The embedded FPGA is not new, but only recently has it started becoming a mainstream solution for designing chips, SoCs, and MCUs. A key driver is today’s high-mask costs of advanced ICs. For a chip company designing in high nodes, a change in RTL could cost millions of dollars and set the design schedule back by months. Another driver is constantly changing standards. The embedded FPGA is so compelling because it provides designers with the flexibility to update RTL at any time after fabrication, even in-system. Chip designers, management, and even the CFO like it.
Given these benefits, the embedded FPGA is here to stay. However, like any technology, it will evolve to become better and more widespread. Looking back to the 1990s when ARM and others offered embedded processor IP, the technology evolved to where embedded processors appear widely on most logic chips today. This same trend will happen with embedded FPGAs. In the last few years, the number of embedded FPGA suppliers has increased dramatically: Achronix, Adicsys, Efinix, Flex Logix, Menta, NanoXplore, and QuickLogic. The first sign of market adoption was DARPA’s agreement with Flex Logix to provide TSMC 16FFC embedded FPGA for a wide range of US government applications. This first customer was critical as it validated the technology and paved the way for others to adopt.
There are a number of things driving the adoption of the embedded FPGA:
- Mask costs are increasing rapidly: approximately $1 million for 40 nm, $2 million for 28 nm, and $4 million for 16 nm.
- The size of design teams required to design advanced node is increasing. Fewer chips are being designed, but they want the same functions as in the past.
- Standards are constantly changing.
- Data centers require programmable protocols.
- AI and machine learning algorithms
Surprisingly, embedded FPGAs don’t compete with FPGA chips. FPGA chips are used for rapid prototyping and lower-volume products that can’t justify the increasing cost of ASIC development. When systems with FPGAs hit high volume, FPGAs are generally converted to ASICs for cost reduction.
In contrast, embedded FPGAs don’t use external FPGAs and they can do things external FPGAs can’t, such as:
- They are lower power because SERDES aren’t needed. Standard CMOS interfaces can run 1 GHz+ in 16 nm for embedded FPGA with hundreds and thousands of interconnects available.
- Embedded FPGA is lower cost per LUT. There is no expensive packaging and a one-third of the die area of an FPGA chip is SERDES, PLLs, DDR PHYs, etc. that are no longer needed.
- 1-GHz operations in the control path
- Embedded FPGAs can be optimized: lots of MACs (Multiplier-Accumulators) for DSP or none; exactly the kind of RAM needed or none.
- Tiny embedded FPGAs of just 100 LUTs up to very large embedded FPGAs of greater than 100K LUTs
- Embedded FPGAs can be optimized for very low power operation or very high performance.
The following markets are likely to see widespread utilization of embedded FPGAs: the Internet of Things (IoT); MCUs and customizable programmable blocks on the processor bus; defense electronics; networking chips; reconfigurable wireless base stations; flexible, reconfigurable ASICs and SoCs; and AI and deep Learning accelerators.
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To integrate embedded FPGAs, chip designers need them to have the following characteristics: silicon proven IP; density in LUTs/square millimeters similar to FPGA chips; a wide range of array sizes from hundreds of LUTs to hundreds of thousands of LUTs; options for a lot of DSP support and the kind of RAM a customer needs; IP proven in the process node a company wants with support of their chosen VT options and metal stack; an IP implementation optimized for power or performance; and proven software tools.
Over time, embedded FPGA IP will be available on every significant foundry from 180 to 7 nm supporting a wide range of applications. This means embedded FPGA suppliers must be capable of cost-effectively “porting” their architecture to new process nodes in a short time (around six months). This is especially true because process nodes keep getting updated over time and each major step requires an IP redesign.
Early adopters of embedded FPGA will have chips with wider market potential, longer life, and higher ROI, giving designers a competitive edge over late adopters. Similar benefits will accrue to systems designers. Clearly, this technology is changing the way chips are designed, and companies will soon learn that they can’t afford to “not” adopt embedded FPGA.
This article appears in Circuit Cellar 323.
Geoff Tate is CEO/Cofounder of Flex Logix Technologies. He earned a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Alberta and an MBA from Harvard University. Prior to cofounding Rambus in 1990, Geoff served as Senior Vice President of Microprocessors and Logic at AMD.
