
   A43P26161 
PRELIMINARY  (July, 2005, Version 1.1) 
12 
AMIC Technology, Corp.
the stored information until it is programmed again or the 
device loses power. The Extended Mode Register must be 
loaded when all banks are idle, and the controller must wait 
the specified time before initiating any subsequent operation. 
Violating either these requirements result in unspecified 
operation. Unused bit A7 to A11 have to be set to “0”. 
Bank Activate 
The bank activate command is used to select a random row 
in an idle bank. By asserting low on RAS  and 
CS
 with 
desired row and bank addresses, a row access is initiated. 
The read or write operation can occur after a time delay of 
t
RCD
(min) from the time of bank activation. t
RCD
(min) is an 
internal timing parameter of SDRAM, therefore it is 
dependent on operating clock frequency. The minimum 
number of clock cycles required between bank activate and 
read or write command should be calculated by dividing 
t
RCD
(min) with cycle time of the clock and then rounding off 
the result to the next higher integer.  The SDRAM has 4 
internal banks on the same chip and shares part of the 
internal circuitry to reduce chip area, therefore it restricts the 
activation of all banks simultaneously. Also the noise 
generated during sensing of each bank of SDRAM is high 
requiring some time for power supplies to recover before the 
other bank can be sensed reliably. t
RRD
(min) specifies the 
minimum time required between activating different banks. 
The number of clock cycles required between different bank 
activation must be calculated similar to t
RCD
 specification. 
The minimum time required for the bank to be active to 
initiate sensing and restoring the complete row of dynamic 
cells is determined by t
RAS
(min) specification before a 
precharge command to that active bank can be asserted. 
The maximum time any bank can be in the active state is 
determined by t
RAS
(max). The number of cycles for both 
t
RAS
(min) and t
RAS
(max) can be calculated similar to t
RCD 
specification. 
Burst Read 
The burst read command is used to access burst of data on 
consecutive clock cycles from an active row in an active 
bank. The burst read command is issued by asserting low on 
CS
 and 
CAS
 with 
WE
being high on the positive edge of 
the clock. The bank must be active for at least t
RCD
(min) 
before the burst read command is issued. The first output 
appears CAS latency number of clock cycles after the issue 
of burst read command. The burst length, burst sequence 
and latency from the burst read command is determined by 
the mode register which is already programmed. The burst 
read can be initiated on any column address of the active 
row. The address wraps around if the initial address does not 
start from a boundary such that number of outputs from each 
I/O are equal to the burst length programmed in the mode 
register. The output goes into high-impedance at the end of 
the burst, unless a new burst read was initiated to keep the 
data output gapless. The burst read can be terminated by 
issuing another burst read or burst write in the same bank or 
the other active bank or a precharge command to the same 
bank. The burst stop command is valid at every page burst 
length. 
Burst Write 
The burst write command is similar to burst read command, 
and is used to write data into the SDRAM consecutive clock 
cycles in adjacent addresses depending on burst length and 
burst sequence. By asserting low on 
CS
 ,
 CAS
 and 
WE
with valid column address, a write burst is initiated. The data 
inputs are provided for the initial address in the same clock 
cycle as the burst write command. The input buffer is 
deselected at the end of the burst length, even though the 
internal writing may not have been completed yet.  The burst 
write can be terminated by issuing a burst read and DQM for 
blocking data inputs or burst write in the same or the other 
active bank. The burst stop command is valid only at full 
page burst length where the writing continues at the end of 
burst and the burst is wrap around. The write burst can also 
be terminated by using DQM for blocking data and 
precharging the bank “t
RDL
” after the last data input to be 
written into the active row. See DQM OPERATION also. 
DQM Operation 
The DQM is used to mask input and output operation. It 
works similar to 
OE
 during read operation and inhibits 
writing during write operation. The read latency is two cycles 
from DQM and zero cycle for write, which means DQM 
masking occurs two cycles later in the read cycle and occurs 
in the same cycle during write cycle. DQM operation is 
synchronous with the clock, therefore the masking occurs for 
a complete cycle. The DQM signal is important during burst 
interrupts of write with read or precharge in the SDRAM. Due 
to asynchronous nature of the internal write, the DQM 
operation is critical to avoid unwanted or incomplete writes 
when the complete burst write is not required.  
Precharge 
The precharge operation is performed on an active bank by 
asserting low on 
CS
 ,
RAS
 ,
WE
and A10/AP with valid BA 
of the bank to be precharged. The precharge command can 
be asserted anytime after t
RAS
(min) is satisfied from the bank 
activate command in the desired bank. “t
RP
” is defined as the 
minimum time required to precharge a bank.  
The minimum number of clock cycles required to complete 
row precharge is calculated by dividing “t
RP
” with clock cycle 
time and rounding up to the next higher integer. Care should 
be taken to make sure that burst write is completed or DQM 
is used to inhibit writing before precharge command is 
asserted. The maximum time any bank can be active is 
specified by t
RAS
(max). Therefore, each bank has to be 
precharged within t
RAS
(max) from the bank activate 
command. At the end of precharge, the bank enters the idle 
state and is ready to be activated again. 
Entry to Power Down, Auto refresh, Self refresh and Mode 
register Set etc, is possible only when all banks are in idle 
state.  
Auto Precharge 
The precharge operation can also be performed by using 
auto precharge. The SDRAM internally generates the timing 
to satisfy t
RAS
(min) and “t
RP
” for the programmed burst length 
and CAS latency. The auto precharge command is issued at 
the same time as burst read or burst write by asserting high 
on A10/AP. If burst read or burst write command is issued 
with low on A10/AP, the bank is left active until a new 
command is asserted. Once auto precharge command is 
given, no new commands are possible to that particular bank 
until the bank achieves idle state.