FPGA Journal - March 30, 2010

a techfocus media publication :: March 30, 2010

From the Editor Spring is the time for re-birth and fresh new ideas. This week, we welcome the month of April with a look at one of those technologies that sounds way too good to be true - four dimensional FPGAs. Our latest feature has the details. In January it was Cliff. In February it was Ian. Now, there are just a few days left for YOU to be our March winner of a $500 Amazon.com gift certificate for the best posts on Journal Forums.  Thanks as always for reading. We encourage you to share your thoughts in the new easier-to-use comments area right below the articles; don't be shy. Or you can get a lively discussion going on our new FORUMS. Kevin Morris, Editor FPGA Journal         On Demand Actel FPGAs for Handheld Portable Solutions (CHALK TALK) With the industry's lowest power and widest range of small packages, it's no wonder Actel IGLOO® FPGAs can be found in the latest handheld portable devices. Actel has been designed into a wide array of handheld devices, including smartphones, eBooks, cameras, medical devices, industrial scanners, military radios, and the list goes on. Actel IGLOO low power FPGAs bring reprogrammability, design security, integration, small form factor, and live-at-power-up operation to handheld portable applications. In this webcast host Amelia Dalton chats with Naseem Aslam about Actel solutions for handheld portable applications. (Actel) Driving Flexibility into Automotive Electronics Design (WHITE PAPER) With the dramatic increase in development costs for state-of-the-art process technologies, such as next-generation automotive electronic systems, specialization of traditional microcontrollers no longer makes business sense. Now you can develop an exact microcontroller for a specific application by implementing it into an Altera Cyclone IV FPGA for prototyping and volume production. Verification, software development, and field testing can be done immediately after design or even in parallel. (Altera) Next Generation System Design – Platforms versus Tool-Chains (WHITE PAPER) This paper will enumerate the benefits of a platform-based system design approach. The original electronic design process built by linking tools together has remained largely unchanged for decades (i.e. tool-chains). A layered platform architecture unifies PCB, FPGA and embedded software development into one application. At the foundation is a unified data model that enables numerous data management benefits including versioning and ECO management. Companies switching to a platform based design process are doubling their productivity as compared to traditional tool-chains. (Altium) Easily Support WDR CMOS Image Sensor Processing with Low-Cost FPGAs (VIDEO) High-definition (HD) wide dynamic range (WDR) CMOS image sensors are ideal for applications like video surveillance cameras. And for the underlying technology, FPGAs are optimal because they deliver the high bandwidth these sensors demand. In this 7-minute video, you'll see how an FPGA-based platform easily performs complex image processing to support WDR CMOS image sensors. (Altera) Design Made Easy With Mixed-Signal FPGAs and State of the Art Software Tools (WHITE PAPER) This paper examines the evolution path for FPGAs with embedded processors, and the design tools that support them, and considers whether engineers need to evolve their techniques to accommodate the integrated silicon or whether they can continue to manage their boundaries at the silicon level instead of the board level. New techniques are available in the embedded mixed‐signal FPGA design flow, but do they smooth the adoption of a fully integrated device? Find out by reading the White Paper. (Actel) Targeting and Retargeting Guide for Spartan-6 FPGAs (WHITE PAPER) When targeting or retargeting code from a prior design, some considerations should be made to achieve a quicker and more optimal design when selecting a Spartan®-6 FPGA. This white paper identifies and details the appropriate targeting guidelines and other considerations needed to achieve an improved result for these devices. (Xilinx) Xilinx FPGA Embedded Memory Advantages (WHITE PAPER) The Virtex®-6 and Spartan®-6 architectures feature flexible internal memory resources that can be configured in a variety of different sizes. This white paper details the available features, illustrating the wide array of memory sizes available and shows the trade-off of using different resources to perform memory functions of different sizes. (Xilinx) Actel SmartFusion: Intelligent, Innovative Integration (WHITE PAPER) Actel SmartFusion™ Intelligent Mixed Signal FPGAs – Innovative, Intelligent, Integration. Introducing the only device that integrates a flash FPGA, hard ARM® Cortex™-M3-based microcontroller subsystem (MSS) and programmable analog into a complete, integrated solution. Don't compromise your embedded design. Build the system you want, with all the features you need, on a single-chip solution. Read the White Paper to learn more. (Actel) Simplifying Multi-Rail Power Management for FPGA designers (CHALK TALK) Designing a multi-rail power subsystem? Make it easy, and protect expensive ICs, such as FPGAs. Complex designs call for powerful and sophisticated solutions without compromising ease and speed of design. Join Amelia Dalton as she talks with Dave Clemens of Linear Technology about how you can easily set up all-in-one supervising, sequencing, controlling and monitoring of multiple power supplies. (Linear Technology) Latest News March 30, 2010 QuickLogic First to Market Display Controller Solution Supporting 60 fps Content Refresh over MDDI Type 2 Curtiss-Wright Controls Announces its First OpenVPX/VITA-65 Serial RapidIO® GEN-2 Switch Lowest Power, 16-Bit, 80Msps ADC Reduces Noise in Data Conversion Systems Synopsys Galaxy Implementation Platform enables first-pass silicon success on Infineon's 40-nanometer X-GOLD 626 wireless product March 29, 2010 Pigeon Point Systems Announces IPMC And Carrier IPMC BMR Starter Kits Using SmartFusion Intelligent Mixed Signal FPGAs EnSilica launches major new version of its eSi-RISC Development Suite Pigeon Point Systems Delivers New MMC Management Solution Using SmartFusion Intelligent Mixed Signal FPGAs Altera Rolls Out Production Shipments of Low-Cost, Low-Power Cyclone IV FPGAs Design Compiler 2010 doubles productivity of synthesis and place and route Triple Output, Buck/Buck/Boost Synchronous DC/DC Controller Targets Automotive Start/Stop Systems March 25, 2010 Curtiss-Wright Controls Introduces New Rugged VXS Multi-Channel Data Recorder with Solid State Drives Curtiss-Wright Controls Doubles Memory on Buffer Memory XMC Card and Passes Rugged Qualification March 24, 2010 IAR Systems Supports Actel's New SmartFusion Intelligent Mixed Signal FPGAs Avnet Spartan-6 FPGA DSP Development Kit Jump Starts DSP Designs

Current Feature Articles Dimensional Breakthrough Startup Introduces 4D FPGAs by Kevin Morris Just when we were trying to digest the recent announcements of 3D FPGA devices, along comes a horizon-widening announcement from TesseracTech of their plans for 4D FPGAs. With companies like Tabula and Tier Logic working to gain a process node or two with their newly announced 3D device architectures, TesseracTech is upping the ante - bringing the first four-dimensional chips to the forefront. "We've known that 3D chips were coming for awhile," explains Elliott Henthorn, TesseracTech VP of marketing. "Honestly, we knew that three dimensions would never be enough. Xilinx and Altera can usually level the playing field by keeping a couple of process nodes ahead with their 2D technology, and we believe a fourth dimension is required to sustain a real competitive advantage."  Read More Tabula Gets Real Launches ABAX 3D FPGA Family by Kevin Morris Measuring Safety, an FPGA at a Time by Dick Selwood It's Just Cool Is Smart Fusion an FPGA? Who Cares? by Kevin Morris The Spacetime Continuum Tabula Explains 3D FPGAs by Kevin Morris Cards on the Table Xilinx Announces 28nm Plans by Kevin Morris EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS FPGA Design Methods for Fast Turnaround This white paper provides an in depth look at a variety of techniques to help you speed up your synthesis iterations. Whether the goal is aggressive performance or to get a working initial design or prototype on the board as quickly as possible, this paper provides information on traditional and new techniques that accelerate design and debug iterations. Download now. Bugged by Debugging? Techfocus Media is conducting a survey about the verification and debugging challenges of today’s most advanced FPGAs. After completing the survey, you can register for our prize drawing to win one of five $25 gift certificates to Amazon.com. Click here to complete the survey FPGA Journal Forum Competition Win 500 bucks just for being smart! LEMME AT THEM FORUMS! (Click here for competition details) New in the Forums 4D FPGAs We wrote about four-dimensional FPGAs. (click here) Do you think you'll be using some in the future? We don't. Posted on 03/30/10 at 6:35 PM by: kevin I wanted to comment on a few of I wanted to comment on a few of the questions raised following Kevin's article. . The question of where the states are kept is a very insightful and important one. The second question of where we keep the 8 copies of the LUTs and MUXes is also very inter... Posted on 03/30/10 at 11:57 AM by: Alain Bismuth I got a little suprise in my mailbox today It seems that I have written the last post a bit to eagerly: In my email inbox was an email, stating that a package from the US had arrived at the reception, with the question if I had ordered something in the US. I jumped a meter, and hurried downstairs ... Posted on 03/25/10 at 5:29 PM by: jast Jast - I have to confess we Jast - I have to confess we got a little surprised with the initial demand for the Evaluation Kit. Our distributors had stock on the day of the launch, but quickly ran out. At $99, we should have known the demand could be higher than anticipated. T... Posted on 03/25/10 at 4:37 PM by: Xris A simulation is only as good as the models you use A simulation is only as good as the models you use. Although I like to simulate blocks like state machines, clock dividers, ... The more simple logic blocks that need to behave well, because their performance can really make or break a system. I would nev... Posted on 03/25/10 at 3:12 AM by: jast Actel SmartFusion We only need one/two devices, so the price does not really matter... The Smartfusion evaluation kit is actually exactly what we need, is suits our requirements perfectly. And $99 is ridiculously cheap for research labs I am a bit disappointed though... Posted on 03/25/10 at 3:01 AM by: jast Gabor - SmartFusion was desig Gabor - SmartFusion was designed and is priced to replace an equivalent 32-bit microcontroller and similar FPGA. Pricing is obviously much dependent on the volume purchased and device type/size. If you wish to get precise pricing for your application, ... Posted on 03/24/10 at 7:11 PM by: Xris Actel SmartFusion The first thing I thought when I heard about the device was: Finally!!! I personally love them. I work in the field of biomimetic sonar research, and we often need 2 ADC channels @500kHz, and one DAC channel, 500kHz. This device seems to have both in o... Posted on 03/19/10 at 4:43 AM by: jast

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