XC3S400-4PQ208I Field Programmable Gate Arrays

 

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are integrated circuits that are in demand due to their advanced features. The field programmable feature of the device is enabling the programmers to reconfigure the hardware according to the application requirements. For remote deployment, the up-gradation of the features and debugging is a key requirement. The FPGA technology is fulfilling all requirements.

The XC3S400-4PQ208I belongs to the Spartan-3 family of Field-Programmable Gate Arrays. The module XC3S400-4PQ208I is particularly designed to fulfill the needs of bulky and cost-sensitive consumer electronic applications. The XC3S400-4PQ208I builds on the successful launch and customer review on the earlier FPGAs by modifying the previous designs. Modifications are performed by increasing the total number of I/Os, the capacity of internal RAM, the number of logic resources, and the overall level of performance. The module is not just improving the previous areas but also improving the clock management functionality. The XC3S400-4PQ208I is significantly enhanced using the cutting-edge features derived from the Virtex-II platform technology. 

Five programmable functional elements are building the architecture of module XC3S400-4PQ208I. The first element is referred to as the Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) that comprise of RAM-based Look-Up Tables (LUTs) to aid in the implementation of logical operations and storage elements. The alternative is seen as flip-flops, registers, or latches. The second block is the Input/Output Blocks (IOBs) that can control the data flow between the I/O pins and the internal logic circuits of the module XC3S400-4PQ208I. The third block is the Block RAM that ensures the provision of data storage with the aid of 18-Kbit dual-port blocks. The fourth block is the Multiplier block capable of accepting the two 18-bit binary numbers from the input pins and perform the product calculation. The last block is A Digital Clock Manager (DCM) block that facilitates the module with the feature of self-calibration, and entirely digital solutions for, delaying, dividing, distributing, multiplying, and phase shifting clock signals.

For the best delivery in terms of cost-effectiveness of functionality and bandwidth, the enhancement of the XC3S400-4PQ208I is done by combining it with advanced process technology. The novel design approach is better than the previous designs and is setting new standards and offering new challenges in the programmable logic industry.

Compared with different alternatives available in the market, the XC3S400-4PQ208I is a better alternative for masking programmed ASICs.The cost implication for previous approaches also compensates the FPGA due to the reduction in the high initial cost. The complexity is also lowered due to avoidance of the lengthy development cycles, and the inherent inflexibility of conventional ASICs. Also, the programming feature of the FPGA allows the design to perform up-gradation without the requirement of any hardware replacement. This is not the case with the ASICs and making the FPGAs superior to previous approaches,

A few distinct features of the XC3S400-4PQ208I include: 

• Densities that are up to 74,880 logic cells
• Clock skew elimination
• Abundant logic cells with shift register capability
• Signal swing ranging from 1.14V to 3.465V
• High-resolution phase shifting
• Termination by Digitally Controlled Impedance
• 18 single-ended signal standards
• DDR, DDR2 SDRAM support up to 333 Mb/s
• 8 differential I/O standards including LVDS
• RSDS, Double Data Rate (DDR) support
• Logic resources
• Frequency synthesis
  

The features and characteristics of the XC3S400-4PQ208I added to the exceptionally low cost make the XC3S400-4PQ208I suitable for a wide range of consumer electronics applications, including access at the broadband level, digital television equipment, home networking, and, display/projection.