FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array)

There are two basic categories of FPGAs on the market today:

SRAM-based FPGAs
Xilinx and Altera are the leading manufacturers in terms of number of users, with the major competitor being AT&T.

Antifuse-based FPGAs.
Actel, Quicklogic and Cypress, and Xilinx offer competing products.

Commercially Available FPGAs

Xilinx SRAM-based FPGAs Altera FLEX 8000 and FLEX 10000 FPGAs AT&T ORCA FPGAs Actel FPGAs

General Architecture of FPGAs

Xilinx SRAM-based FPGAs

The basic structure of Xilinx FPGAs is array-based, meaning that each chip comprises a two dimensional array of logic blocks that can be interconnected via horizontal and vertical routing channels. Xilinx FPGA family includes
XC2000 XC3000 XC4000 XC5000

The Xilinx 4000 family devices range in capacity from about 2000 to more than 15,000 equivalent gates. XC5000 is similar to XC4000, but has been engineered to offer similar features at a more attractive price, with some penalty in speed.

 The XC4000 features a logic block (called a Configurable Logic Block (CLB) by Xilinx) that is based on look-up tables (LUTs). A LUT is a small one bit wide memory array, where the address lines for the memory are inputs of the logic block and the one bit output from the memory is the LUT output. A LUT with K inputs would then correspond to a 2k x 1 bit memory, and can realize any logic function of its K inputs by programming the logic functions truth table directly into the memory The XC4000 CLB contains three separate LUTs

Architecture of Xilinx XC4000 Configurable Logic Block (CLB) is as shown in figure below

 It contains three separate LUTs,

Two 4-input LUTS that are fed by CLB inputs, and The third LUT can be used in combination with the other two

This arrangement allows the CLB to implement a wide range of logic functions of up to nine inputs, two separate functions of four inputs or other possibilities. Each CLB also contains two flip-flops. LUTs in a CLB can be configured as read/write RAM cells Each XC4000 chip includes very wide AND-planes around the periphery of the logic block array to facilitate implementing circuit blocks such as wide decoders.

Key feature of Xilinx FPGA is its interconnect structure.

Below figure shows Xilinx XC4000 Wire Segments.

The XC4000 interconnect is arranged in horizontal and vertical channels.

 Each channel contains some number of

Short wire segments that span a single Longer segments that span two CLBs, and Very long segments that span the entire length or width of the chip.

Programmable switches are available to connect the inputs and outputs of the CLBs to the wire segments, or to connect one wire segment to another. signals must pass through switches to reach one CLB from another, and the total number of switches traversed depends on the particular set of wire segments used. Speed-performance of an implemented circuit depends in part on how the wire segments are allocated to individual signals by CAD tools.

Altera FLEX 8000 and FLEX 10000 FPGAs

Alteras FLEX 8000 series consists of a three-level hierarchy much like that found in CPLDs. The lowest level of the hierarchy consists of a set of lookup tables, rather than an SPLD like block, and so the FLEX 8000 is categorized here as an FPGA. However, FLEX 8000 is a combination of FPGA and CPLD technologies. FLEX 8000 is SRAM-based and features a fourinput LUT as its basic logic block. Logic capacity ranges from about 4000 gates to more than 15,000 for the 8000 series.

The below figure shows the architecture of FLEX 8000 It consist of Logic Array Block Fast Track Interconnect I/O Block Logic Array Block consist of
8 Logic Elements (LEs) Local Interconnect

 Logic Element (LE) contains a four-input LUT, a flip-flop, and specialpurpose carry circuitry for arithmetic circuits The LE also includes cascade circuitry that allows for efficient implementation of wide AND functions.

Fig: Altera FLEX 8000 Logic Element (LE).

In the FLEX 8000, LEs are grouped into sets of 8, called Logic Array Blocks Each LAB contains local interconnect and Each local wire can connect any LE to any other LE within the same LAB Local interconnect also connects to the FLEX 8000s global interconnect, called FastTrack

FastTrack consists of only long lines. This makes the FLEX 8000 easy for CAD tools to automatically configure All FastTrack wires horizontal wires are identical, and so interconnect delays in the FLEX 8000 are more predictable than FPGAs that employ many smaller length segments because there are fewer programmable switches in the longer paths.
Altera FLEX 8000 Logic Array Block (LAB)

Altera FLEX 10000

FLEX 10000 offers all of the features of FLEX 8000, with the addition of variable-sized blocks of SRAM, called Embedded Array Blocks (EABs) as shown in figure below
Each EAB is configurable to serve as an SRAM block with a variable aspect ratio: 256 x 8, 512 x 4, 1K x 2, or 2K x 1. In addition, an EAB can alternatively be configured to implement a complex logic circuit, such as a multiplier, by employing it as a large multi-output lookup table. FLEX 10000 offers the highest logic capacity of any FPGA, although it is hard to provide an accurate number.

AT&T ORCA FPGAs

AT&Ts SRAM-based FPGAs feature an overall structure similar to that in Xilinx FPGAs, and is called Optimized Reconfigurable Cell Array (ORCA). The ORCA logic block is based on LUTs, containing an array of Programmable Function Units (PFUs)
A PFU possesses a unique kind of configurability among LUT-based logic blocks It can be configured in the following ways:
As four 4-input LUTs, As two 5-input LUTs, and As one 6-input LUT

AT&T Programmable Function Unit (PFU).

A key element of this architecture is that when used as four 4-input LUTs, several of the LUTs inputs must come from the same PFU input. This reduces the apparent functionality of the PFU, it also significantly reduces the cost of the wiring associated with the chip

 A recently announced version of the ORCA chip also allows dual-port and synchronous RAM.

ORCAs interconnect structure is also different from those in other SRAM-based FPGAs. Each PFU connects to interconnect that is configured in four-bit buses. This provides for more efficient support for system-level designs, since buses are common in such applications The ORCA family has been extended in the ORCA 2 series, and offers very high logic capacity up to 40,000 logic gates ORCA 2 features a two-level hierarchy of PFUs based on the original ORCA architecture.

Actel FPGAs
These are based on antifuse technology Actel offers three main families:
Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3.

All three generations have similar features, Actel devices are based on a structure similar to traditional gate arrays; the logic blocks are arranged in rows and there are horizontal routing channels between adjacent rows.

The architecture of Actel FPGA

 The logic blocks in the Actel devices are relatively small in comparison to the LUT based In Actel devices, The logic blocks are based on multiplexers.
Side by fig illustrates the logic block in the Act 3 It comprises an AND and OR gate that are connected to a multiplexer based circuit block The multiplexer circuit is arranged such that, in combination with the two logic gates A very wide range of functions can be realized in a single logic block. About half of The logic blocks in an Act 3 device also contain a flip-flop.

Actel Act 3 Logic Module.

 Actels interconnect is organized in horizontal routing channels. The channels consist of wire segments of various lengths with antifuses to connect logic blocks to wire segments or one wire to another Actel chips have vertical wires that overlay the logic blocks, for signal paths that span multiple rows In terms of speed-performance, Actel chips are not fully predictable, because the number of antifuses traversed by a signal depends on how the wire segments are allocated during circuit implementation by CAD tools However, Actel provides a rich selection of wire segments of different length in each channel and has developed algorithms that guarantee strict limits on the number of antifuses traversed by any two-point connection in a circuit which improves speedperformance significantly.

Applications of FPGAs
Random logic, Integrating multiple SPLDs, Device controllers, Communication encoding and filtering Small to medium sized systems with SRAM blocks Prototyping of designs later to be implemented in gate arrays Emulation of entire large hardware systems. Custom computing machines.