High performance FPGA will become the system core chip

Two big giants "crave" to 65 nanometer FPGA are without doubt favor the market to the high performance FPGA demand. The Altera Corporation product and enterprise market vice- president Danny Biran said that, "With goes on the market the time along with the system complex promotion to speed up, the high performance FPGA development tendency is becomes the system core chip, the system merchant more and more is also strict to the FPGA request, manifests in the power loss, the performance, the usability and the cost and so on four big aspects." He gives an example to say that, in 基站 the system, such as baseband processing, the control logic and so on may apply FPGA, its application expanded compared to the past two to three times.

He pointed out that, said regarding 65 nanometer FPGA, the field nicest is the power loss question, becomes the system core chip day by day along with FPGA, its power loss question especially is important.

Danny Biran indicated that, enters 65 natrium metric systems regulation, the power loss design challenge lies in: One, the leakage is serious, causes the static power loss enhancement; Two is the system demand performance enhances, the chip processing data quantity enlarges, thus power loss corresponding enhancement. Altera through four ways, namely the chip craft optimizes, the programmable power loss technology, may choose the essence voltage and Quartus II 6.1 software PowerPlay optimizes, may greatly reduce the power loss, simultaneously meets the high performance requirements. The programmable power loss technology the place which needs in view of the design in enhances the performance, but falls other places power losses to is lowest. The programmable power loss technical support each programmable logic array module (LAB), the DSP module and the memory module under are high speed or the low power loss pattern the independent work, thus has realized the high performance and the low power loss optimization. May choose the essence voltage to cause to design the personnel to be possible to act according to the biggest performance demand to choose the 1.1V design, or chooses the 0.9V design according to the low power loss request. Altera development Quartus II 6.1 software PowerPlay merit prefer automatically to carry on the analysis to the design, determined which modules are located on the essential circuit, and establishes these modules as the high speed pattern, possesses other logic automatically to enter the low power loss pattern.

Thus in the performance promotion aspect, Stratix III is quicker than the preceding generation of component 25%, the density was preceding generation of FPGA two times, the power loss reduced 50%, supported more than 40 I/O interface standard, had the field first-class performance, the flexibility and the signal integrity.


Xilinx (match spirit thinks) 65 nanometer Virtex-5 series based on the leading ExpressFabric new technology, the mature ASMBL overhead construction as well as the low power loss three electronics grids oxide layers technology, compares with preceding generation of 90 nanometer FPGA, Virtex-5 the LXT platform overall performance equally enhances 30%, the capacity enhances 65%, the dynamic power loss reduces 35%.

Optimizes the platform to meet the different application need

In order to satisfy the different domain application, provides the nimble platform plan to become the choice. For the wide range high end application, Altera provides three kind of new Stratix III series model: The first kind in the logic, the memory and the DSP resources reaches higher authorities balanced, suits the general application; The second kind strengthened the memory and the DSP resources, suits the memory and the DSP quite crowded application; The third kind integrated the transceiver, suits the wide band connection application. The Stratix III component series first kind of model project preview the third quarter will supply goods in 2007.

Xilinx (match spirit thinks) 65 nanometer Virtex-5 series including face the high speed logic, the serial connection, the digital signal processing (DSP) and inserts type processing to apply the platform which four kind of domains optimizes, respectively is Virtex-5 LX, Virtex-5 LXT, Virtex-5 SXT and Virtex-5 FXT.

Virtex-5 the LXT platform provided in field first to construct PCI the Express vertex module and the tertiary pattern ethernet media visit controller (MAC) module FPGA, might help to design the personnel to save the time, to reduce the system power loss. The match spirit thinks programmable system whole world market inspector general Per Holmberg to indicate that, future 5 years in the telecommunication and the network, the high speed string about to will become the mainstream, the LXT platform aim at are from 100 Mbps to 3.2 Gbps massive serial connections application. This section LXT platform realizes PCI Express and Gigabit by the hard core way the Ethernet two kind of standards, other sign criteria by software IP essence realization. Per Holmberg pointed out that, in the existence many kinds of standards serial interface market, PCI Express and 1000000000000000 ethernets started in the market which FPGA serves to become the leading interface standard, to 2009 when hopefully will occupy to all ports delivers goods above quantity 80%. Through supports these two kind of most general connections by the hard core way, may be large

Reduced cost, power loss and user's design work. At present platform design software support started in view of Virtex-5 the LXT to provide, Virtex-5 the LXT project sample already might provide.
Two big FPGA giant it may be said in 65 nanotechnologies rushes to be first, does not flaunt the person to let. Xilinx stressed repeatedly that, Xilinx 65 nanometer FPGA at present may supply goods. But Altera then emphatically its strategy not wants first to promote the product, but is can first the quantity produce, moreover the Altera maintenance product first round succeeds record. Some industry in person earth pointed out that, at present 90 nanometer FPGA product has been able to meet the customer need, but 65 nanometer FPGA product in the design initial period, does not have the mature promoted condition in the cost and the necessary development kit aspect, estimated in 2008 only then meets the large-scale quantity to produce. Perhaps they "burst out" in 65 nanometer FPGA intend to transmit one kind of posture to the field, namely front end the FPGA technology domain maintenance foresightedness, will forestall opponent by a show of strength by the time in the future market domain.

Low cost FPGA opens up the market

FPGA except continues beside the development in the high performance domain, another remarkable change is in emerging forms using the market by "the quantity body custom make" "rolls up like a mat" the potential. The match spirit thought recently promotes for needs the massive I/O gate, the low power loss and guards against the clone security function the application to promote FPGA Spartan - 3A which the cost optimized, further to large-scale application market penetration.

Outside except that in the traditional application domain correspondence and the network, the memory and the server, the industry and other advances with all one's strength, in the recent two years emerge the expense and the automobile electron market becomes the FPGA new opportunity. The match spirit thinks company whole world market marketing vice- president Sandeep Vij to indicate, in each application domain, not only needs the pronunciation and the data, but also includes the video frequency processing, including the portable expense electronic products, in the automobile electronic installation and the family network 机顶 the box, the flat-panel display and so on, as well as in the factory and other application application and so on in domain automation, work network, video frequency synthesis, this enable FPGA to have a new application platform, also set the new request to FPGA.

These applications first big challenges are the system costs, and some applications to logical demand high, but to I/O quantity demand quantity few, another some applications to I/O quantity demand many, are few to the logical demand, the match spirit thinks may act according to these demands to reduce I/O and the gate, thus reduces the system cost. The Spartan product line has three kind of products Spartan - 3A, Spartan - 3 and Spartan - 3E, 3E is the logic optimizes the platform, 3A is I/O optimizes the platform, 3 platforms aim at the most high density and the pin number application, thus has provided the rich solution for the customer, appropriately satisfies the customer the demand.

Except the cost outside, other challenges also lies in 变化多端 the demand (for example different interface standard), the power loss, the design 裕量 and guards against the clone security requirements. The match spirit thinks the company general product department marketing and application senior inspector general Christophe Chene introduced that, the 3A platform superiority lies in has widely reaches 26 kind of I/O standard support much, the nimble power source management pattern may further reduce the power loss, the component DNA security function can guard against the clone.

Three kind of products to "had custom-made" the fitting to subdivide the market demand, the Spartan product line have obtained "the applause from the whole audience". Since the Spartan product line start, already produced goods 200 million components, the sales income amounts to 1.8 billion US dollars, occupied 90 natrium metric systems regulation produce market 70%. The Spartan product line already occupied to the match spirit thinks the company gross income 26%, low cost FPGA crest of wave vigor.

Christophe Chene finally also pointed out that, besides the I/O quantity, future will have more and more many newly inserts the type control using the comparison emphasis, we will be able to consider will manifest more optimizations in the middle of the future FPGA product to insert the type handling ability.

Future we will be able to see more and more difference innovation FPGA, in specific application domain budding.