FPGAs are an important component of many of today's most demanding embedded system designs. Due to the sharp drop in price of FPGA devices and the convenience and flexibility that designers bring, it is not surprising that FPGAs are increasingly being used in embedded design products in the highly competitive global marketplace. It is the key to driving the success of most businesses by establishing market strength, understanding customer preferences, striving for customer loyalty, leveraging brand effectiveness and achieving high profits. So how do you bring the next brilliant idea to market first? How to control costs to make a profit? How to protect the source of revenue and brand when the product is launched in batches?
Pre-emptive entry into the market Pursuing excellence in all aspects of organizational management, planning, development, manufacturing and marketing should help achieve the ultimate goal of getting into the market first, but from a system design perspective, it is important to simplify the design by reducing the number of components, but often Will be ignored during the design process. Most designers believe that focusing on the unit cost of an FPGA-based solution will result in the lowest overall system cost and the fastest time to market, but it has been found that a large amount of complexity is required in the design to support the selected device. And time-consuming support infrastructure. In the low-cost (value-based) FPGA market, there are many different technologies that can be chosen by embedded system designers, and the choice of FPGA technology has a significant impact on the complexity of embedded system design execution and the overall time of completion. Big.
The fundamental difference in FPGA selection is the use of non-volatile reprogrammable Flash technology or FPGAs based on volatile SRAM technology. Flash-based FPGAs feature single-chip and power-up capabilities that greatly simplify system-level design and end product integration. When the power supply fails, the Flash-based FPGA does not need to be configured for power-on or undervoltage detection. It does not need to load the FPGA from the MCU during power-on, and the signal source, circuit layout, debugging, and detection are not needed. Additional power management circuitry. In addition, on power-up, the Flash-based FPGA phase-locked loop (PLL) with power-up capability can instantly generate clock signals and control the signals as core logic and I/O. The Flash-based FPGA power-up feature provides predictable and stable system startup, allowing designers to focus on the inspection and verification aspects of the design rather than integration and debugging issues.
Controlling Costs In order to reduce the overall cost of an enterprise project, increase profits, and increase market share, achieving the lowest overall system cost is the primary goal of major companies. When designing an FPGA, designers should not consider the unit price as the only part of the overall system cost. Other hidden costs that are often overlooked can also have a significant impact on overall system cost. The absence of power-up capability requires the use of multiple non-essential components, such as CPLDs for monitoring and bus maintenance work, clock generation and reset controllers, as there are no signals generated by the PLL and the chip to assist with system setup. For Flash-based FPGAs, using fewer components to reduce material costs is only the beginning of overall cost savings. Reduced board space, reduced board cost, improved product reliability and yield, and reduced power consumption will result in a more cost-effective power supply and no need for forced cooling technology, resulting in further cost reductions. Every embedded system has different requirements, but not all systems can benefit from applications that reduce these components, but in general, using non-volatile FPGAs in the next embedded system design may reduce total material costs. The most wise decision.
In addition to the total material cost of components, boards, and assemblies, there are some important (and often intangible) costs associated with the validation, verification, and qualification of additional non-essential components. This will delay the development schedule and increase the cost of design engineering, which will weaken the productivity due to improper use of resources.
Finally, certain product characteristics must be considered along with the operation and manufacturing process during the design phase in order to increase manufacturing efficiency. Selecting a non-volatile FPGA solution can reduce operating costs by simplifying testing and simple product verification, increasing yield, reducing risk, reducing EMI, reducing suppliers, and reducing inventory.
Protecting Your Investment There are several additional issues in designing an FPGA in an embedded system. The impact cannot be measured in terms of time or cost, but can have devastating effects on the company's overall business. The FPGA technology used in embedded systems directly affects the confidentiality of the design, the reputation protection of the product, and the responsibility of the product.
Totalization brings huge benefits to the electronics industry, but it also has some serious impacts. Information can be quickly obtained, and designs can be modified or replicated through a variety of techniques, with the result that generic or “pirated†products will appear on the market within a few weeks. Design confidentiality becomes more important to the company's current and future business, reputation, brand equity, support burden and protection, and more than product liability and litigation issues. Design and IP have many risks throughout the supply chain, from manufacturers, professional design hackers to certain users. When the FPGA replaces the ASIC at the core of the system, the system is no longer protected by the ASIC. The choice of FPGA technology has an important impact on these issues, and patents and litigation are not effective ways to stop IP theft. In most cases, there are huge cost issues in the implementation of patents, and the uncertainty of results and the lack of international standards make them difficult and time consuming. When you successfully win a lawsuit, you usually lose business in a market where every second counts.
The bit stream configured by the FPGA device is exposed at every power cycle, which is very detrimental to the health of the design and the overall business of the company. Intercepting and capturing device configuration information downloaded from a peripheral PROM or processor is easy and can be replicated in a short amount of time. The contract manufacturer or "hacker" can design a blank standard FPGA device after designing to build an additional system and sell it on the black market. This design can also be replicated, causing losses to the company's business that originally designed the product and invested in the development of IP.
Non-volatile Flash-based FPGAs provide a good solution to these problems. Because its configuration bitstream is the programming device itself, it cannot be intercepted. This type of FPGA is highly resistant to intrusion, and even if the device is opened and disconnected, only the structure is visible, rather than the actual content of the non-volatile memory unit. In addition, the latest Flash FPGA solution has an integrated AES decryption core for secure on-site reprogramming and over-protection.
The total cost of ownership is directly affected by the practices of embedded system designers, especially when choosing FPGA technology. Care must be taken of the costs associated with material costs, design and work efficiency, and the hidden costs of the products used, such as product liability and design confidentiality issues. Non-volatile Flash-based FPGAs offer a unique alternative to SRAM FPGAs and may be the best choice for your next embedded system design.
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