|
Set-top boxes contain large amounts and various types of memory. This includes FLASH, SRAM and DRAM. Spartan-II FPGAs provide an ideal solution to implement various memory controllers. Xilinx provides a dedicated website committed to providing comprehensive memory solutions for system designers. The site, entitled Memory Corner, is an open forum for existing and emerging manufacturers to contribute and post free new memory reference solutions. The Memory Corner provides a one stop memory shop for :
DRAM
SRAM
Embedded Memory
The reprogrammable nature of Spartan-II also allows dual sourcing of critical memory components. For example, a set-top box maybe designed to accommodate NAND FLASH memory. In times of memory shortages, the set-top manufacturer may not be able to obtain sufficient quantity of NAND FLASH, but may be able to obtain NOR FLASH memory. In this instance, the Spartan-II FPGA can be reprogrammed to accommodate both types of memory.
In addition, Spartan-II FPGAs contains two forms of internal memory, distributed RAM and Block SelectRAM. The Spartan-II high bandwidth I/Os can operate with external memory at the same high 200 MHz rate as the internal memory accesses. This transparent bandwidth across internal and external memory allows the system designer maximum flexibility so that the system can be designed for maximum cost savings. Hence the Spartan-II family is ideal as a memory controller for state-of-the art SRAM and DRAM types such as QDR SRAM, ZBT and NoBL SRAM, SDRAM, DDR, PC100 etc.
|
