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1. History and terminology
Compared with software-based solutions, integrated circuits can achieve very high performance with very low power consumption. This is due to the specialization of functions integrated into the circuit. On the other hand, an IC is dedicated to one task, or a small set of tasks, whereas a processor has virtually unlimited flexibility. Reconfigurable architectures, in particular FPGAs, offer, to a certain extent, compromises between flexibility, cost and performance unattainable by ASICs and processors.
Very early in the history of microelectronics, several devices were proposed to make integrated circuits more flexible through programming or configuration. Two levels of programming were proposed: direct and total programming by the user, and partial programming in the foundry.
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The first to appear were PLAs (Programmable...
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History and terminology
Generic FPGA architecture
Bibliography
Software tools
VPR: a set of CAD tools for FPGAs made by the University of Toronto. Initially specialized for placement/routing phases. Now available for other phases of the FPGA design flow. http://www.eecg.utoronto.ca/vpr/
Synplify: logic synthesis tool for FPGA circuits marketed by Synopsys, capable of synthesizing different FPGAs...
Events
FPGA: ACM/SIGDA International Symposium on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays http://www.isfpga.org
FPL: International Conference on Field Programmable Logic and Applications. 22nd edition in 2012 http://www.fpl.org/
FPT: International Conference on Field-Programmable...
Directory
Manufacturers – Suppliers – Distributors (non-exhaustive list)
Xilinx http://www.xilinx.com
Altera http://www.altera.com
Actel http://www.actel.com
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