FPGA Provides Four Times The Density

Atmel says it has released the only available FPGA configuration ICs that provide single-chip configuration storage for FPGAs with up to 8mn gates. The 32Mb AT17F32 and AT17F32A have four times the density of any competing device that is available commercially. The AT17F32 is claimed to be the only FPGA configuration device available in production quantities that can store all 29Mb of configuration data required for Virtex II XC2V6000 and XC2V8000, as well as Virtex II Pro XC2VP50 and XC2VP70 FPGAs. The AT17F32A provides single-chip storage for APEX EP2A70, Stratix EP1S60 and EPS180 and Stratix II FPGAs.

AT17F32/A devices have a memory paging capability that facilitates the single-chip storage of as many as four different FPGA bit streams. This reduces both the chip and board count in multiple FPGA systems.

Plasma display panels sometimes need as many as three different FPGA configurations to interface to multiple controllers. In the past, each configuration needed its own EEPROM. Now all three configurations can be stored in a single IC through the AT17F32/A's paging capability, drastically reducing board size, plus system complexity and cost.