MICROELECTRONIC SYSTEMS NEWS




FILENUMBER: 305
BEGIN_KEYWORDS
conversion mga orbit fpga xilinx actel mask gate arrays
END_KEYWORDS
DATE: july 1993
TITLE: FPGA Conversions to Mask Gate Arrays

FPGA Conversions to Mask Gate Arrays

(Contributed by Gary Kennedy of Orbit Semiconductor)

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), such as those offered  by
Actel  and Xilinx, now contain thousands of gates and can be pro-
grammed locally by the user.  These devices are  used  to  reduce
product  time-to-market  and for implementing low-volume applica-
tions.  Whenever the volume exceeds a  cross-over  point,  it  is
generally  more  cost-effective to convert the FPGA design into a
less expensive mask gate array.   To  calculate  this  cross-over
point, the designer can use the following formula:

Cost of FPGA X Number Needed = 
   Cost of Conversion + (Cost of Mask Gate Array X Number Needed)

In the case of the Actel 1280 part which can hold about 8000 gates,
typical charges would give:

   $173  X  N  =  $10,000 + ($73 X N);  Hence, N = 100.

Orbit Semiconductor has developed the ENCORE program  to  convert
FPGA  (and  other mask gate array) designs from a variety of ven-
dors into its own mask gate arrays.  The  conversion  charge  and
piece-price  varies  according  to the part being replaced.  Mask
gate arrays ranging from a few thousand gates up to 33,000  gates
are now available.

For additional information, contact:

    Orbit Semiconductor, Inc.
    1215 Bordeaux Drive
    Sunnyvale, CA 94089
    TEL: (408)-744-1800
    FAX: (408)-747-1263
    Email: foresight@orbsemi.com

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