With the release of XJEase Library build 192 we included a notable update to the SPI NOR Flash test files: support for Octal SPI NOR Flash devices[1], also known as OSPI or OPI.

Octal SPI NOR Flash is a variant of SPI NOR Flash that supports the use of an 8-bit bidirectional I/O bus for data transfer to and from the memory chip. These devices also support Double Data Rate (DDR) mode, where data is transferred on both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal. This means that Octal devices can transfer data 16 times faster, compared to traditional single-bit SPI Flash devices.

Our existing SPI Flash tests, which verify the device ID and confirm the functionality of all accessible pins, have been expanded to support octal parts. We are able to check connectivity on the full I/O bus, using all 8-bits for the transmission of command, address, and data in DDR mode (known as 8D-8D-8D). We are also able to identify when a device has enough connectivity to respond to a traditional SPI Flash command, but is not working when using the wider I/O bus.

This ensures robust test coverage for devices compliant with the JEDEC standard [1], allowing us to add support for hundreds of these Octal SPI Flash parts across many different manufacturers in this XJEase Library update.

If you have an Octal part which does not match one of our library files, please contact XJTAG Support (Contact XJTAG Support – XJTAG) so that we can include this in a future update.

 

[1] JEDEC xSPI Standard (JESD251) 8D-8D-8D Profile 1.0 (32-bit addressing scheme): https://www.jedec.org/standards-documents/docs/jesd251c