Synthesis Process

 What is FPGA?

FPGA stands for field-programmable gate array. That’s quite a mouthful, so let’s start with a basic definition. Essentially, an FPGA could even be a hardware circuit that a user can program to hold out one or more logical operations. FPGAs are integrated circuits, or ICs, which are sets of circuits on a chip — that’s the “array” part. Those circuits or arrays are groups of programmable logic gates, memory, and other elements. With an FPGA, there’s no chip. The user programs the hardware circuit or circuits. The programming is often one simple gate (an AND or OR function), or it can involve one or more complex functions, including functions that, together, act as a comprehensive multi-core processor.

Uses for FPGAs cover a vast range of areas — from equipment for video and imaging to circuitry for computer, auto, aerospace, and military applications, additionally to electronics for specialized processing and more. These are particularly useful for prototyping application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or processors. An FPGA is often reprogrammed until the ASIC or processor design is final and bug-free and thus the actual manufacturing of the last word ASIC begins. Intel itself uses FPGAs to prototype new chips.

FPGAs are programmable silicon chips with a gaggle of programmable logic blocks surrounded by Input/Output blocks that are put together through programmable interconnect resources to become any quite digital circuit or system.