Programmable Logic Core Revs Up Large SOCs

Said to be the first commercially available silicon IP for embedded programmable logic, the MSA 2500 programmable logic core is designed to add flexibility to ASIC and ASSP system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs. According to the company, embedded programmable logic permits the high-risk blocks of an SoC device to be modified after first silicon is produced. Also, devices can be modified after they are shipped to the customer.
In architecting a family of SoCs employing embedded programmable logic, it is possible to produce a number of different silicon products from a single die. The MSA 2500 employs an advanced multi-scale array technology built upon a programmable ALU-based architecture. The company says the architecture provides much more efficient mapping of datapath functions than is possible using traditional PLD architectures. The core has been fabricated on test chips and is available now in LSI Logic’s 0.18-micron G12 process. In addition, test chips will be qualified on TSMC’s 0.18-micron process in the second quarter of 2001. A complete family of software tools called Millennium PLC is also available.