ChipX has long spanned the gap between FPGA and ASIC.  Their range of products includes everything from structured ASIC through standard cell, and they’re often called into service when FPGAs can’t cut the mustard because of cost, power, or performance, but a full-blown minimum-geometry ASIC project is beyond the means of the project. 

Now, they’re rolling out something they call “Hybrid ASICs” to make their span even more continuous.  Before we get into specifics, let’s have a brief review of terminology.  FPGAs are … Read More → "Spreading the Span"

In the past, physical synthesis tools for FPGA design were targeted to the advanced user and provided support for only a limited subset of devices. This has largely restricted the wide adoption of the technology. As a result, the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools have been inadequate in supporting the performance capabilities of the FPGA fabric. This article will examine the currently available FPGA physical synthesis tools and how a new generation of physical synthesis technology can help achieve timing closure faster, easier, and for a wider range of FPGA devices.

Why care about … Read More → "New Approach to FPGA Physical Synthesis for Ease-of-Use and Wide Device Support"

Bonnnngggg…

Two thousand and seven creeps quietly toward a dignified death, trailing tales of victory and woe in the vast vortex of its widening wake.

Bonnnngggg…

Two thousand and eight eases expectantly into view, its perils and possibilities awaiting their unwitting victims and victors with equal voracity.

Bonnnngggg…

Mister Moore is a maddening mistress.

Naught seven was a year of hunker down and deliver.  In terms of new product announcements in the FPGA sphere, it was a year of bolster and boost, respond … Read More → "Auld Langxiety"

Using CPLDs to Replace or Augment Microcontrollers

With the advent of low-power CPLDs, electronic product designers now have new options for implementing many of the functions traditionally performed by microcontrollers. This article discusses several ways design scenarios that are advantageous to use a CPLD instead of a microcontroller, and when it makes sense to use a CPLD as a companion to a microcontroller.

Introduction

Tell a group of portable electronics designers that there is a low-power digital device that … Read More → "Using CPLDs to Replace or Augment Microcontrollers"