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PeroK's avatar
PeroK
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3 years ago
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A10 Vertical migration with regard of NC pins

Hello,

because of the supply shortage, I am considering migrating from GX1150 device to GX270 on one of my board designs. The packages and pinouts are mostly compatible, but there is a connundrum: some banks on GX1150 are non-existent in GX270 and the corresponding pins are designated as NC (non-connected).

As you can guess, my original board with GX1150 has connections on many of those pins, either to some connector, GND or VCCIO. But, for the time of supply shortage, I would be keen to disable those functionalites and test only ones whose pins are active on GX270.

The question is, when I solder GX270 device on my board, and NC pins get tied to either GND or VCCIO, will that damage the FPGA? Will it reduce its functionality?

Best,

PK

7 Replies

  • AqidAyman_Altera's avatar
    AqidAyman_Altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hi PK,


    You do not need to worry to connect the NC pin to the GND or VCC as long as they in the same migration path. You need to identify the package for both device and check if they are in the same migration path. Refer the link below:

    I/O Vertical Migration for Intel® Arria® 10 Devices


    This Knowledge Base (KDB) article also have explained on this as link below:

    When migrating between two devices in the same package, NC pins on... (intel.com)


    I hope it clarifies.


    Regards,

    Aqid


    • PeroK's avatar
      PeroK
      Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
      3 years ago

      Thanks this is what I wanted to know!

      Best,

      PK

  • FvM's avatar
    FvM
    Icon for Super Contributor rankSuper Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hello,

    migration compatibilty takes care of these problems. Select all intended migration devices in Quartus devices setup and compile the project. Quartus *.pin file will tell you the required connection of all pins. It's particularly necessesary to connect all optional supply and GND pins. In- and outputs that can't be used in the migration compatible design revision can be decared as virtual pins.

    Regards

    Frank

    • PeroK's avatar
      PeroK
      Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
      3 years ago

      Hi, thanks for the answer. I'm not sure if I got it right, but my issue is not what Quartus *.pin file will tell me, but that my board is fixed, and I might need to connect NC pins onto existing pads that are either GND or VCCIO. I dont have much choice about changing that, so the pinfile shall make no influence here. The question is about the damage of tying NC pins onto GND and VCCIO.

  • FvM's avatar
    FvM
    Icon for Super Contributor rankSuper Contributor
    3 years ago

    Some requirements can't be bypassed, at least connecting all GND and VCCIO pins of the alternatively used GX270. You need to check if your board does. *.pin file can answer the question most easily, without using Quartus also comparing pinout files of the respective devices.

    • PeroK's avatar
      PeroK
      Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
      3 years ago

      I don't have any choice - I must connect my GX270 on the existing board, where NC pins will end up on 1.8V and GND. Will this cause any damage?

  • AqidAyman_Altera's avatar
    AqidAyman_Altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    I’m glad that your question has been addressed, I now transition this thread to community support. If you have a new question, Please login to ‘https://supporttickets.intel.com’, view details of the desire request, and post a feed/response within the next 15 days to allow me to continue to support you. After 15 days, this thread will be transitioned to community support. The community users will be able to help you on your follow-up questions.