I'm targeting Stratix V GX. According to the spec sheets, I should be able to drive the SERDES at more than 1.4Gbs (my requirement), but I need this to transmit data on both the positive and negative 700MHz clock edges. I was able to get a version of this working, but only if I don't use the external PLL option. It looks like there may be an issue with the files generated by the Mega Function GUI. You can't change the input clock frequency in the GUI (the drop down box shows this as 100MHz and you can't change this value even if you vary all the other parameters) . Also, a simulation of this MF will not work correctly unless you manually change the input frequency to 700MHz in the VHDL code. Additionally, if you try to use the external PLL option, the GUI does not let you specify either the output data rate or the input clock frequency. I don't see how the SERDES core knows to make the output double data rate (i.e. transmitting data on both clock edges) without these two parameters since the ratio would determine whether you are transmitting SDR or DDR. I posted a service request to Altera Support on this.
Is there a dedicated SERDES block other than the altLVDSTx mega function that I need to implement (excluding the MGTs since I need a total of 28 bits for this interface)?