The GRHSSL IP is a highly configurable high-speed serial link controller, described in VHDL. It can implement:

• SpaceFibre controller (GRSPFI)
• WizardLink controller (GRWIZL)
• ...or both (GRHSSL)

Thanks to the DMA engine, receive and transmit data are autonomously transferred between the serial link and the on-chip bus, which in turn can be either AMBA AHB or AXI.

Features SpaceFibre codec designed according to the SpaceFibre specification ECSS-E-ST-50-11C, single-lane implementation WizardLink codec designed to interface with Texas Instrument TLK2711 transceiver The IP can inter-operate with off-chip SerDes devices or with FPGA/ASIC hard macros Optional 8b10b encoding Support for wide (36/40) or narrow (16/20) SerDes interfaces Configurable number of DMA channels Optional SpaceFibre RMAP support Optional fault tolerant features Support for both big-endian and little-endian systems

Synthesis      GRHSSL can be synthesized with common commercial synthesis tools. The IP model is      highly configurable and portable between different implementation technologies, for  both      FPGA and ASIC.

Software
We are currently developing software drivers for bare-metal and Linux applications. Contact support@gaisler.com for more information.

Availability

GRHSSL is available as a separate package or as an addition to commercial versions of the GRLIB VHDL library. Contact sales@gaisler.com for licensing information.
Example designs for Xilinx and Lattice FPGA evaluation boards are readily available.

For specific information related to Xilinx, Microchip, and Lattice FPGAs, please refer to our dedicated web pages:

- Specific support for Lattice FPGAs

- Specific support for Microchip FPGAs

- Specific support for Xilinx FPGAs

Estimation of the resource utilization can be found here:

- Excel sheet for SoC area estimation

Whats is SpaceFibre?

SpaceFibre is a high-speed fiber optic technology that is compatible with the widely-used SpaceWire protocol and offers even faster data rates. With a capability of up to 6.25 Gbps and beyond per lane, SpaceFibre can provide up to 15 times the data rate of SpaceWire. In addition to its impressive speed, SpaceFibre also includes built-in fault detection and recovery, as well as deterministic communication mechanisms, ensuring reliable and consistent data transmission. SpaceFibre can be used with both copper and optical fibers, and offers significant reductions in harness size compared to SpaceWire, with a 50% reduction when using optical fibers and over 90% when comparing data transfer per bit.

What is WizardLink?

WizardLink is a line of transceivers produced by Texas Instruments. One of the products in this line, the TLK2711, commonly used in space applications, follows a basic protocol that includes 8b/10b encoding, serialization/deserialization, comma detection and alignment, and error codes for loss of signal or invalid symbols. However, WizardLink does not include standard link initialization or flow control protocols, instead relying on user-defined options.  This non-standard approach enables communication with legacy equipment using custom protocols at layers above WizardLink.

Documentation