FPAAs Offer Twice The Analog Bang For Nearly The Same Buck

Two new Anadigm field-programmable analog arrays (FPAAs) for programmable analog implementations in high-volume audio, indus-
trial, and medical systems offer twice the processing capability of the company's entry-level devices. However, the price differential is a mere 13 cents.

The AN222E04 and AN122E04 integrate an array of four identical configurable analog blocks (CABs). The CABs are the supporting hardware elements that implement FPAA configurable analog model (CAM) functions such as filter, gain, or summing/difference stages, voltage multipliers, phase/voltage comparators, rectifiers, oscillators, and references. All of the CABs have user-programmable and reprogrammable attributes. The FPAAs are programmed using the company's AnadigmDesigner2, a drag-and-drop CAD tool with C-code output.

These FPAAs also feature four I/O cells and two dedicated output cells, so each can be programmed with up to six outputs. In addition, both contain a successive-approximation register block that can be used with the lookup table to implement nonlinear functions.

The "122" device is statically configurable--that is, it needs a reset before it can be reconfigured. The "222" FPAA is dynamically reconfigurable, allowing on-the-fly, real-time control of analog functions by the microprocessor in an embedded system. Reconfigurability enables the FPAAs to change their functions sequentially over time to support multiple operating modes.

Pricing in 10,000-piece quantities starts at $6.19 for the AN222E04 and $5.08 for the AN122E04.