Six Major Applications of FPGA

Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a type of configurable integrated circuit that can be programmed or reprogrammed after manufacturing. FPGAs are part of a broader set of logic devices referred to as programmable logic devices (PLDs). They consist of an array of programmable logic blocks and interconnects that can be configured to perform various digital functions. FPGAs are commonly used in applications where flexibility, speed, and parallel processing capabilities are required, such as in telecommunications, automotive, aerospace, and industrial sectors.

 

The fields that FPGA can be applied in can be roughly divided into 6 categories:

 

01 Communication System

 

The application of FPGA in the field of communication can be said to be omnipotent. Thanks to the characteristics of FPGA's internal structure, it can easily achieve a distributed algorithm structure, which is very beneficial for achieving high-speed digital signal processing in wireless communication.

 

Because in wireless communication systems, many functional modules typically require a large amount of filtering operations, and these filtering functions often require a lot of multiplication and accumulation operations. By implementing distributed arithmetic structures through FPGA, these multiplication and accumulation operations can be effectively implemented.

 

Especially Xilinx's FPGA integrates a large number of resources suitable for the communication field, such as baseband processing (channel cards), interface and connection functions, and RF (radio frequency cards) in three categories:

• The baseband processing resources mainly include channel encoding and decoding (LDPC, Turbo, convolutional codes, and RS code encoding and decoding algorithms) and the implementation of synchronization algorithms (WCDMA system cell search, etc.).
• The interface and connection resource interface and connection function mainly include the implementation of high-speed communication interfaces (PCI Express, Ethernet MAC, high-speed AD/DA interfaces) for wireless base stations and corresponding backplane protocols (OBSAI, CPRI, EMIF, LinkPort) internally.
• RF application resources mainly include the implementation of key technologies such as modulation/demodulation, up/down conversion (WiMAX, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, and single channel, multi-channel DDC/DUC of CDMA2000 systems), peak shaving (PC-CFR), and pre distortion. In short, as long as you learn FPGA well, you can definitely showcase your skills in the field of communication.

 

02 Digital Signal Processing

 

FPGAs are also dominating the field of digital signal processing, mainly due to their high-speed parallel processing capabilities. The biggest advantage of FPGA is its parallel processing mechanism, which utilizes parallel architecture to achieve digital signal processing functions.

 

This parallel mechanism makes FPGA particularly suitable for completing repetitive digital signal processing tasks such as FIR and other digital filtering. For high-speed parallel digital signal processing tasks, FPGA performance far exceeds the serial execution architecture of general DSP processors. Additionally, its interface voltage and driving ability are programmable and configured, unlike traditional DSP which is controlled by instruction sets.

 

Due to the clock cycle limitation of the instruction set, it is not possible to handle signals that are too fast, making it difficult to handle LVDS signals with a rate level of Gbps.

 

So the application of FPGA in the field of digital signal processing is also very extensive.

 

03 Video Image Processing

With the changing times, people's pursuit of image stability, clarity, brightness, and color is becoming increasingly high. From standard definition (SD) to high-definition (HD), people are now pursuing blue light quality images.

 

This makes the amount of data that processing chips need to process in real time increasingly large, and the compression algorithms for images are also becoming more and more complex, making it difficult to meet such a large amount of data processing by simply using ASSP or DSP.

At this point, the advantages of FPGA are highlighted, as it can process data more efficiently. Therefore, in the field of image processing, after considering the overall cost, FPGA is becoming increasingly popular in the market.

 

04 High speed interface design

 

In fact, after seeing the performance of FPGA in the fields of communication and digital signal processing, I think everyone should have guessed that in the field of high-speed interface design, FPGA must also have a place. Its high-speed processing capability and the ability to achieve hundreds or even thousands of IOs determine its unique advantages in the field of high-speed interface design.

 

For example, I need to interact with the PC to collect data and send it to the PC for processing, or transmit the processed results to the PC for display. The interfaces for communication between PC and external systems are relatively rich, such as ISA, PCI, PCI Express, PS/2, USB, etc.

 

The traditional approach is to use corresponding interface chips, such as PCI interface chips, for corresponding interfaces. When I need many interfaces, I need multiple such interface chips, which undoubtedly makes our hardware peripherals more complex, bulky, and inconvenient. However, if we use FPGA, the advantages will come out immediately.

 

Because different interface logic can be implemented within FPGA, there is no need for so many interface chips. When used in conjunction with DDR memory, it will make our interface data processing more convenient.

 

05 Artificial Intelligence

 

If you like to pay attention to the news in the technology sector, you will definitely be eye-catching by 5G communication and artificial intelligence recently. Indeed, the 21st century has unconsciously entered 2022. During these more than 20 years, artificial intelligence has developed rapidly, and the smooth development of 5G has also added wings to artificial intelligence. It can be foreseen that the future will inevitably be the world of artificial intelligence.

FPGA has also been widely used in the front-end part of artificial intelligence systems, such as autonomous driving, which requires the collection of various traffic signals such as driving routes, traffic lights, obstacles, and driving speeds. Multiple sensors are needed, and comprehensive driving and fusion processing of these sensors can be carried out to use FPGA.

 

There are also some intelligent robots that require image acquisition and processing, or sound signal processing, which can be completed using FPGA. Therefore, FPGA is easy to use in the front-end information processing of artificial intelligence systems.

 

06 IC Design

 

The term IC may be perceived as particularly profound and beyond the reach of ordinary people, and IC design is a job that only divine beings can handle.

 

It is undeniable that the threshold for IC design is indeed relatively high, but we do not need to make it too mythical. In fact, to put it simply, we can compare it with PCB design. PCB is a circuit combination that uses individual components to build a specific function on a printed circuit board, while IC design is a circuit combination that uses MOS transistors and PN segments to build a specific function on a silicon substrate, both macro and micro.

 

If the PCB design is scrapped, redesigning and making samples will not cause too much loss, but if the IC design is scrapped and redesigned, the loss will be very heavy. As the saying goes, once a cannon is fired, there is ten thousand taels of gold.

 

So in the field of IC, opening a lithography machine for ten thousand taels of gold is not just a boast. The cost of photoresist is extremely high, and the cost of mold making for lithography boards is also not cheap. In addition, there are hundreds or thousands of other processes, including labor, material resources, machine wear and tear, and machine maintenance, which are definitely painful losses. Therefore, IC design should emphasize the success of a single version.

 

To ensure the success of the first version of the IC, sufficient simulation testing and FPGA verification must be carried out. Simulation verification involves running simulation software on the server for testing, similar to ModelSim/VCS software; FPGA verification mainly involves porting the code of the IC onto the FPGA, using FPGA synthesis tools for synthesis, layout and wiring to generate the final bit file, and then downloading it to the FPGA verification board for verification. For complex ICs, we can also divide them into several parts for separate verification. Each functional module is placed on an FPGA, and the circuit generated by the FPGA is very close to the real IC chip.

 

This greatly facilitates our IC designers to verify their own IC designs.

 

Other applications of FPGA include high-speed data acquisition in the power industry, high-speed and large-scale analog data acquisition and transmission in the medical industry, radar, satellites, guidance systems, and more in the military industry.