Boundary Register - Boundary Register - UG570

UltraScale Architecture Configuration User Guide (UG570)

Document ID
UG570
Release Date
2025-03-04
Revision
1.20.1 English

The test primary data register is the Boundary register. Boundary-scan operation is independent of individual IOB configurations. Each IOB, bonded or unbonded, starts as bidirectional with 3-state control. Later, it can be configured to be an input, output, or 3-state only. Therefore, three data register bits are provided per IOB. The following figure is a representation of the UltraScale FPGA boundary-scan architecture.

Figure 1. UltraScale FPGA Boundary-Scan Logic

When conducting a data register (DR) operation, the DR captures data in a parallel fashion during the CAPTURE-DR state. The data is then shifted out and replaced by new data during the SHIFT-DR state. For each bit of the DR, an update latch is used to hold the input data stable during the next SHIFT-DR state. The data is then latched during the UPDATE-DR state when TCK is Low.

The update latch is opened each time the TAP controller enters the UPDATE-DR state. Care is necessary when exercising an EXTEST to ensure that the proper data has been latched before exercising the command. This is typically accomplished by using the SAMPLE/PRELOAD instruction.

Internal pull-up and pull-down resistors should be considered when test vectors are being developed for testing opens and shorts. The PUDC_B pin determines whether the IOB has a pull-up resistor.

Bit Sequence of Boundary-Scan Register

This section describes the order of each non-TAP IOB. The input is first, the output second, and the 3-state IOB control third. The 3-state IOB control is closest to the TDO. The input- only pins contribute only the input bit to the boundary-scan I/O data register. The bit sequence of the device is obtainable from the Boundary-Scan Description Language Files (BSDL files) for the UltraScale FPGAs. (The BSDL files can be obtained from the AMD download area and represent an unconfigured FPGA.) The bit sequence always has the same bit order and the same number of bits and is independent of the design.

For boundary-scan testing with a configured FPGA, AMD offers the write_bsdl utility to automatically modify the BSDL file for post-configuration interconnect testing. The write_bsdl utility obtains the necessary FPGA design information from the implemented design, and generates a BSDL file that reflects the post-configuration boundary-scan architecture of the device.