Low-Power FPGAs Put SRAM Into Small Package

To meet consumer requirements for feature-rich, small, and lightweight mobile wireless devices, chip vendors have had to increase the density of their packages. One example is the low-power, high-density programmable-logic devices that were recently announced by QuickLogic: the QL8025 and QL8050. Both chips are part of the Eclipse II micro-Watt FPGA product family.

The QL8025 has 47,000 logic gates, whereas the QL8050 has 64,000. Both devices include embedded dual-port SRAM and extended I/O support. These features allow several board-level components to be integrated into a single chip.

The Eclipse II family offers alternatives to typical FPGA, CPLD, DSP, and ASIC designs. These alternatives support the development of applications that demand ultra-low power consumption, small-form-factor packaging, and high design security protection from IP theft. The company claims that its product family has much lower power consumption than other technologies. It also boasts dynamic power dissipation of less than 50 mW at 100 MHz.

The products' target applications are any battery-powered or heat-sensitive products. Examples include portable handheld products like PDAs, bar-code readers, and handheld scanners and gaming modules. Among the family's other applications are portable medical equipment and wireless add-on products.

The Eclipse II FPGA family is supported in QuickWorks version 9.6. It is available for download from www.quicklogic.com/software_download. QuickLogic also offers intellectual-property blocks for Eclipse II FPGAs. They include PCI, memory interfaces, SDRAM, DSP, and other commonly used peripheral functions.

The Eclipse II FPGA family of devices starts at $3.50 in high-volume quantities.