41.6.5.2 Instruction Frame Transmission

To send an instruction frame, the user must first configure the address to send by writing the field ADDR in the Instruction Address register (QSPI_IAR). This step is required if the instruction frame includes an address and no data. When data is present, the address of the instruction is defined by the address of the data accesses in the QSPI memory space, not by QSPI_IAR.

If the instruction frame includes the instruction code and/or the option code, the user must configure the instruction code and/or the option code to send by writing the fields INST and OPT in the Instruction Code register (QSPI_ICR).

Then, the user must write QSPI_IFR to configure the instruction frame depending on which instruction must be sent. If the instruction frame does not include data, writing in this register triggers the send of the instruction frame in the QSPI. If the instruction frame includes data, the send of the instruction frame is triggered by the first data access in the QSPI memory space.

The instruction frame is configured by the following bits and fields of QSPI_IFR:

  • WIDTH field—used to configure which data lanes are used to send the instruction code, the address, the option code and to transfer the data. It is possible to use two unidirectional data lanes (MISO-MOSI Single-bit SPI), two bidirectional data lanes (QIO0-QIO1 Dual SPI) or four bidirectional data lanes (QIO0–QIO3 Quad SPI).
  • INSTEN bit—used to enable the send of an instruction code.
  • ADDREN bit—used to enable the send of an address after the instruction code.
  • OPTEN bit—used to enable the send of an option code after the address.
  • DATAEN bit—used to enable the transfer of data (READ or PROGRAM instruction).
  • OPTL field—used to configure the option code length. The value written in OPTL must be consistent with the value written in the field WIDTH. For example: OPTL = 0 (1-bit option code) is not consistent with WIDTH = 6 (option code sent with QuadSPI protocol, thus the minimum length of the option code is 4 bits).
  • ADDRL bit—used to configure the address length.
  • TFRTYP field—used to define which type of data transfer must be performed.
  • NBDUM field—used to configure the number of dummy cycles when reading data from the serial Flash memory. Between the address/option and the data, with some instructions, dummy cycles are inserted by the serial Flash memory.

Refer to 41.6.5.2 Instruction Frame Transmission.

If data transfer is enabled, the user can access the serial memory by reading or writing the QSPI memory space:

  • To read in the serial memory, but not a memory data, for example a JEDEC-ID or the QSPI_SR, QSPI_IFR.TFRTYP must be written to ‘0’.
  • To read in the serial memory, and particularly a memory data, TFRTYP must be written to ‘1’.
  • To write in the serial memory, but not a memory data, for example writing the configuration or the QSPI_SR, TFRTYP must be written to ‘2’.
  • If the user wants to write in the serial memory in particular to program a memory data, TFRTYP must be written to ‘3’ .

If QSPI_IFR.TFRTYP has a value other than ‘1’, the address sent in the instruction frame is the address of the first system bus accesses. The addresses of the next accesses are not used by the QSPI. At each system bus access, an SPI transfer is performed with the same size. For example, a halfword system bus access leads to a 16-bit SPI transfer, and a byte system bus access leads to an 8-bit SPI transfer.

If TFRTYP = 1, the address of the first instruction frame is the one of the first read access in the QSPI memory space. Each time the read accesses become nonsequential (addresses are not consecutive), a new instruction frame is sent with the last system bus access address. In this way, the system can read data at a random location in the serial memory. The size of the SPI transfers may differ from the size of the system bus read accesses.

When data transfer is not enabled, the end of the instruction frame is indicated when QSPI_SR.INSTRE rises. (The QSPI_SR.CSR flag indicates when chip select rises. A delay between these flags may exist in case of high clock division or a high DLYBCT value).

When data transfer is enabled, the user must indicate when the data transfer is completed in the QSPI memory space by setting QSPI_CR.LASTXFR. The end of the instruction frame is indicated when QSPI_SR.INSTRE rises.

The following figure illustrates instruction transmission management.

Figure 41-9. Instruction Transmission Flow Diagram