FPGA

What is an FPGA?

The field-programmable gate array (FPGA)  is a semiconductor device that can be programmed after manufacturing. Instead of being restricted to any predetermined hardware function, an FPGA allows you to program product features and functions, adapt to new standards, and reconfigure hardware for specific applications even after the product has been installed in the field—hence the name "field-programmable". You can use an FPGA to implement any logical function that an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) could perform, but the ability to update the functionality after shipping offers advantages for many applications.

Unlike previous generation FPGAs using I/Os with programmable logic and interconnects, today's FPGAs consist of various mixes of configurable embedded SRAM, high-speed transceivers, high-speed I/O, logic blocks, and routing. Specifically, an FPGA contains programmable logic components called logic elements (LEs) and a hierarchy of reconfigurable interconnects that allow the LEs to be physically connected. You can configure LEs to perform complex combinational functions, or merely simple logic gates like AND and XOR. In most FPGAs, the logic blocks also include memory elements, which may be simple flipflops or more complete blocks of memory.

Advantages to designing with an FPGA (instead of an ASIC or ASSP) include:

• Rapid prototyping
• Shorter time to market
• The ability to re-program in the field for debugging
• Lower NRE costs
• Long product life cycle to mitigate obsolescence risk

Designing with an Altera FPGA

Altera offers customers a broad spectrum of FPGA solutions, geared towards diverse markets and applications. Altera’s main FPGA series are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Altera FPGA Series
Cyclone FPGAs	Arria FPGAs	Stratix FPGAs
You’ll find the architecture of a low-cost Cyclone® series FPGA is ideal for high-volume, cost-sensitive applications. You can use a Cyclone FPGA alone or as a digital signal processor and can also provide a cost-effective embedded processing solution. A Cyclone FPGA offers a wide range of density, memory, embedded multiplier, and packaging options in a customer-defined FPGA feature set optimized for low-cost applications. You are likely to use a Cyclone series FPGA in a low-cost, power-sensitive automotive or consumer solution. Learn more	An Arria® series FPGA is optimized for cost- and power-sensitive transceiver-based applications. An Arria FPGA has a rich feature set of functions (memory, logic, and DSP) combined with superior signal integrity. An Arria series FPGA features on-chip transceivers that allow you to integrate more functions and maximize system bandwidth (up to 16 transceivers supporting 3.75 Gbps). Because it is cost-optimized, an Arria GX series FPGA is more likely to be used to keep overall system costs low while meeting the digital signal processing (DSP) needs of new wireless standards such as 3G and long-term evolution (LTE). Learn more	A Stratix® series FPGA is a high-density device that enables you to deliver high-performance, state-of-the-art products to market faster with lower risk and higher productivity. The latest Stratix series FPGA includes on-chip transceivers (up to 24 transceivers supporting 11.3 Gbps) that allow the transfer of data in and out of the FPGA at high frequencies. A Stratix series FPGA also simplifies the challenges of signal integrity by providing transceivers with best-in-class jitter characteristics.  You’ll often find a power and performance optimized high-density Stratix series FPGA at work in broadcast applications. Learn more

An Altera FPGA Provides Solutions for Many Market Segments and Applications

An Altera^® Cyclone, Arria, and Stratix FPGA meets many of the requirements necessary for your next-generation FPGA design. These FPGAs provide market solutions and are a key element in designing for the following end market and application areas, as shown in Table 2.

Learn More about Altera’s FPGA Families and Get your Differentiated Product to Market Fast

• See an overview of Altera’s FPGA device families
• See how Altera FPGAs can add value to your end-market specific designs
• Enroll in Altera’s Technical Training program for FPGA designers
• Learn About Altera’s FPGA design flow using Quartus^® II software
• Order a low-cost Cyclone III Starter Development Kit