As semiconductor technology advances, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology continues to lag custom silicon by a significant factor. FPGAs occupy a small portion of the semiconductor market, being limited by high power consumptions, and relatively low logic capacity compared with ASICs. The ultimate goal in the FPGA industry is to offer a programmable device that has can compete with ASICs in power, performance and cost.
A solution to the programmable logic performance barrier has been discovered by researchers at Princeton University in Princeton NJ and Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario. FPGAs are now possible that offer all the traditional benefits of programmable logic and are fully competitive with ASICs.
FPGAs based on this new technology offer:
· ASIC cost points at low volumes
· All the benefits of run time programmability.
· 25 times higher logic capacity than cost and node comparable FPGAs
· Speed comparable with ASIC
· ½ the power of conventional FPGA topologies
· Compatibility with today’s CMOS processes, manufacturable today.
Applications:
· Ideal technology for embedded programmable logic in microprocessors
· ASIC replacement technology, eliminating high NRE costs
· Cost effective augmentation of SoC with programmable logic
· Next generation general purpose FPGA products
Intellectual Property Status:
The first of several pending applications has issued.
The complete technology bulletin may be downloaded here:
http://parteq.technologypublisher.com/files/sites/tob---fpga.pdf