mbox series

[RFC,0/6] spi: Add OSPI PHY calibration support for spi-cadence-quadspi

Message ID 20210311191216.7363-1-p.yadav@ti.com (mailing list archive)
Headers show
Series spi: Add OSPI PHY calibration support for spi-cadence-quadspi | expand

Message

Pratyush Yadav March 11, 2021, 7:12 p.m. UTC
Hi,

This series adds support for OSPI PHY calibration on the Cadence OSPI
controller. This calibration procedure is needed to allow high clock
speeds in 8D-8D-8D mode. The procedure reads some pre-determined pattern
data from the flash and runs a sequence of test reads to find out the
optimal delays for high speed transfer. More details on the calibration
procedure in patch 5/6.

The main problem here is telling the controller where to find the
pattern and how to read it. This RFC uses nvmem cells which point to a
fixed partition containing the data to do the reads. It depends on [0]
and [1].

The obvious problem with this is it won't work when the partitions are
defined via command line. I don't see any good way to add nvmem cells to
command line partitions. I would like some help or ideas here. We don't
necessarily have to use nvmem either. Any way that can cleanly and
consistently let the controller find out where the pattern is stored is
good.

The dts patch depends on [2].

Tested on TI's J721E EVM.

[0] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210302190012.1255-1-zajec5@gmail.com/
[1] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210308011853.19360-1-ansuelsmth@gmail.com/
[2] https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-arm-kernel/patch/20210305153926.3479-2-p.yadav@ti.com/

Pratyush Yadav (6):
  spi: spi-mem: Tell controller when device is ready for calibration
  mtd: spi-nor: core: consolidate read op creation
  mtd: spi-nor: core: run calibration when initialization is done
  spi: cadence-qspi: Use PHY for DAC reads if possible
  spi: cadence-qspi: Tune PHY to allow running at higher frequencies
  arm64: dts: ti: k3-j721e-som-p0: Enable PHY calibration

 arch/arm64/boot/dts/ti/k3-j721e-som-p0.dtsi |  55 ++
 drivers/mtd/spi-nor/core.c                  |  74 +-
 drivers/spi/spi-cadence-quadspi.c           | 820 +++++++++++++++++++-
 drivers/spi/spi-mem.c                       |  12 +
 include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h                 |   8 +
 5 files changed, 916 insertions(+), 53 deletions(-)

--
2.30.0

Comments

Tudor Ambarus March 12, 2021, 9:09 a.m. UTC | #1
On 3/11/21 9:12 PM, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
> EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe
> 
> Hi,
> 
> This series adds support for OSPI PHY calibration on the Cadence OSPI
> controller. This calibration procedure is needed to allow high clock
> speeds in 8D-8D-8D mode. The procedure reads some pre-determined pattern
> data from the flash and runs a sequence of test reads to find out the
> optimal delays for high speed transfer. More details on the calibration
> procedure in patch 5/6.

Can the calibration sequence be avoided if the controller is informed
about the frequency on which the flash operates?

Can you add more details about the optimal delays? Are we talking about
flash's AC characteristics? Is the calibration still needed if the upper
layer informs the QSPI controller about the needed delays?

Cheers,
ta

> 
> The main problem here is telling the controller where to find the
> pattern and how to read it. This RFC uses nvmem cells which point to a
> fixed partition containing the data to do the reads. It depends on [0]
> and [1].
> 
> The obvious problem with this is it won't work when the partitions are
> defined via command line. I don't see any good way to add nvmem cells to
> command line partitions. I would like some help or ideas here. We don't
> necessarily have to use nvmem either. Any way that can cleanly and
> consistently let the controller find out where the pattern is stored is
> good.
> 
> The dts patch depends on [2].
> 
> Tested on TI's J721E EVM.
> 
> [0] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210302190012.1255-1-zajec5@gmail.com/
> [1] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210308011853.19360-1-ansuelsmth@gmail.com/
> [2] https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-arm-kernel/patch/20210305153926.3479-2-p.yadav@ti.com/
> 
> Pratyush Yadav (6):
>   spi: spi-mem: Tell controller when device is ready for calibration
>   mtd: spi-nor: core: consolidate read op creation
>   mtd: spi-nor: core: run calibration when initialization is done
>   spi: cadence-qspi: Use PHY for DAC reads if possible
>   spi: cadence-qspi: Tune PHY to allow running at higher frequencies
>   arm64: dts: ti: k3-j721e-som-p0: Enable PHY calibration
> 
>  arch/arm64/boot/dts/ti/k3-j721e-som-p0.dtsi |  55 ++
>  drivers/mtd/spi-nor/core.c                  |  74 +-
>  drivers/spi/spi-cadence-quadspi.c           | 820 +++++++++++++++++++-
>  drivers/spi/spi-mem.c                       |  12 +
>  include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h                 |   8 +
>  5 files changed, 916 insertions(+), 53 deletions(-)
> 
> --
> 2.30.0
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> linux-arm-kernel mailing list
> linux-arm-kernel@lists.infradead.org
> http://lists.infradead.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-arm-kernel
>
Pratyush Yadav March 12, 2021, 10:10 a.m. UTC | #2
On 12/03/21 09:09AM, Tudor.Ambarus@microchip.com wrote:
> On 3/11/21 9:12 PM, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
> > EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > This series adds support for OSPI PHY calibration on the Cadence OSPI
> > controller. This calibration procedure is needed to allow high clock
> > speeds in 8D-8D-8D mode. The procedure reads some pre-determined pattern
> > data from the flash and runs a sequence of test reads to find out the
> > optimal delays for high speed transfer. More details on the calibration
> > procedure in patch 5/6.
> 
> Can the calibration sequence be avoided if the controller is informed
> about the frequency on which the flash operates?

Maybe I don't understand this correctly, but there should not be any 
frequency on which the flash operates. The controller drives the SPI 
clock so the frequency is decided by the controller. Sure, there is a 
max supported frequency for the flash but the controller can run it 
slower than that if it wishes. The flash has no say in that.

Anyway, the exact frequency at which the flash is running is not it is 
looking for. More details below.

> 
> Can you add more details about the optimal delays? Are we talking about
> flash's AC characteristics? Is the calibration still needed if the upper
> layer informs the QSPI controller about the needed delays?

There is usually a delay from when the flash drives the data line (IOW, 
puts a data bit on it) and when the signal reaches the controller. This 
delay can vary by the flash, board, silicon characteristics, 
temperature, etc.

At lower speeds (25 MHz for example) this delay is not a problem because 
the clock period is longer so there is much more time to sample the data 
line. It is very likely the controller will sample at a time when the 
data line is valid. At high speeds (166 MHz for example), especially in 
DDR mode, this delay starts to play a larger role because the time to 
sample the data line is much smaller. Now unless the delay is accounted 
for, it is possible that the controller samples the data line too late 
or too early and sees invalid data.

These delays depend on physical characteristics so it is not possible 
for any upper layer to inform the controller about it. How will they 
even know what the required delay is?

In summary, no, there is no way an upper layer can inform the controller 
about this delay.

> 
> Cheers,
> ta
> 
> > 
> > The main problem here is telling the controller where to find the
> > pattern and how to read it. This RFC uses nvmem cells which point to a
> > fixed partition containing the data to do the reads. It depends on [0]
> > and [1].
> > 
> > The obvious problem with this is it won't work when the partitions are
> > defined via command line. I don't see any good way to add nvmem cells to
> > command line partitions. I would like some help or ideas here. We don't
> > necessarily have to use nvmem either. Any way that can cleanly and
> > consistently let the controller find out where the pattern is stored is
> > good.
> > 
> > The dts patch depends on [2].
> > 
> > Tested on TI's J721E EVM.
> > 
> > [0] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210302190012.1255-1-zajec5@gmail.com/
> > [1] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210308011853.19360-1-ansuelsmth@gmail.com/
> > [2] https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-arm-kernel/patch/20210305153926.3479-2-p.yadav@ti.com/
> > 
> > Pratyush Yadav (6):
> >   spi: spi-mem: Tell controller when device is ready for calibration
> >   mtd: spi-nor: core: consolidate read op creation
> >   mtd: spi-nor: core: run calibration when initialization is done
> >   spi: cadence-qspi: Use PHY for DAC reads if possible
> >   spi: cadence-qspi: Tune PHY to allow running at higher frequencies
> >   arm64: dts: ti: k3-j721e-som-p0: Enable PHY calibration
> > 
> >  arch/arm64/boot/dts/ti/k3-j721e-som-p0.dtsi |  55 ++
> >  drivers/mtd/spi-nor/core.c                  |  74 +-
> >  drivers/spi/spi-cadence-quadspi.c           | 820 +++++++++++++++++++-
> >  drivers/spi/spi-mem.c                       |  12 +
> >  include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h                 |   8 +
> >  5 files changed, 916 insertions(+), 53 deletions(-)
> > 
> > --
> > 2.30.0
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > linux-arm-kernel mailing list
> > linux-arm-kernel@lists.infradead.org
> > http://lists.infradead.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-arm-kernel
> > 
>
Michael Walle March 12, 2021, 10:20 a.m. UTC | #3
Am 2021-03-12 11:10, schrieb Pratyush Yadav:
> There is usually a delay from when the flash drives the data line (IOW,
> puts a data bit on it) and when the signal reaches the controller. This
> delay can vary by the flash, board, silicon characteristics,
> temperature, etc.

Temperature might change over time, but the calibration is only done
once. I don't know how much influence the temperature actually has, but
our boards are usually operating from -40°C to +85°C. So there might be
a possible temperature difference of 125K between actual calibration and
when the flash is accessed.

-michael
Pratyush Yadav March 12, 2021, 11:07 a.m. UTC | #4
On 12/03/21 11:20AM, Michael Walle wrote:
> Am 2021-03-12 11:10, schrieb Pratyush Yadav:
> > There is usually a delay from when the flash drives the data line (IOW,
> > puts a data bit on it) and when the signal reaches the controller. This
> > delay can vary by the flash, board, silicon characteristics,
> > temperature, etc.
> 
> Temperature might change over time, but the calibration is only done
> once. I don't know how much influence the temperature actually has, but
> our boards are usually operating from -40°C to +85°C. So there might be
> a possible temperature difference of 125K between actual calibration and
> when the flash is accessed.

The algorithm supports a temperature range of -45 C to +130 C. The 
temperature is checked at calibration time and adjustments are made to 
make sure the reads work over the entire temperature range [0].

[0] The current implementation does not have a way to query the 
temperature from the sensor (see cqspi_get_temp()), so it always assumes 
the temperature at calibration time is 45 C. But that can be added later 
once the temperature sensor driver is implemented.
Tudor Ambarus March 12, 2021, 11:23 a.m. UTC | #5
On 3/12/21 12:10 PM, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
> EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe
> 
> On 12/03/21 09:09AM, Tudor.Ambarus@microchip.com wrote:
>> On 3/11/21 9:12 PM, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
>>> EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> This series adds support for OSPI PHY calibration on the Cadence OSPI
>>> controller. This calibration procedure is needed to allow high clock
>>> speeds in 8D-8D-8D mode. The procedure reads some pre-determined pattern
>>> data from the flash and runs a sequence of test reads to find out the
>>> optimal delays for high speed transfer. More details on the calibration
>>> procedure in patch 5/6.
>>
>> Can the calibration sequence be avoided if the controller is informed
>> about the frequency on which the flash operates?

s/frequency/maximum supported frequency by the flash

> 
> Maybe I don't understand this correctly, but there should not be any
> frequency on which the flash operates. The controller drives the SPI
> clock so the frequency is decided by the controller. Sure, there is a
> max supported frequency for the flash but the controller can run it
> slower than that if it wishes. The flash has no say in that.
> 
> Anyway, the exact frequency at which the flash is running is not it is
> looking for. More details below.

I thought about choosing at the controller side:
min(max_frequency_controller, max_frequency_flash)

And there is also the need of changing the frequency on which an op
runs, like the READ SFDP cmd, for which it is recommended to be run at
50 MHz, but maybe this is another topic, let's see.

> 
>>
>> Can you add more details about the optimal delays? Are we talking about
>> flash's AC characteristics? Is the calibration still needed if the upper
>> layer informs the QSPI controller about the needed delays?
> 
> There is usually a delay from when the flash drives the data line (IOW,
> puts a data bit on it) and when the signal reaches the controller. This
> delay can vary by the flash, board, silicon characteristics,
> temperature, etc.

I wonder whether the delay advertised by the flash matters the most, while
all the other are negligible.
When I talk about delay, I'm thinking for example at the delay required
between two consecutive transfers without removing the chip select, or about
the minimum delay needed between the activation or the deactivation of the
chip select. These are all described by the flash. Does your controller have
such fields in its registers, to set such delays? If yes, is the calibration 
sequence still needed if all the delays are set correctly?

When I hear about "board delays", I think about the impedance of the lines,
which should correspond to the impedance of the Flash's IOs (which depends on
the frequency on which the flash runs). A mechanism to choose the best
frequency and impedance level can be added.

Flashes have an interval of temperature on which they are guaranteed to
work (I would expect in the same conditions). Information about temperature
ranges and associated delays (if measured?) can be passed too.

Cheers,
ta
> 
> At lower speeds (25 MHz for example) this delay is not a problem because
> the clock period is longer so there is much more time to sample the data
> line. It is very likely the controller will sample at a time when the
> data line is valid. At high speeds (166 MHz for example), especially in
> DDR mode, this delay starts to play a larger role because the time to
> sample the data line is much smaller. Now unless the delay is accounted
> for, it is possible that the controller samples the data line too late
> or too early and sees invalid data.
> 
> These delays depend on physical characteristics so it is not possible
> for any upper layer to inform the controller about it. How will they
> even know what the required delay is?
> 
> In summary, no, there is no way an upper layer can inform the controller
> about this delay.
> 
>>
>> Cheers,
>> ta
>>
>>>
>>> The main problem here is telling the controller where to find the
>>> pattern and how to read it. This RFC uses nvmem cells which point to a
>>> fixed partition containing the data to do the reads. It depends on [0]
>>> and [1].
>>>
>>> The obvious problem with this is it won't work when the partitions are
>>> defined via command line. I don't see any good way to add nvmem cells to
>>> command line partitions. I would like some help or ideas here. We don't
>>> necessarily have to use nvmem either. Any way that can cleanly and
>>> consistently let the controller find out where the pattern is stored is
>>> good.
>>>
>>> The dts patch depends on [2].
>>>
>>> Tested on TI's J721E EVM.
>>>
>>> [0] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210302190012.1255-1-zajec5@gmail.com/
>>> [1] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210308011853.19360-1-ansuelsmth@gmail.com/
>>> [2] https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-arm-kernel/patch/20210305153926.3479-2-p.yadav@ti.com/
>>>
>>> Pratyush Yadav (6):
>>>   spi: spi-mem: Tell controller when device is ready for calibration
>>>   mtd: spi-nor: core: consolidate read op creation
>>>   mtd: spi-nor: core: run calibration when initialization is done
>>>   spi: cadence-qspi: Use PHY for DAC reads if possible
>>>   spi: cadence-qspi: Tune PHY to allow running at higher frequencies
>>>   arm64: dts: ti: k3-j721e-som-p0: Enable PHY calibration
>>>
>>>  arch/arm64/boot/dts/ti/k3-j721e-som-p0.dtsi |  55 ++
>>>  drivers/mtd/spi-nor/core.c                  |  74 +-
>>>  drivers/spi/spi-cadence-quadspi.c           | 820 +++++++++++++++++++-
>>>  drivers/spi/spi-mem.c                       |  12 +
>>>  include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h                 |   8 +
>>>  5 files changed, 916 insertions(+), 53 deletions(-)
>>>
>>> --
>>> 2.30.0
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> linux-arm-kernel mailing list
>>> linux-arm-kernel@lists.infradead.org
>>> http://lists.infradead.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-arm-kernel
>>>
>>
> 
> --
> Regards,
> Pratyush Yadav
> Texas Instruments Inc.
>
Michael Walle March 12, 2021, 1:26 p.m. UTC | #6
Am 2021-03-12 12:07, schrieb Pratyush Yadav:
> On 12/03/21 11:20AM, Michael Walle wrote:
>> Am 2021-03-12 11:10, schrieb Pratyush Yadav:
>> > There is usually a delay from when the flash drives the data line (IOW,
>> > puts a data bit on it) and when the signal reaches the controller. This
>> > delay can vary by the flash, board, silicon characteristics,
>> > temperature, etc.
>> 
>> Temperature might change over time, but the calibration is only done
>> once. I don't know how much influence the temperature actually has, 
>> but
>> our boards are usually operating from -40°C to +85°C. So there might 
>> be
>> a possible temperature difference of 125K between actual calibration 
>> and
>> when the flash is accessed.
> 
> The algorithm supports a temperature range of -45 C to +130 C. The
> temperature is checked at calibration time and adjustments are made to
> make sure the reads work over the entire temperature range [0].

Ah, nice. And you need the current temperature to correlate it to the
meassured timings, right?

-michael
Michael Walle March 12, 2021, 1:32 p.m. UTC | #7
Am 2021-03-11 20:12, schrieb Pratyush Yadav:
> The main problem here is telling the controller where to find the
> pattern and how to read it. This RFC uses nvmem cells which point to a
> fixed partition containing the data to do the reads. It depends on [0]
> and [1].
> 
> The obvious problem with this is it won't work when the partitions are
> defined via command line. I don't see any good way to add nvmem cells 
> to
> command line partitions. I would like some help or ideas here. We don't
> necessarily have to use nvmem either. Any way that can cleanly and
> consistently let the controller find out where the pattern is stored is
> good.

The NXP LS1028A SoC has a similar calibration (although there its done
in hardware it seems) and there the datasheet mentions there are flash
devices which supports a preamble before a read function. The preamble
is then some kind of learning pattern. Did you see a flash which 
actually
supports that in the wild? I can't find any publicly available 
datasheets
of 8bit I/O SPI NOR flashes.

-michael
Tudor Ambarus March 12, 2021, 2:59 p.m. UTC | #8
On 3/12/21 3:32 PM, Michael Walle wrote:
> EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe
> 
> Am 2021-03-11 20:12, schrieb Pratyush Yadav:
>> The main problem here is telling the controller where to find the
>> pattern and how to read it. This RFC uses nvmem cells which point to a
>> fixed partition containing the data to do the reads. It depends on [0]
>> and [1].
>>
>> The obvious problem with this is it won't work when the partitions are
>> defined via command line. I don't see any good way to add nvmem cells
>> to
>> command line partitions. I would like some help or ideas here. We don't
>> necessarily have to use nvmem either. Any way that can cleanly and
>> consistently let the controller find out where the pattern is stored is
>> good.
> 
> The NXP LS1028A SoC has a similar calibration (although there its done
> in hardware it seems) and there the datasheet mentions there are flash
> devices which supports a preamble before a read function. The preamble
> is then some kind of learning pattern. Did you see a flash which
> actually
> supports that in the wild? I can't find any publicly available

MX66LM1G45G is an example.

> datasheets> of 8bit I/O SPI NOR flashes
Pratyush Yadav March 12, 2021, 5 p.m. UTC | #9
On 12/03/21 02:32PM, Michael Walle wrote:
> Am 2021-03-11 20:12, schrieb Pratyush Yadav:
> > The main problem here is telling the controller where to find the
> > pattern and how to read it. This RFC uses nvmem cells which point to a
> > fixed partition containing the data to do the reads. It depends on [0]
> > and [1].
> > 
> > The obvious problem with this is it won't work when the partitions are
> > defined via command line. I don't see any good way to add nvmem cells to
> > command line partitions. I would like some help or ideas here. We don't
> > necessarily have to use nvmem either. Any way that can cleanly and
> > consistently let the controller find out where the pattern is stored is
> > good.
> 
> The NXP LS1028A SoC has a similar calibration (although there its done
> in hardware it seems) and there the datasheet mentions there are flash
> devices which supports a preamble before a read function. The preamble
> is then some kind of learning pattern. Did you see a flash which actually
> supports that in the wild? I can't find any publicly available datasheets
> of 8bit I/O SPI NOR flashes.

I haven't seen any such flash but it looks like Tudor has.

> 
> -michael
Pratyush Yadav March 12, 2021, 6:14 p.m. UTC | #10
On 12/03/21 11:23AM, Tudor.Ambarus@microchip.com wrote:
> On 3/12/21 12:10 PM, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
> > EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe
> > 
> > On 12/03/21 09:09AM, Tudor.Ambarus@microchip.com wrote:
> >> On 3/11/21 9:12 PM, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
> >>> EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe
> >>>
> >>> Hi,
> >>>
> >>> This series adds support for OSPI PHY calibration on the Cadence OSPI
> >>> controller. This calibration procedure is needed to allow high clock
> >>> speeds in 8D-8D-8D mode. The procedure reads some pre-determined pattern
> >>> data from the flash and runs a sequence of test reads to find out the
> >>> optimal delays for high speed transfer. More details on the calibration
> >>> procedure in patch 5/6.
> >>
> >> Can the calibration sequence be avoided if the controller is informed
> >> about the frequency on which the flash operates?
> 
> s/frequency/maximum supported frequency by the flash

Again, the max frequency does not matter. If it is fast enough PHY 
calibration is needed to make sure lines are sampled at the correct 
time.

> 
> > 
> > Maybe I don't understand this correctly, but there should not be any
> > frequency on which the flash operates. The controller drives the SPI
> > clock so the frequency is decided by the controller. Sure, there is a
> > max supported frequency for the flash but the controller can run it
> > slower than that if it wishes. The flash has no say in that.
> > 
> > Anyway, the exact frequency at which the flash is running is not it is
> > looking for. More details below.
> 
> I thought about choosing at the controller side:
> min(max_frequency_controller, max_frequency_flash)
> 
> And there is also the need of changing the frequency on which an op
> runs, like the READ SFDP cmd, for which it is recommended to be run at
> 50 MHz, but maybe this is another topic, let's see.

Right. This is not directly related to the need for having the 
calibration.

Right now calibration is run only after the flash is fully initialized, 
so there should not be any SFDP commands from that point on. But if we 
do want to be conservative about it, a field can be added in spi_mem_op 
that mentions the maximum speed for the op so the controller can decide 
accordingly.

> 
> > 
> >>
> >> Can you add more details about the optimal delays? Are we talking about
> >> flash's AC characteristics? Is the calibration still needed if the upper
> >> layer informs the QSPI controller about the needed delays?
> > 
> > There is usually a delay from when the flash drives the data line (IOW,
> > puts a data bit on it) and when the signal reaches the controller. This
> > delay can vary by the flash, board, silicon characteristics,
> > temperature, etc.
> 
> I wonder whether the delay advertised by the flash matters the most, while
> all the other are negligible.

The delay advertised by the flash does matter. Specifically, the clock 
to data output delay. But the IO delay in the host (the delay from the 
pin to the internal FIFO) matters equally as much. Both are accounted 
for by the tuning.

> When I talk about delay, I'm thinking for example at the delay required
> between two consecutive transfers without removing the chip select, or about
> the minimum delay needed between the activation or the deactivation of the
> chip select. These are all described by the flash. Does your controller have
> such fields in its registers, to set such delays? If yes, is the calibration 
> sequence still needed if all the delays are set correctly?

The CS related delays are indeed accounted for by a register in the 
controller. But this is not the delay the calibration is concerned with. 
The delays the calibration is concerned with are the clock edge to data 
transition delay (TX delay), and the DS edge to data transition delay 
(RX delay). The two are totally unrelated.

> 
> When I hear about "board delays", I think about the impedance of the lines,
> which should correspond to the impedance of the Flash's IOs (which depends on
> the frequency on which the flash runs). A mechanism to choose the best
> frequency and impedance level can be added.

Board delays in this case are caused by the length of the wires/lines. 
Even if the lines are perfectly impedance matched to the flash's IOs, 
there will be a small time delay from when the data signal is launched 
by the flash and when it is received by the device. This causes a small 
but noticeable difference in the timing and consequently the final 
calibration values. For example, this is observed when comparing J721E 
EVM (evaluation module) and SVB (silicon validation board) platforms.

> 
> Flashes have an interval of temperature on which they are guaranteed to
> work (I would expect in the same conditions). Information about temperature
> ranges and associated delays (if measured?) can be passed too.

This would not be sufficient for placing TX and RX delays unless we have 
a perfect model for both the flash and the host device IO delays. Such a 
model would have to account for variations in timing caused by 
variations in the manufacturing process, voltage, and temperature. This 
is not practically feasible.

> 
> Cheers,
> ta
> > 
> > At lower speeds (25 MHz for example) this delay is not a problem because
> > the clock period is longer so there is much more time to sample the data
> > line. It is very likely the controller will sample at a time when the
> > data line is valid. At high speeds (166 MHz for example), especially in
> > DDR mode, this delay starts to play a larger role because the time to
> > sample the data line is much smaller. Now unless the delay is accounted
> > for, it is possible that the controller samples the data line too late
> > or too early and sees invalid data.
> > 
> > These delays depend on physical characteristics so it is not possible
> > for any upper layer to inform the controller about it. How will they
> > even know what the required delay is?
> > 
> > In summary, no, there is no way an upper layer can inform the controller
> > about this delay.
> > 
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >> ta
> >>
> >>>
> >>> The main problem here is telling the controller where to find the
> >>> pattern and how to read it. This RFC uses nvmem cells which point to a
> >>> fixed partition containing the data to do the reads. It depends on [0]
> >>> and [1].
> >>>
> >>> The obvious problem with this is it won't work when the partitions are
> >>> defined via command line. I don't see any good way to add nvmem cells to
> >>> command line partitions. I would like some help or ideas here. We don't
> >>> necessarily have to use nvmem either. Any way that can cleanly and
> >>> consistently let the controller find out where the pattern is stored is
> >>> good.
> >>>
> >>> The dts patch depends on [2].
> >>>
> >>> Tested on TI's J721E EVM.
> >>>
> >>> [0] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210302190012.1255-1-zajec5@gmail.com/
> >>> [1] https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linux-mtd/patch/20210308011853.19360-1-ansuelsmth@gmail.com/
> >>> [2] https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-arm-kernel/patch/20210305153926.3479-2-p.yadav@ti.com/
> >>>
> >>> Pratyush Yadav (6):
> >>>   spi: spi-mem: Tell controller when device is ready for calibration
> >>>   mtd: spi-nor: core: consolidate read op creation
> >>>   mtd: spi-nor: core: run calibration when initialization is done
> >>>   spi: cadence-qspi: Use PHY for DAC reads if possible
> >>>   spi: cadence-qspi: Tune PHY to allow running at higher frequencies
> >>>   arm64: dts: ti: k3-j721e-som-p0: Enable PHY calibration
> >>>
> >>>  arch/arm64/boot/dts/ti/k3-j721e-som-p0.dtsi |  55 ++
> >>>  drivers/mtd/spi-nor/core.c                  |  74 +-
> >>>  drivers/spi/spi-cadence-quadspi.c           | 820 +++++++++++++++++++-
> >>>  drivers/spi/spi-mem.c                       |  12 +
> >>>  include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h                 |   8 +
> >>>  5 files changed, 916 insertions(+), 53 deletions(-)
> >>>