Hi, I am still not having any success writing and reading from the SDRAM on on the DE0-nano board from the FPGA. I have built a system in qsys which includes a Nios II and SDRAM controller and downloaded it to the board. The next thing I would like to do is write some code in VHDL or some program for the NIOS that reads and writes to the SDRAM. How exactly does one achieve this? I believe the SDRAM controller takes care of all the control signals etc. so in order to write to it, I must specify the address in RAM first or just write data to the data pins connecting to it? I am having problems understanding how this works. If anyone has more experience with this, I would appreciate your help. Many thanks, Paul

Hi Paul, Here's a design that creates a Qsys system containing a JTAG master and an Altera SDRAM Controller. I tested it under Quartus 12.1, 13.0, 13.1, and 14.0. Unzip the file into c:/temp/ and follow the instructions in the readme.txt file, i.e., DE0-nano 'sdram' design ----------------------- 8/19/2014 D. W. Hawkins (dwh@ovro.caltech.edu) To synthesize the design, perform the following steps; 1) Unzip de0_nano_sdram.zip, eg., into your c:/temp directory. 2) Start Quartus II This script was tested with versions 12.1, 13.0, 13.1, and 14.0. The SDRAM controller parameters changed slightly after Quartus 12.1, see scripts/qsys_system.tcl. 3) Select the Tcl console. If the Tcl console is not visible, use the menu option View->Utility Windows->Tcl Console 4) Use the Tcl console to change into the DE0-nano source folder. tcl> cd c:/temp/de0_nano_sdram 5) Issue the following command to source and run the synthesis script tcl> source scripts/synth.tcl The console will output the script progress. For example, under Quartus II 12.1sp1 (on Windows XP) the output was: Synthesizing the DE0-nano 'sdram' design ---------------------------------------- - Quartus Version 12.1 Build 243 01/31/2013 Service Pack 1 SJ Full Version - Creating the Quartus work directory * C:/temp/de0_nano_sdram/qwork - Create the project 'de0_nano' * create a new de0_nano project - Applying constraints - Creating the VHDL files list - Generate the Qsys system * creating the Qsys file in the work directory * Tcl-to-Qsys generation for Quartus version 12.1 * generating the Qsys system (please wait) - Processing the design - Processing completed and under Quartus II 14.0 (on Windows 7) the output was: Synthesizing the DE0-nano 'sdram' design ---------------------------------------- - Quartus Version 14.0.0 Build 200 06/17/2014 SJ Full Version - Creating the Quartus work directory * C:/Temp/de0_nano_sdram/qwork - Create the project 'de0_nano' * create a new de0_nano project - Applying constraints - Creating the VHDL files list - Generate the Qsys system * creating the Qsys file in the work directory * Tcl-to-Qsys generation for Quartus version 14.0 * generating the Qsys system (please wait) - Processing the design - Processing completed This design passes TimeQuest analysis, with no unconstrained paths. NOTE: The Altera SDRAM controller does not create an SDC constraints file. See scripts/de0_nano.sdc for appropriate SDRAM constraints. At this point, the design is ready to test in hardware. The Qsys system instantiated in the top-level design was created by the synthesis script (see scripts/synth.tcl for details). You can inspect the Qsys system by starting Qsys via Tools->Qsys, then open the file qsys_system.qsys, and look at the Qsys system settings, eg., the SDRAM controller parameters. If you repeat this sequence under Quartus 12.1, 13.0, 13.1 or 14.0, you will see that although the Qsys GUI changes slightly, the Qsys SDRAM controller parameters remain correct. 6) Program your board a) Plug the DE0-nano into your computer. b) Open the Quartus programmer. In the main Quartus GUI, the programmer has a symbol on the top menu bar that looks like a cable going into a diamond, If you hover your mouse over it, the tooltip is "Programmer" c) At the top-level of the programmer GUI, there is a button that says "Hardware Setup", to the right of that should be the text "USB-Blaster ". If you do not see the USB-Blaster text, click on the "Hardware Setup" program and see if its listed there, if it is, select it. d) In the programmer GUI, you should see the file de0_nano.osf ready to be programmed into the single device in the JTAG chain. Press the "Start" button to download to the board. e) The LEDs on the DE0-nano will then start counting. This indicates that the 100MHz PLL is operating correctly. f) Start SystemConsole The GUI directions for starting SystemConsole change depending on the Quartus version. Under 12.1 you have to start Qsys and select it via Tools->System Console, under newer versions of Quartus, the main GUI Tools menu can be used, eg., under Quartus 14.0 use Tools->System Debugging Tools->System Console. Start SystemConsole and source the JTAG commands script, eg., % source c:/temp/de0_nano_sdram/scripts/jtag_cmds.tcl Then run the (simple) SRAM test % sdram_test Writing to 256 SDRAM locations Reading from 256 SDRAM locations SDRAM write/read checks passed! You can pass the number of locations to test, eg., % sdram_test 0x1000 Writing to 4096 SDRAM locations Reading from 4096 SDRAM locations SDRAM write/read checks passed! This design and the JTAG tests is extremely basic and simply shows that the memory works. A more exhaustive memory test would create a Qsys system with a pattern generator, DMA controller, and pattern checker, and then use that to send burst data to and from the SDRAM controller. Enjoy! Cheers, Dave

Hi Dave, When I try to source synth.tcl , I receive error : error: can't find package ::quartus:: project while executing "package require ::quartus:: project" (file "synth.tcl" line 34) invoked from within "source synth.tcl"

Hi Paul, --- Quote Start --- When I try to source synth.tcl , I receive error : error: can't find package ::quartus:: project while executing "package require ::quartus:: project" (file "synth.tcl" line 34) invoked from within "source synth.tcl" --- Quote End --- Which Tcl console did you try to run the script from? It should be run from the Quartus Tcl console, not SystemConsole. Note that the instructions indicate you should cd to the top-level of the project folder and issue "source scripts/synth.tcl", i.e., you should not have changed directory to the scripts folder and issued "source synth.tcl". The script uses the location you source it from to determine relative paths. Cheers, Dave

Hi Dave, I have now added an SDRAM controller to the qsys design from the jtag-to-avalon-mm example, gave it address 0x0 and assigned all the appropriate pins for the DE0-nano SDRAM with pin-planner. In the jtag_cmds_sc.tcl script , I have added extra code to "talk" to the external SDRAM on the DE0-nano as follows : proc sdram_write {offset data} { global jtag if {!} { jtag_open } set addr master_write_32 $jtag(master) $addr $data return } proc sdram_read {offset} { global jtag if {!} { jtag_open } set addr return } When I then try to write from the tcl console with command "sdram_write 0 0x12345" for example and read it back with "sdram_read 0" , I am only reading 0x00000045, hence only the lower 8 bits seem to be written everytime. What would be the issue here. Is it something with the tcl script or my SDRAM controller settings? In my SDRAM controller settings , the data width is set to 16 bits , chip select :1 , banks: 4 Under address width , Row : 13 , Column : 9 Thanks, Paul

--- Quote Start --- I have now added an SDRAM controller to the qsys design from the jtag-to-avalon-mm example, gave it address 0x0 and assigned all the appropriate pins for the DE0-nano SDRAM with pin-planner. --- Quote End --- But the SDRAM controller that Altera provides *DOES NOT* also come with timing constraints. Did you add them? --- Quote Start --- When I then try to write from the tcl console with command "sdram_write 0 0x12345" for example and read it back with "sdram_read 0" , I am only reading 0x00000045, hence only the lower 8 bits seem to be written everytime. What would be the issue here. Is it something with the tcl script or my SDRAM controller settings? --- Quote End --- Most likely SDRAM controller settings, though you could have a board or pin assignments error where the data mask bit for one lane is bad and is masking that byte lane. Regarding the SDRAM controller settings, I recall changing the refresh rate to 7.8125us (half the default) and the power-on init delay to 200us (twice the default), to match the settings used in a couple of DE0-nano examples that I looked at. Try the zip file I provided you, I know it works on my DE0-nano, so if it does not work on yours, that implies a hardware error where the mask bit is stuck. Cheers, Dave

SDRAM on DE0-nano board | Altera Community

23 Replies

Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor
11 years ago
Hi Dave,

From the you attached for the sdram controller in DE0 Nano, I can see that you instantiated ADC (analog digital converter) in the top level entity, however I could not find the vhdl file for ADC processing, do you mind to send me the ADC file?

I tried to understand how to create Qsys custom component for ADC Controller from Altera document (Using DE0 Nano ADC COntroller), too bad that those files are written in Verilog and I have difficulty to apply to my VHDL system, I also have sent a service request to Altera team but they do not have vhdl files for this, appreciate your help,

Thank you
Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor
11 years ago
--- Quote Start ---

From the you attached for the sdram controller in DE0 Nano, I can see that you instantiated ADC (analog digital converter) in the top level entity, however I could not find the vhdl file for ADC processing, do you mind to send me the ADC file?

--- Quote End ---

Look at the top-level code again - there is no ADC component instantiated.

--- Quote Start ---

I tried to understand how to create Qsys custom component for ADC Controller from Altera document (Using DE0 Nano ADC COntroller), too bad that those files are written in Verilog and I have difficulty to apply to my VHDL system, I also have sent a service request to Altera team but they do not have vhdl files for this, appreciate your help,

--- Quote End ---

I have not used the ADC on the DE0-nano. Its an SPI device, so its pretty easy to write a controller from scratch.

The type of controller you write depends on what you want to do with it, for example,

1. Use an existing "SPI Master Controller" and write software to interface to the ADC.

2. Create an Avalon-MM slave with 8 addresses, and when you access any one of these 8 addresses perform a conversion. Use a DMA controller to transfer blocks of samples to SDRAM.

3. Create an Avalon-MM ADC controller interface, where you set the ADC clock frequency, and the rate at which it auto-reads channels. Software then just reads the last conversion value from 8 registers.

Cheers,
Dave
Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor
11 years ago
--- Quote Start ---
Look at the top-level code again - there is no ADC component instantiated.

I have not used the ADC on the DE0-nano. Its an SPI device, so its pretty easy to write a controller from scratch.

The type of controller you write depends on what you want to do with it, for example,

1. Use an existing "SPI Master Controller" and write software to interface to the ADC.

2. Create an Avalon-MM slave with 8 addresses, and when you access any one of these 8 addresses perform a conversion. Use a DMA controller to transfer blocks of samples to SDRAM.

3. Create an Avalon-MM ADC controller interface, where you set the ADC clock frequency, and the rate at which it auto-reads channels. Software then just reads the last conversion value from 8 registers.

Cheers,
Dave
--- Quote End ---

Hi Dave, thanks a lot for your reply, I would have a look on the three options you stated here and see what I should do next, thanks again for your inputs!

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SDRAM on DE0-nano board

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