Out in Front

Low-cost FPGA/CPLD-to-ASIC conversions

Microchip is offering the QuickASIC gate-array family for pin-to-pin replacement of many popular FPGAs and CPLDs. Microchip takes your programmable-logic chip netlist and design specification and gives you a gate-array prototype with as many as 72,000 gates in two to four weeks. QuickASIC currently supports conversions from Actel (Sunnyvale, CA), Altera (San Jose, CA), Atmel (San Jose, CA), Lucent (Warren, NJ), QuickLogic (Santa Clara, CA), and Xilinx (San Jose, CA) programmable-logic families. Microchip takes design netlists in EDIF (Extended Design Interoperability Format) for all but Xilinx, which uses a routed XNF (Xilinx Netlist Format) file, and converts it into a gate-array chip. Microchip can add scan insertion (boundary and full internal) and ATPG (automatic test-pattern generation) during the conversion; the area and performance penalties for adding scans are around 20 and 10%, respectively. You can also get one free prototype design rerun (reconversion and additional chip fabrication) to resolve performance issues or incorporate a design change.

The QuickASIC family features user-configurable I/O-pin specification, operation over a 2.7 to 5.5V range, typical pin-to-pin delay of 6 nsec into a 50-pF load and seven base arrays spanning 6000 to 72,000 usable gates. You can have chips that operate over the commercial, industrial, or extended (military) temperature range. QuickASIC supports many popular IC packages, including SOIC, PLCC, PDIP, and a number of QFP variations with as many as 292 pins. Minimum quantity is 5000, with unit prices ranging from $4 to $6 per device for 6000 gates and $20 to $28 per device for 72,000 gates. These costs are much lower than typical FPGA unit costs of comparable gate densities. Instead of paying an NRE charge, you make an up-front deposit; the amount depends on which gate-array base you use. Microchip refunds this deposit to you over the life of the product. Microchip also plans to merge its RISC µP cores and gate arrays in a future product offering.—by Jim Lipman

Microchip Technology, Chandler, AZ. (602) 786-7200, fax (602) 899-9210.