FPGA’s can be considered to be building bricks which allow desired customization of the hardware. These are a special form of Programmable Logic Devices with higher densities and with increased capability of implementing functionality in a shorter time span using CAD.
Irrespective of the different manufacturers and slightly different architectures and feature sets, most of the FPGA’s have a common generic approach. The main component blocks of any FPGA are a flexible programmable ‘Configurable Logic Block’ (CLB), surrounded by programmable ‘Input/ Output Blocks’ with a hierarchy of routing channels interconnecting various blocks on the board. Additionally, these may consist of Clock DLLs for clock distribution and control and Dedicated Block RAM memories.
The FPGA’s are available in various flavours based on the programming technology used. These may be programmed using:
1. Antifuse Technology, which can be programmed only once. Devices manufactured by QuickLogic are examples of this type. Configuration is done by burning a set of fuses. These act as replacements for Application Specific ICs (ASIC) and used in places where protection of intellectual property is top priority.
2. Flash Technology based Programming, like devices from Actel. The FPGA may be reprogrammed several thousand times, taking a few minutes in the field itself for reprogramming and has non-volatile memory.
3. SRAM Technology based FPGAs, the currently dominating technology offering unlimited reprogramming and very fast reconfiguration and even partial reconfiguration during operation itself with little additional circuitry. Most companies like Altera, Actel, Atmel and Xilinx manufacture such devices.
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