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Technology Stocks : Altera -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: randal sexton who wrote (1357)	10/26/1997 3:40:00 AM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2389

Hi Randal, thanks for the input. In the industry, we call a chip that uses more silicon than its gate count would indicate (because of the number of pins or pads) "pad-limited". And for such parts, FPGAs and other programmable parts will provide a cost-effective, solution. However, there are a few extra details that have to be considered: (1) FPGAs don't include analog to digital converters, so how can we get analog information onto the chip? (2) FPGAs don't include digital to analog converters, so how can we get data back into the analog world? (3) FPGAs don't include (much in the way of) PLLs (phase locked loops), every project I've worked on in the last couple years have used these. They are used to synthesize clocks for frequency matching, etc. (4) FPGAs don't include power drivers, so how can they turn off and on high power devices? (For instance, switching voltage converters, triacs, etc.) (5) FPGAs don't include the specialized interfaces necessary for the newer high-speed digital interfaces, for instance, RDRAM, fire-wire, etc. (6) FPGAs don't even have high-voltage I/O, so you can connect them directly to higher voltage interfaces. Just go pick up any IC data book covering any of the following subjects; (a) Analog (b) Power (c) Interface (or just about anything that isn't digital) and you will find many thousands of chips currently used that can be eliminated in a full-custom design, and programmable logic just doesn't include it. The reason is that there are too many targets, and FPGAs have to make a one-size fits all pin interface. All these things are available in full-custom. Including them on the chip uses that extra silicon and reduces the system parts count. This decreases manufacturing costs, labor costs, size, PCB cost, and failure rates. In other words, with full custom you get better integration. I've searched my skull hard, and I have been unable to come up with much in the way of applications for FPGAs that cannot have the package count (and therefore the cost) reduced by going to full custom or possibly gate array. So how's about it guys? Lets hear those applications that will require vast quantities of FPGAs, but because of pad- limiting, full custom won't reduce the cost, not of the chip, but of the system as a whole. My suspicion is that those applications are rare. I'm pretty imaginative, but I haven't been able to think of one yet. The fact is that digital logic is useless in and of itself. It always has to be packaged with Power, Analog and Interface. But I'd love to hear your ideas. -- Carl