M67025E
Functional Description
The M67025E has two ports with separate control, address and I/O pins that permit
independent read/write access to any memory location. These devices have an auto-
matic power-down feature controlled by CS. CS controls on-chip power-down circuitry
which causes the port concerned to go into stand-by mode when not selected (CS high).
When a port is selected access to the full memory array is permitted. Each port has its
own Output Enable control (OE). In read mode, the port’s OE turns the Output drivers on
when set LOW. Non-conflicting READ/WRITE conditions are illustrated in Table 1.
The interrupt flag (INT) allows communication between ports or systems. If the user
chooses to use the interrupt function, a memory location (mail box or message center) is
assigned to each port. The left port interrupt flag (INT
L
) is set when the right port writes
to memory location 1FFE (HEX). The left port clears the interrupt by reading address
location 1FFE. Similarly, the right port interrupt flag (INT
R
) is set when the left port writes
to memory location 1FFF (HEX), and the right port must read memory location 1FFF in
order to clear the interrupt flag (INT
R
). The 16-bit message at 1FFE or 1FFF is user-
defined. If the interrupt function is not used, address locations 1FFE and 1FFF are not
reserved for mail boxes but become part of the RAM. See Table 3 for the interrupt
function.
Arbitration Logic
The arbitration logic will resolve an address match or a chip select match down to a min-
imum of 5 ns determine which port has access. In all cases, an active BUSY flag will be
set for the inhibited port.
The BUSY flags are required when both ports attempt to access the same location
simultaneously. Should this conflict arise, on-chip arbitration logic will determine which
port has access and set the BUSY flag for the inhibited port. BUSY is set at speeds that
allow the processor to hold the operation with its associated address and data. It should
be noted that the operation is invalid for the port for which BUSY is set LOW. The inhib-
ited port will be given access when BUSY goes inactive.
A conflict will occur when both left and right ports are active and the two addresses coin-
cide. The on-chip arbitration determines access in these circumstances. Two modes of
arbitration are provided: (1) if the addresses match and are valid before CS on-chip con-
trol logic arbitrates between CS
L
and CS
R
for access; or (2) if the CS are low before an
address match, on-chip control logic arbitrates between the left and right addresses for
access (refer to Table 4). The inhibited port’s BUSY flag is set and will reset when the
port granted access completes its operation in both arbitration modes.
Data Bus Width
Expansion
Expanding the data bus width to 32 or more bits in a dual-port RAM system means that
several chips may be active simultaneously. If every chips has a hardware arbitrator,
and the addresses for each arrive at the same time one chip may activate in L BUSY
signal while another activates its R BUSY signal. Both sides are now busy and the
CPUs will wait indefinitely for their port to become free.
To overcome this “Busy Lock-Out’ problem, Atmel has developed a MASTER/SLAVE
system which uses a single hardware arbitrator located on the MASTER. The SLAVE has
BUSY inputs which allow direct interface to the MASTER with no external components, giving a
speed advantage over other systems.
When dual-port RAMs are expanded in width, the SLAVE RAMs must be prevented
from writing until after the BUSY input has settled. Otherwise, the SLAVE chip may begin a
write cycle during a conflict situation. Conversely, the write pulse must extend a hold time
beyond BUSY to ensure that a write cycle occurs once the conflict is resolved. This timing is
inherent in all dual-port memory systems where more than one chip is active at the same time.
4
4146J–AERO–06/03
ATMEL [ ATMEL CORPORATION ]
