Theory of Operation

sysrst_ctrl Block Diagram

The block diagram above shows a conceptual view of the sysrst_ctrl block, which consists of 3 main modules: The first is the configuration and status registers, the second is the keyboard combo debounce and detection logic, and the third is the pinout override logic. The debounce logic does not implement a low-pass filter, instead it uses a simpler technique of sampling once when the timer starts and then again when the timer ends. The detection logic does require the signal to stay active for the entire period, which can be used to detect any anomoulous signals that might elude the rudimentary debounce logic. For the auto block, key interrupt and ultra-low-power features there is only a debounce timer so it is good to be aware of this behavior of sampling the signal only twice.

The sysrst_ctrl has four input pins (pwrb_in_i, key[0,1,2]_in_i) with corresponding output pins (pwrb_out, key[0,1,2]_out). During normal operation the sysrst_ctrl will pass the pin information directly from the input pins to the output pins with optional inversion. Combinations of the inputs being active for a specified time can be detected and used to trigger actions. The override logic allows the output to be overridden (i.e. not follow the corresponding input) based either on trigger or software settings. This allows the security chip to take over the inputs for its own use without disturbing the main user.

The sysrst_ctrl also controls two active-low open-drain I/Os named flash_wp_l_i / flash_wp_l_o and ec_rst_l_i / ec_rst_l_o. The ec_rst_l_i / ec_rst_l_o signals are connected to the same bidirectional pin of the OpenTitan chip, and are used to either reset the embedded controller (EC), or to detect self-reset of the EC and stretch the reset pulse (hence the bidirectional nature of this pin). This output is always asserted when sysrst_ctrl is reset (allowing its use as a power-on reset) and remains asserted until released by software. The flash write-protect output flash_wp_l_o is typically connected to the BIOS flash chip in the system. This output is always asserted when the sysrst_ctrl block is reset and remains asserted until released by software.

Combo detection

Software can program the sysrst_ctrl block to detect certain button combos and for how long they have to be asserted until they trigger a programmable action. A combo is a combination of multiple keys that are pressed together for a programmable amount of time.

In order to detect a combo, the hardware first OR’s the active-low key-pressed indications and debounces the combined trigger signal. The hardware then detects a negative edge on the combined trigger signal and checks whether it stays asserted low for the programmed amount of cycles. If the combined trigger signal fulfills the programmed timing constraint, a combo is detected.

Optionally, a combo detection channel may also specify a pre-condition. Such a pre-condition is a set of keys that must remain pressed in order to activate the combo detection circuit. The main difference with respect to the combo detection circuit is that the pre-condition checks for a low level of the combined key-pressed indications instead of checking for a negative edge. The pre-condition debounce timing is the same as for combo detection, but the key-pressed timing can be configured independently.

Let’s use the “Power button + Key0 + Key1” combo with pre-condition “Key2” as an example:

Software can define the key value key2_in_i==0 as pre-condition in the COM_PRE_SEL_CTL_0 register.
The key-pressed time for the pre-condition (e.g. 2 seconds) can be configured via the COM_DET_SEL_CTL_0 register.
Software can define the three key values pwrb_in_i==0, key0_in_i==0 and key1_in_i==0 as trigger combination in the COM_SEL_CTL_0 register.
The combo duration for which the above combo should be pressed (e.g. 10 seconds) can be configured via the COM_DET_CTL_0 register.
Actions such as asserting ec_rst_l_o and raising an interrupt can be configured via the COM_OUT_CTL_0 register.
The pulse width of the ec_rst_l_o pulse can be set in the EC_RST_CTL register.
The software can optionally lock the sysrst_ctrl configuration via REGWEN

Once the above configuration is active, sysrst_ctrl will start the timer when the pre-condition is valid (logic 0 level on all pre-condition signals). If the timing condition (2 seconds) is met, systrst_ctrl will enable combo detection, and wait for a high (logic 1) to low (logic 0) transition of the combined trigger signal. If a transition is seen, and the timing condition is met (10 seconds), sysrst_ctrl will assert ec_rst_l_o, the interrupt request and set the interrupt status register COMBO_INTR_STATUS to indicate the interrupt cause. The software interrupt handler should then read the COMBO_INTR_STATUS register and clear the interrupt via the INTR_STATE register.

Note that an interrupt will also issue a wakeup request to the OpenTitan power manager via wkup_req_o. Software should therefore read and clear the WKUP_STATUS register as well.

Combo actions

The following four combo actions can be triggered:

Drive the bat_disable output high until the next reset.
Issue an interrupt to the processor via intr_event_detected_o.
Assert ec_rst_l_o for the amount of cycles configured in EC_RST_CTL.
Issue a reset request via rst_req_o to the reset manager of the OpenTitan system. Note that once a reset request is issued, it will remain asserted until the next reset.

These actions can be configured via the COM_OUT_CTL_0 register for each of the combo blocks as described in the previous section. Note that configuring both the assertion of ec_rst_l_o and the issue of a reset request may have unexpected effects. This is because the hardware will start counting cycles in parallel to the reset request being sent. If the reset request leads to the sysrst_ctrl block being reset, the ec_rst_l_o pulse might be interrupted or cancelled, depending on the relative timing of the pulse width and the reset.

Hardwired reset stretching functionality

In addition to the combo action described above, ec_rst_l_o is automatically asserted for the amount of cycles defined in the EC_RST_CTL register whenever the ec_rst_l_i input is asserted (i.e., when it transitions from high to low).

Auto-block key outputs

Software can program the sysrst_ctrl block to override the output value of specific passthrough signals, depending on whether certain input signals are asserted or not. Let’s use the “Power button + Esc + Refresh” combo as an example. When pwrb_in_i is asserted, key1_out_o (row) should be overridden so that sysrst_ctrl can detect if key0_in_i (column) is Refresh.

The software enables the auto block feature and sets an appropriate debounce timer value in the AUTO_BLOCK_DEBOUNCE_CTL register.
The software then defines the key outputs to auto override and their override values in the AUTO_BLOCK_OUT_CTL register.

Once the above configuration is active, sysrst_ctrl will detect a high (logic 1) to low (logic 0) transition on pwrb_in_i and check whether the key pwrb_in_i stays low for the programmed duration. If this condition is met, sysrst_ctrl will drive key1_out_o to the value programmed in AUTO_BLOCK_OUT_CTL.

Keyboard and input triggered interrupt

Software can program the sysrst_ctrl block to detect edge transitions on the pwrb_in_i, key0_in_i, key1_in_i, key2_in_i, ac_present_i, ec_rst_l_i and flash_wp_l_i signals and trigger an interrupt:

Software first defines the input signal and the edge transition to detect (H->L or L->H) via the KEY_INTR_CTL register.
The software then programs an appropriate debounce timer value to the KEY_INTR_DEBOUNCE_CTL register.

For example, when the power button is pressed, pwrb_in_i goes from logic 1 to logic 0 which would amount to an H->L transition. Likewise, when the power button is released, pwrb_in_i goes from logic 0 to logic 1 which would amount to an L->H transition. When sysrst_ctrl detects a transition (H->L or L->H) as specified in KEY_INTR_CTL and it meets the debounce requirement in KEY_INTR_DEBOUNCE_CTL, sysrst_ctrl sets the KEY_INTR_STATUS register to indicate the interrupt cause and send out a consolidated interrupt to the PLIC. The software interrupt handler should then read the KEY_INTR_STATUS register and clear the interrupt via the INTR_STATE register.

Note that an interrupt will also issue a wakeup request to the OpenTitan power manager via wkup_req_o. Software should therefore read and clear the WKUP_STATUS register as well.

Ultra-low-power Wakeup Feature

Software can program the sysrst_ctrl block to detect certain specific signal transitions on the (possibly inverted) ac_present_i, pwrb_in_i and lid_open_i inputs. As opposed to the combo detection and general key interrupt features above, this is a fixed function feature with limited configurability. In particular, the transitions that can be detected are fixed to the following:

A high level on the ac_present_i signal
A H -> L transition on the pwrb_in_i signal
A L -> H transition on the lid_open_i signal

Note that the signals may be potentially inverted due to the input inversion feature.

In order to activate this feature, software should do the following:

Software can program the appropriate debounce times via the ULP_AC_DEBOUNCE_CTL, ULP_LID_DEBOUNCE_CTL and ULP_PWRB_DEBOUNCE_CTL registers.
Then, software can activate detection by setting the ULP_CTL register to 1.

Once the above configuration is active, sysrst_ctrl will start the timer when a transition is detected. Once the timing condition is met, sysrst_ctrl will assert z3_wakeup output signal, the interrupt request and set the interrupt status register ULP_STATUS to indicate the interrupt cause. The software interrupt handler should then read the ULP_STATUS register and clear the interrupt via the INTR_STATE register.

Note that an interrupt will also issue a wakeup request to the OpenTitan power manager via wkup_req_o. Software should therefore read and clear the WKUP_STATUS register as well.

Also note that the detection status is sticky. I.e., software needs to explicitly disable this feature by setting ULP_CTL to 0 in order to clear the FSM state. If software wants to re-arm the mechanism right away, it should first read back ULP_CTL to make sure it has been cleared before setting that register to 1 again. This is needed because this register has to be synchronized over to the AON clock domain.

Pin input value accessibility

sysrst_ctrl allows the software to read the raw input pin values via the PIN_IN_VALUE register like GPIOs. To this end, the hardware samples the raw input values of pwrb_in_i, key[0,1,2]_in_i, ac_present_i, ec_rst_l_i, flash_wp_l_i before they are being inverted, and synchronizes them onto the bus clock domain.

Pin output and keyboard inversion control

Software can optionally override all output signals, and change the signal polarity of some of the input and output signals. The output signal override feature always has higher priority than any of the combo pattern detection mechanisms described above.

The selection of output signals to override, and the override values are programmable and lockable via the PIN_ALLOWED_CTL register. For example, PIN_ALLOWED_CTL.EC_RST_L_0 to 1 and PIN_ALLOWED_CTL.EC_RST_L_1 to 0 means that software allows ec_rst_l_o to be overridden with logic 0, but not with logic 1. If the SW locks the configuration with REGWEN, PIN_ALLOWED_CTL cannot be modified until the next OpenTitan reset.

When the system is up and running, the software can modify PIN_OUT_CTL and PIN_OUT_VALUE to enable or disable the feature. For example, to release ec_rst_l_o after OpenTitan completes the reset, software can set PIN_OUT_CTL to 0 to stop the hardware from driving ec_rst_l_o to 0.

The input / output signal inversions can be programmed via the KEY_INVERT_CTL register. Input signals will be inverted before the combo detection logic, while output signals will be inverted after the output signal override logic.

EC and Power-on-reset

OpenTitan and EC will be reset together during power-on. When OpenTitan is in reset, ec_rst_l_o will be asserted (active low). The power-on-reset value of PIN_ALLOWED_CTL.EC_RST_L_1 and PIN_OUT_CTL.EC_RST_L will guarantee that ec_rst_l_o remains asserted after OpenTitan reset is released. The software can release ec_rst_l_o explicitly by setting PIN_OUT_CTL.EC_RST_L to 0 during boot in order to complete the OpenTitan and EC power-on-reset sequence.

Note that since the sysrst_ctrl does not have control over the pad open-drain settings, software should properly initialize the pad attributes of the corresponding pad in the pinmux configuration before releasing ec_rst_l_o.

Flash Write Protect Output

Upon reset, the flash_wp_l_o signal will be asserted active low. The software can release flash_wp_l_o explicitly by setting PIN_OUT_CTL.FLASH_WP_L to 0 when needed. The flash_wp_l_o signal does have a corresponding input signal flash_wp_l_i - but that one is mainly intended for pad observability and does not have a bypass path to flash_wp_l_o. Hence, the value of flash_wp_l_o defaults to logic 0 when it is not explicitly driven via the override function.

Device Interface Functions (DIFs)

Device Interface Functions