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Summer 2005 Frontpage | Subscribe | Feedback 


In This Issue

Zigbee vs. Bluetooth
What When How?

Did You Know?
Lead(Pb) Free!

FPGA to Structured ASIC Design Flow

Device Spotlight:
LatticeXP

Hike For a Cure
Around the Corner!


Previous Issues

Wireless USB:
What When How?

IP Cores: Speeding to Market

ATCA: The NexGen Telecom Standard

Video Processing in FPGA vs. DSP

H.264: The New Video Standard

Ethernet over Sonet Solutions

PCI Express Lane

CycloneBot Design Revealed

Designing High-Speed Traces:
·Part 1
·Part 2
·Part 3

Device Spotlight:
·TI DM642 DSP
·ADI TigerSharc
·Altera's Nios II
·Airgo Wireless



Nuvation HEADLINES 

New Events

» 

Nuvation client wins 2005 CES Innovations award

»  Nuvation goes Lead (Pb) free
»  Ziggy-the battlebot debuts at Robogames
»  Nuvation keynotes at TI conference

New Affiliations

»  Pixim Imaging Chips
»  Airgo 802.11 WLAN chips

Device Spotlight:
Lattice XP

Nuvation Device Spotlight The LatticeXP FPGA is this issue’s Device Spotlight.  Utilizing a combination of non-volatile FLASH cells and SRAM technology, this device sports an “instant-on” start-up feature.  It does not require an external boot ROM or CPLD and can be infinitely re-configured.  This means that PCB space is saved, and costs for external devices are eliminated; a savings of at least $5 to $10. It also means that the device can be reconfigured in the field without disrupting any other device on the board.

The device configuration is stored in non-volatile FLASH cell arrays distributed within the FPGA device.  At power-up, the configuration is transferred from FLASH memory to configuration SRAM in less than 1mS (worst case on largest device) providing an instant-on FPGA.  In addition, LatticeXP FPGA devices provide security by eliminating the need for an external configuration bit-stream and by providing non-volatile security features.

On the downside, there is a small performance hit with no 3G SERDES or 10G throughput, however the Lattice XP is suitable for most applications in cost sensitive markets like consumer electronics, automotive, medical & industrial, networking and computing.

On the upside, the LatticeXP is available at a very low cost in TQFP & PQFP packages.  The device has a 1.2V core, which through on-chip regulation will support Vcc input from 1.2V, 1.8V, 2.5V or 3.3V power supplies. This is beneficial when replacing older CPLD, FPGA, ASSP, ASIC devices which have legacy voltage requirements, therefore providing obsolescence protection and design scalability.  It supports LVCMOS, LVTTL, PCI, LVDS, SSTL, HSTL and up to 4 analog PLLs. In addition, the LatticeXP has dedicated circuitry to simplify DDR (up to 166MHz/333Mbps) memory interfaces.

LatticeXP is supported by the ispLEVER design tool suite. Lattice ispLEVER software includes synthesis support using Mentor Graphics Precision RTL and Synplicity Synplify design tools. An extensive range of IP (intellectual property) cores, particularly suited for high-volume applications, is available from both Lattice and its IP partners.

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