the PDN for the EVM and found that it was appropriate for both 600MHz and for 1GHZ.
    Regards, Bill
  • Wonderful! Thank you for running that.
  • On the topic of DDR3, there is a document listed on the product page titled "DDR3 Design Requirements for KeyStone Devices" (SPRABI1C). These were the guidelines we used for DDR design rules. It appears that this guide is written as a general guide for the entire Keystone family, including the parts that can run at 1333 and 1600 MT/s. If this is the case, then I feel good about our DDR3 layout for the higher operating speed.
  • Hi Jeff,
    If you followed those guidelines, you should be fine. I mentioned the DDR3L because we have had customers take some shortcuts on their DDR layout. DDR3L at 800MT/s may tolerate these short cuts but as the speed increases, the interface becomes less forgiving of layout defects.
    Regards, Bill
  • Good to hear, thank you for your help!  We were very wary of taking shortcuts, as we have no capability to simulate high speed design.