Spartan-3E FPGA Family: Functional Description
DS312 (v4.1) July 19, 2013
Product Specification
52
DLL Clock Output and Feedback Connections
As many as four of the nine DCM clock outputs can
simultaneously drive four of the BUFGMUX buffers on the
same die edge. All DCM clock outputs can simultaneously
drive general routing resources, including interconnect
leading to OBUF buffers.
The feedback loop is essential for DLL operation. Either the
CLK0 or CLK2X outputs feed back to the CLKFB input via a
BUFGMUX global buffer to eliminate the clock distribution
delay. The specific BUFGMUX buffer used to feed back the
CLK0 or CLK2X signal is ideally one of the BUFGMUX
buffers associated with a specific DCM, as shown in
The feedback path also phase-aligns the other seven DLL
outputs: CLK0, CLK90, CLK180, CLK270, CLKDV, CLK2X,
or CLK2X180. The CLK_FEEDBACK attribute value must
agree with the physical feedback connection. Use “1X” for
CLK0 feedback and “2X” for CLK2X feedback. If the DFS
unit is used stand-alone, without the DLL, then no feedback
is required and set the CLK_FEEDBACK attribute to
“NONE”.
Two basic cases determine how to connect the DLL clock
outputs and feedback connections: on-chip synchronization
and off-chip synchronization, which are illustrated in
In the on-chip synchronization case in
Figure 42a and
Figure 42b, it is possible to connect any of the DLL’s seven
output clock signals through general routing resources to
the FPGA’s internal registers. Either a Global Clock Buffer
(BUFG) or a BUFGMUX affords access to the global clock
network. As shown in
Figure 42a, the feedback loop is
created by routing CLK0 (or CLK2X) in Figure 42b to a global clock net, which in turn drives the CLKFB input.
In the off-chip synchronization case in
Figure 42c and
Figure 42d, CLK0 (or CLK2X) plus any of the DLL’s other
output clock signals exit the FPGA using output buffers
(OBUF) to drive an external clock network plus registers on
the board. As shown in Figure 42c, the feedback loop is formed by feeding CLK0 (or CLK2X) in Figure 42d back into the FPGA, then to the DCM’s CLKFB input via a Global
X-Ref Target - Figure 42
Figure 42: Input Clock, Output Clock, and Feedback Connections for the DLL
DS099-2_09_082104
CLK90
CLK180
CLK270
CLKDV
CLK2X
CLK2X180
CLK0
Clock
Net Delay
BUFGMUX
BUFG
FPGA
(a) On-Chip with CLK0 Feedback
CLKIN
DCM
CLKFB
CLK90
CLK180
CLK270
CLKDV
CLK2X
CLK2X180
CLK0
Clock
Net Delay
IBUFG
FPGA
(c) Off-Chip with CLK0 Feedback
CLKIN
DCM
CLKFB
OBUF
CLK2X
IBUFG
FPGA
(d) Off-Chip with CLK2X Feedback
CLKIN
DCM
CLKFB
OBUF
CLK0
CLK90
CLK180
CLK270
CLKDV
CLK2X180
CLK2X
Clock
Net Delay
Clock
Net Delay
BUFGMUX
BUFG
FPGA
(b) On-Chip with CLK2X Feedback
CLKIN
DCM
CLKFB
CLK0
CLK90
CLK180
CLK270
CLKDV
CLK2X180