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Various aspects of PLDs, ASICs, and FPGAs will be discussed later in more detail. For now, we need only be aware that PLDs are devices whose i nternal architecture is predetermined by the manufacturer, but are created in such a way that they can be configured by engineers in the field to perform a variety of different functions. In comparison to an FPGA, however, these devices contain a relatively limited number of logic gates, and the functions they can be used to implement are much smaller and simpler.
At the other end of the spectrum are ASICs and ASSPs that can contain hundreds of millions of logic gates and can be used to create incredibly large and complex functions. ASICs and ASSPs are based on the same design processes and manufacturing technologies. Both are custom-designed to address a specific application, the only difference being that an ASIC is designed and built to order for use by a specific company, while an ASSP is marketed to multiple customers.
Although ASICs offer the ultimate in size (number of transistors), complexity, and performance, designing and building one is an extremely timeconsuming and expensive process, with the added disadvantage that the final design is “ frozen in silicon ” and cannot be modified without creating a new version of the device.
Thus, FPGAs occupy a middle ground between PLDs and ASICs because their functionality can be customized in the field like PLDs, but they can contain millions of logic gates and be used to implement extremely large and c omplex functions that previously could be realized using only ASICs.
—Technology Trade-offs—
● The cost of an FPGA design is much lower than that of an ASIC (although the ensuing ASIC components are much cheaper in large production runs).
● Implementing design changes is much easier in FPGAs.
● Time to market for FPGAs is much faster.
FPGAs make many small, innovative design companies viable because— in addition to their use by large system design houses—FPGAs facilitate “ Fred-in-the-shed ” -type operations. This means they allow individual engineers or small groups of engineers to realize their hardware and software concepts on an FPGA-based test platform without having to incur the enormous nonrecurring engineering (NRE) costs or purchase the expensive toolsets associated with ASIC designs. Hence, there were estimated to be only 1,500 to 4,000 ASIC design starts and 5,000 ASSP design starts in 2003 (these numbers are falling dramatically year by year), as opposed to an educated “ guesstimate ” of around 450,000 FPGA design starts in the same year.
Manufacturer:Xilinx
Product Categories: FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array)
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Manufacturer:Xilinx
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Manufacturer:Xilinx
Product Categories: FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array)
Lifecycle:Active Active
RoHS: No RoHS
Manufacturer:Xilinx
Product Categories: FPGAs
Lifecycle:Active Active
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Manufacturer:Xilinx
Product Categories: Contrôleur logique
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