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Where are the FPGA Architectures for the 21st Century?EETimes Blog - Max MaxfieldNov. 24, 2016 |
Are there any weird and wondrous technologies waiting in the wings, or can we expect only bigger, better, faster, and shinier versions of traditional FPGA fabrics?
Now, before we start, I would like to say that I'm tremendously impressed by all of the existing FPGA offerings from the various vendors. I love the teeny-tiny mixed-signal components from Silego. I think Lattice Semiconductor has carved itself an exciting niche in small form factor and ultra-low power FPGAs. Microsemi is doing some very interesting stuff regarding security and secure-boot with its SmartFusion2 SoC FPGAs. And, of course, Altera and Xilinx are fielding some incredible devices that offer mind-blowing capacity and performance.
Having said all this, and acknowledging that many of today's FPGAs are pushing the boundaries of what's possible, I'm still left wanting more. I think this is due to the promises of delectation and delight offered by various companies that subsequently changed direction and/or fell by the wayside.