ONFI PACKET GENERATOR

Overview

ONFi specification defines a standardized NAND Flash device interface that provides the means for a system to be designed that supports a range of NAND Flash devices without direct design pre-association. The solution also provides the means for a system to seamlessly make use of new NAND devices that may not have existed at the time that the system was designed.

Packet Generator is a software tool that will be running on a Host computer and generate traffic patterns.

ONFI packet generator is a product that generates series of NAND Flash interface compliant packet which can be used by emulator platform to generate traffic on DUTs interfaces. It can also be used on Simulation platform to generate traffic on simulation environment on DUTs interface.

Features

• ONFI supports four different data interface types: SDR, NV-DDR, NV-DDR2, and NV-DDR3.
• The SDR data interface is the traditional NAND interface that uses RE_n to latch data read, WE_n to latch data written, and does not include a clock.
• The NV-DDR data interface is double data rate (DDR), includes a clock that indicates where commands and addresses should be latched, and a data strobe that indicates where data should be latched
• The NV-DDR2 data interface is double data rate (DDR) and includes additional capabilities for scaling speed like on-die termination and differential signaling.
• The NV-DDR3 data interface includes all NV-DDR2 features but operates at VccQ=1.2V
• ONFi Packet generation logic generates command specific (Chapter 5.1 – ONFI command set) fields such as row address, column address, command opcode and data
• ONFi Packet generation logic generates command specific functionality on a bi-directional interface which can be used at emulation platform or at simulation platform
• Chapter-4 of ONFi protocol defines the interface timing diagrams for Input, output, configuration & status respective to each interface mode (SDR, NV-DDR, NVDDR2, and NV-DDR3).

Benefits

• These methods can be used for verification of most complex hardware design to simple hardware design
• Easy to use solution, plug and play type solutions
• Software packet generators are very cost-effective solutions, they are cheaper compared to high license costing software products available in the market
• Creates beautiful Emulation environment, which can mimic many simulation verification scenarios
• Detect bug in Pre-silicon phase, which can save millions of dollars of re-spinning silicon cost
• Post-silicon also software portion can be used for validation
• Help to build a parallel structure to simulation to find more design bugs quickly
• The overall runtime can be reduced to as much as 10 times than long SOC simulations. This can speed up TAPE OUT of the chip
• Scoreboarding and traffic analysis can be done very well in the Software solution