Last week we examined the legacy of the LUT – the basic building block that defines the very fabric of FPGAs.  Surprisingly, however, the primary driver of attributes such as cost, power consumption, and utility in FPGAs is not the fabric itself, but the choice of I/O for the device.  You see, while the internal logic keeps shrinking, some of the I/O structures don’t really scale well – things like bonding pads and higher-current transistors don’t track Moore’s Law, so the cost of an individual I/O compared with … Read More → "I/O-topia"

In olden times, when digital dinosaurs roamed the vast plains of our circuit boards – when 22V10’s walked the earth in vast herds, programmable logic devices were essentially nothing more than routing.  By creating an array of programmable interconnect, you could essentially hard-wire any complex combinational logic function.  PLDs quickly evolved into FPGAs, however, as it became clear that more structural variation was required than and and/or matrix, and sequential behavior was highly desired from programmable logic.

FPGA, as we all know, stands for “Field Programmable Gate Array.”  However, … Read More → "FP?A"

Collectors and restorers of vintage automobiles place a high value on factory-original parts.  Most cherished are parts that are still in perfect condition and still installed on the original auto.  One tick down the desirability hierarchy are identical original parts taken from another vehicle – not as cool as the “matching serial number” perfection of the original unit, but very close.  Restorers scour salvage yards and wrecks behind barns, sometimes even resorting to theft in order to obtain the one missing link that would complete their masterpiece.

If original iron is absolutely … Read More → "NOS FPGA"

The race car flies into the pits just below the maximum speed – its automatic governor making sure that the team isn’t assessed a penalty.  Exhaust gases vent at 1500 degrees fahrenheit as throttle valves close.  Over a million dollars worth of high-performance technology glides down the tarmac to the designated pit.  The crew is already engaged: tires are off and replacement rubber is being mounted, fuel is gushing into the tank through a high-volume filler connection, and the pit chief runs out with the critical component to keep the team in the race – … Read More → "Duct Tape, WD-40, FPGAs"

Actel has announced a significant round of enhancements to their space-bound FPGA families, including a new, power-efficient line called RTAX-SL.  Before we jump into those announcements, let’s have a brief discussion on what happens when we put tiny little space helmets on our FPGAs and launch them into orbit.

FPGAs and spacecraft would seem like a match made in the heavens.  As you might guess, spacecraft are far from mass-produced.  Developing a custom chip such as an ASIC for a satellite can result in astronomical unit prices by the time you amortize … Read More → "Space FPGAs Get a Boost"