文档介绍：An Introduction to FPGA Design
Class #448,468
Instructor: Bob Zeidman
Embedded Systems Conference 1999
1. INTRODUCTION
Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are ing a critical part of every system
design. Many vendors offer many different architectures and processes. Which one is right for
your design? How do you design one of these so that it works correctly and functions as you
expect in your entire system? These are the questions that this paper sets out to answer.
The first sections of this paper deals with the internal architecture and characteristics of
these devices. Programmable logic devices are described in an overview, leading up to a
detailed description of the Field Programmable Gate Array. The various architectures of these
devices are examined in detail along with their tradeoffs, which allow you to decide which
particular device is right for your design.
The next sections of this paper is about the design flow for an FPGA-based project.
This section describes the phases of the design that need to be planned. This allows a designer
or project manager to allocate resources and create a schedule.
The final sections of this paper discuss in detail, the design, simulation, and testing issues
that arise when designing an FPGA. Understanding these issues will allow you to design a chip
that functions correctly in your system and will be reliable throughout the lifetime of your
product.
2. THE MASKED GATE ARRAY ASIC
An Application Specific Integrated Circuit, or ASIC, is a chip that can be designed by
an engineer with no particular knowledge of semiconductor physics or semiconductor
processes. The ASIC vendor has created a library of cells and functions that the designer can
use without needing to know precisely how these functions are implemented in silicon. The
ASIC vendor also typically supports software tools that automate such processes as synthesis
and circuit layout. The ASIC vendor may even supply application engin