Altera 8B10B Encoder/Decoder MegaCore Function - Manual (Page 6)

1–2 Chapter 1: About This MegaCore Function
Features
8B10B Encoder/Decoder MegaCore Function User Guide May 2011 Altera Corporation
Features
The following list summarizes the features of the 8B10B Encoder/Decoder MegaCore
function:
■ 8b/10b encoding and decoding.
■ Cascaded encoding and decoding.
■ Industry compatible special character coding.
■ Easy-to-use IP MegaWizard ™ interface.
■ Support for OpenCore Plus evaluation.
■ IP functional simulation models for use in Altera-supported VHDL and Verilog
HDL simulators.
General Description
Encoders and decoders are used for physical layer coding for Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre
Channel, and other applications. The 8b/10b encoder takes byte inputs, and generates
a direct current (DC) balanced stream (equal number of 1s and 0s) with a maximum
run length of 5. Some of the individual 10-bit codes will have an equal number of 1s
and 0s, while others will have either four 1s and six 0s, or, six 1s and four 0s. In the
latter case, the disparity between 1s and 0s is used as an input to the next 10-bit code
generation, so that the disparity can be reversed, and maintain an overall balanced
stream. For this reason, some 8-bit inputs have two valid 10-bit codes, depending on
the input disparity.
The Altera 8B10B Encoder/Decoder is a compact, high performance MegaCore
function capable of encoding and decoding in multi-gigabit applications.
Cyclone IV E Full
Cyclone IV GX Full
HardCopy ® II Full
HardCopy III Preliminary
HardCopy IV E Preliminary
HardCopy IV GX Preliminary
Stratix ® Full
Stratix GX Full
Stratix II Full
Stratix II GX Full
Stratix III Full
Stratix IV Full
Other device families No support
Table 1–2. Device Family Support (Part 2 of 2)
Device Family Support