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Navigating the market
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25/02/2008
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Programmable logic and fpgas have made substantial progress in the last few years. Once regarded as having little more use than providing ‘glue logic’ to fix design glitches, the technologies have evolved to become central design platforms for many companies.
The reason for the recent boom in their fortunes is largely technology based; with the likes of Altera and Xilinx pushing their products onto leading edge manufacturing processes, the large areas of silicon needed to create systems on chips are available at attractive prices.
Programmable devices have also made serious inroads into what was once the ring fenced territory of the asic. It’s a brave company that commits to an asic on a leading edge process; the mask sets alone will require an eight figure dollar investment. The programmable logic companies have provided another economic option in the form of the structured asic, providing a ‘half way house’ between the tightly targeted asic and the broadly applicable fpga.
Yet, despite seemingly boundless opportunities for programmable logic, targeting the right market with the right product remains a fundamental requirement.
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Author
Graham Pitcher
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