2118 - Lattice ECP3: Can I connect an external Low Voltage Differential Signal 2.5V (LVDS25) clock output to a Lattice ECP3 DDR3 bank which is a 1.5V VCCIO bank?

2118 - Lattice ECP3: Can I connect an external Low Voltage Differential Signal 2.5V (LVDS25) clock output to a Lattice ECP3 DDR3 bank which is a 1.5V VCCIO bank?

Yes, the user can drive an external Low Voltage Differential Signal (LVDS) clock generator to an input pair of the LatticeECP3 1.5V VCCIO bank. 

Although the Lattice ECP3 LVDS25 is characterized in 2.5V and 3.3V, the user can safely use an external LVDS25 driver to drive the Lattice ECP3 1.5V input pads. The input of the left and right edges of the Lattice ECP3 has a PCI clamp circuit that clamps the input voltage at VCCIO + 0.3V. This allows the user to use LVDS input up to 1.8V with the common mode voltage up to 1.75V. This provides enough DC signaling margin to the standard LVDS drivers. There is no problem in implementing it in the software because the LVDS25 IO type is compatible type to a 1.5V VCCIO bank. SSTL15D can also be used to get an external LVDS25 input.