Frame synchronization pulse (FSYNC)

nRF54LM20A | nRF54LM20B Datasheet

FSYNC defines the start of the frame in the serial bit streams sent and received on SDOUT and SDIN, respectively. It is often referred to as "word clock", "sample clock", "word select", "frame clock", or "left/right clock".

In master mode, FSYNC duration is configured in CONFIG.FSYNC.DURATION. The duration can either be one SCK period, or one channel. This is illustrated in the following figure.
Figure 4. Configuration of FSYNC duration in Master mode
Page-1 Sheet.8 FSYNC (Sck) FSYNC (Sck) Sheet.9 SCK SCK Sheet.10 SDATA SDATA Sheet.12 CHANNEL 0 CHANNEL 0 Sheet.13 Sheet.14 Sheet.15 Sheet.20 Sheet.30 Sheet.31 Sheet.32 Sheet.33 Sheet.34 Sheet.35 Sheet.36 Sheet.37 Sheet.38 Sheet.39 Sheet.40 Sheet.41 Sheet.42 Sheet.43 Sheet.44 Sheet.45 Sheet.46 Sheet.47 Sheet.57 Sheet.58 Sheet.59 Sheet.60 Sheet.61 Sheet.62 Sheet.63 Sheet.72 FSYNC (Channel) FSYNC (Channel) Sheet.73 Sheet.74 Sheet.75 Sheet.76 Sheet.77 Sheet.78 Sheet.79
Regardless of FSYNC duration, the frequency of FSYNC is equivalent to the audio sample rate.
If is possible to configure the sample size to only use a fraction of a channel, see Width and alignment. Also in this configuration FSYNC duration is the channel width (not the audio sample size), as illustrated in the following figure.
Figure 5. FSYNC duration when sample size is less than channel width
FSYNC duration when sample size is less than channel width
The alignment of the frame with the active edge of FSYNC can be adjusted using the register CONFIG.CHANNEL.DELAY. This allows the data to be delayed one or more periods of the serial clock following the active edge of FSYNC, as illustrated in the following figure.
Figure 6. Configuration of delay
Configuration of delay

When TDM is configured for the I2S mode, each frame contains one left and right sample pair, with the left sample being transferred during the low half period of FSYNC followed by the right sample being transferred during the high half period of FSYNC. There is a single SCK clock pulse delay between FSYNC edge and the first bit of the sample.

With the Aligned format, each frame contains one left and right sample pair, with the left sample being transferred during the high half period of FSYNC followed by the right sample being transferred during the low half period of FSYNC. There is no delay between FSYNC edge and the first bit of the sample.

For TDM, the active edge of FSYNC defines the beginning of a frame. The words within the frame are transferred continously, with no transitions of FSYNC.

FSYNC configuration details described above is summarised the following table.
Table 1. FSYNC configuration overview
Format CONFIG.FSYNC.DURATION CONFIG.FSYNC.POLARITY CONFIG.CHANNEL.DELAY
I2S Channel Left=NegEdge Delay1Ck
Aligned Channel Left=PosEdge Delay0Ck
TDM Channel or Sck PosEdge Delay0Ck, Delay1Ck, or Delay2Ck