Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: AMI Semiconductor | Subject: XPressArray-II
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 30 September 2004
Structured ASICs aim for frugal FPGA
replacement
The XPressArray-II (XPA-II) is the newest addition to the market leading XPressArray structured ASIC family.
The XPressArray-II (XPA-II) is the newest addition to the market leading XPressArray structured ASIC family Based on a hybrid fabrication process, XPA-II combines advanced 0.15-micron TSMC process technology with programmable metal in AMI Semiconductor's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to deliver leading-edge solutions with low nonrecurring engineering (NRE) costs and accelerated time to market
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 26 Mar 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Clock generators for embedded communications
AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has expanded its clock generator product line with a broad family of low-cost 1- and 2-phase-lock loop (PLL) clock ICs.
Clock generator saves space in portable designs
AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has introduced a low-cost clock generator that will save space and reduce component count in high-performance MPEG-2 applications such as DVD players.
The 1.5/1.2V XPA-II product is a high performance, low power, low cost, drop in, pin-for-pin replacement for current generation FPGAs.
In addition, the low NRE costs and accelerated manufacturing cycle times make it an ideal platform for mid-density ASIC design.
The advanced engineering behind XPA-II makes it an optimal solution for applications such as wireless and wired networking infrastructure, storage systems, printers, medical ultrasound/imaging systems, military/aerospace communications or any other application utilising FPGAs or ASICs.
Further reading
Extended-temperature interface for AS-i bus
AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has expanded its family of reprogrammable interface ICs certified for Actuator Sensor-interface (AS-i) bus applications by launching an extended temperature device.
PCI core migrates FPGA designs painlessly
Designers using high-density, advanced FPGAs with embedded PCI cores can now cost-effectively and easily transition to an ASIC for volume production.
Array aimed at FPGA conversions
AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has launched a 0.18-micron hybrid gate array for medium-density high-speed 1.8V ASICs and FPGA-to-ASIC conversions.
XPA-II is a flexible, high-performance, feature packed platform that supports densities of up to 3.9 million ASIC gates, delay-locked loops (DLLs), phase-locked loops (PLLs), local clock speeds of up to 500MHz, and system clock speeds of up to 210MHz based on single-cycle 18 x 18bit multiplier performance for DSP applications.
Flexible, high-density memories are critical to many designs and the XPA-II platform delivers in the form of 18Kbit initialisable dual-port RAM blocks that can be configured to provide a total of 415Kbit to 5.6Mbit of block and distributed memory.
Flexibility is also a key advantage of the XPA-II I/O technology that includes fully configurable signal, core and I/O power supply pad locations and support for a wide range of I/O standards, including PCI, PCI-X, Mode 1 and Mode 2, GTL, HSTL, SSTL and LVPECL.
The I/O technology also features a double datarate (DDR) memory interface and 1Gbit/s low-voltage differential signalling (LVDS).
All of these features are available in a platform that supports power dissipation of just 55nW/MHz/gate, reducing total chip power consumption to less than 20% of a standard FPGA.
"Structured digital products have shown significant traction in the semiconductor marketplace because they simply offer better cost, performance and power than FPGAs and quicker time to market than cell-based solutions", said Vince Hopkin, Vice President, AMI Semiconductor, Structured Digital Products.
"XPressArray-II builds on the success of our proven conversion technology and allows customers to realise lower production costs and faster time to -market than alternative solutions, providing the best value on the market".
"AMIS was the first to produce a 1.8V structured digital product and is committed to continuing to deliver strong products, like XPA-II".
XPA-II supports the trend toward a lower cost solution for custom digital logic with pricing projected at $25-$100 for 10,000 units per year, dependent on density and pin count.
Beta customer support has already begun with full production expected in Q1, 2005.
Delivery from start to finish is 10-16 weeks with prototyping in the three-five week range depending on the package design.
• AMI Semiconductor: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
