Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have been used for a number of years for high-end Digital Signal Processor (DSP) tasks. They are uniquely suited to repetitive DSP tasks such as multiply accumulates, and can perform these operations in parallel, allowing them to significantly outperform DSP chips, which are essentially sequential. FPGAs are highly flexible and reconfigurable, allowing Electronic System engineers to commit to hardware far earlier in the design process than was conventionally possible, giving the chance to prototype and test ideas in hardware that closely resembles the final product, while minimising the risk of respin.
Cobham Technical Services has a wealth of experience in FPGA design, with highly trained engineers using state-of-the-art software tools, targeted at the industries most advanced components to produce solutions to customers most technically challenging demands. Designs spanning multiple FPGAs, interfacing to state-of-the-art DSPs and operating at greater than 250MHz have been specified, designed, simulated, synthesised and tested.
Our expertise is in efficiently targeting the design to resources within the FPGA to maximise the performance of the device. With high-end FPGAs incorporating greater than 300,000 Logic Elements, 15,000 kbits memory, and 500 18x18 DSP multipliers, in a package offering more than 1000 user definable pins, this is an extremely complex task. Advanced placement and routing constraints are implemented to maximise the performance of ‘building blocks’ within the FPGA design process.
Using this technique, combined with incremental compilation and design partitioning, multiple engineers can work on different aspects of a single device and the performance of the ‘building blocks’ are maintained through system integration.
There are a number of aspects which are closely coupled to successful firmware design within FPGAs. Cobham Technical Services has the expertise in-house to specify the complete system, perform schematic capture PCB layout, design software for leading edge DSP, and use advanced testing facilities for the highest speed interfaces. The ability to ‘own the whole solution’ offers a distinct advantage over many companies who outsource an increasing number of the design steps.
Typical applications include digital down converters, adaptive beamforming and hardware accelerators for top-end digital signal processing.