Lattice brings low-power signal bridging and interfacing to edge devices

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, a provider of low-power programs and technology, announced new versions of its Lattice MachXO2ZE FPGA family with wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WLCSP) and increased I/O density.

With package sizes as small as 2.5 x 2.5 mm, standby power levels as low as 22 μW, and up to 63 general-purpose I/Os (GPIO), MachXO2ZE FPGAs are a compelling hardware platform for signal bridging and/or interface applications in smart consumer and industrial IoT devices operating at the network edge.

“In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic produced few net-new technologies and business developments, but it certainly accelerated many technology trends already in motion,” said Glenn O’Donnell, VP and research director at Forrester Research. “Edge computing is one of the most notable among these accelerated technologies.”

The new Lattice MachXO2ZE variants combine a low-power, small form factor FPGA fabric with Embedded Block RAM (EBR), Distributed RAM, and User Flash Memory (UFM) blocks developers can use to implement a variety of functions in high-volume Edge devices. Other capabilities such as robust I/O support (1.2 to 3.3V), low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), and integrated phase lock loops (PLLs) further broaden the scope of applications these devices can support.

“Most Edge computing applications require sensor data to enable their users’ connected experiences, be it a microphone in a smart speaker capturing a voice command or a hand-held RFID scanner scanning a barcode in a warehouse,” explained Peiju Chiang, product marketing manager with Lattice. “Devices like these often have unique form factors or operate on batteries, so the device’s internal components must be as small and power-efficient as possible.

Chiang added: “Our MachXO2ZE devices can connect a range of sensors and other peripherals commonly used in Edge devices with minimal impact on power and overall device size.”

Two new MachXO2ZE devices are available in the WLCSP packaging, offering 1,200 and 4,000 LUTs in either a 2.5 x 2.5 mm (28 GPIO) or a 3.8 x 3.8 mm (63 GPIO) sized package.