Architecture and CAD for Deep-Submicron FPGAs (The Springer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science)

(Author), Jonathan Rose (Author), Alexander Marquardt (Author)

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Product Description

Since their introduction in 1984, Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have become one of the most popular implementation media for digital circuits and have grown into a $2 billion per year industry. As process geometries have shrunk into the deep-submicron region, the logic capacity of FPGAs has greatly increased, making FPGAs a viable implementation alternative for larger and larger designs. To make the best use of these new deep-submicron processes, one must re-design one's FPGAs and Computer- Aided Design (CAD) tools. Architecture and CAD for Deep-Submicron FPGAs addresses several key issues in the design of high-performance FPGA architectures and CAD tools, with particular emphasis on issues that are important for FPGAs implemented in deep-submicron processes. Three factors combine to determine the performance of an FPGA: the quality of the CAD tools used to map circuits into the FPGA, the quality of the FPGA architecture, and the electrical (i.e. transistor-level) design of the FPGA. Architecture and CAD for Deep-Submicron FPGAs examines all three of these issues in concert. In order to investigate the quality of different FPGA architectures, one needs CAD tools capable of automatically implementing circuits in each FPGA architecture of interest. Once a circuit has been implemented in an FPGA architecture, one next needs accurate area and delay models to evaluate the quality (speed achieved, area required) of the circuit implementation in the FPGA architecture under test. This book therefore has three major foci: the development of a high-quality and highly flexible CAD infrastructure, the creation of accurate area and delay models for FPGAs, and the study of several important FPGA architectural issues. Architecture and CAD for Deep-Submicron FPGAs is an essential reference for researchers, professionals and students interested in FPGAs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1st edition (March 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792384601
• ISBN-13: 978-0792384601
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,036,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Start here for today's place-and-route, July 23, 2008

By	wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This book derives from Vaughn Betz's doctoral dissertation. Despite that, it provides a clear and readable introduction for researchers in at least two areas of FPGA tools and implementation: tools and fabric.

This work is best known for the tools that Betz developed, including the Versatile (or was it Vaughn's?) Place and Route - VPR. Nearly a decade old now, VPR has achieved such iconic status that it appears twice in the SPEC 2000 benchmarks. VPR also seems to be the de facto starting point for nearly all current academic research in P&R. Chapters 3-4 of this book, following some introductory material, present the essence of Betz's research. When I say that it all unfolds in a logical, even obvious way, I don't mean to denigrate this work. Quite the opposite. Only a very fine mind and writer can make the subtle appear obvious, and even that statement disregards the huge amount of experimentation and CPU-months that went into proving that it is obvious.

The second half of the book's thesis lies outside of my central interests. Given groundbreaking tools for exploiting an FPGA's structure, a new question arises. Within the range of possible structures, which can most readily be exploited? At this writing, 3.5 Moore generations after this book was published, the answers are very different. The questions remain valid, however, as do Betz's means of answering them. Parameterized tools explore the space of parameterized structures.

Perhaps the sticker shock on this title will put some readers off - it certainly lead me to some fancy talking in convincing my department to get a copy. Compare the price to tuition you'd pay (if you could find a course) to acquire the same knowledge. Despite its age, this book's content underlies today's commercial P&R tools. If you're starting in the field, you must start here.

-- wiredweird