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

Vaughn Betz ● 1999

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.

Why Read This Book

You should read this book if you want a rigorous, architecture-centered understanding of how FPGA fabrics and CAD algorithms interact in deep-submicron processes. It explains the tradeoffs that drive logic block and interconnect design and gives you the CAD-level techniques (placement, routing, clustering) needed to evaluate and optimize real FPGA architectures.

Who Will Benefit

Advanced FPGA engineers, CAD tool developers, and academic researchers who are designing or evaluating FPGA architectures and the algorithms that map logic onto them.

Level: Advanced — Prerequisites: Solid digital logic and computer architecture knowledge, familiarity with basic FPGA concepts (LUTs, CLBs, routing), and introductory algorithms/complexity (graph algorithms, heuristics).

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Key Takeaways

  • Analyze architecture trade-offs between logic-block granularity, LUT size, and interconnect topology for deep-submicron FPGAs.
  • Design and evaluate routing architectures and switchbox topologies with attention to wire delay and scaling effects.
  • Apply and understand core CAD algorithms for placement, routing, clustering/packing, and timing-driven optimization.
  • Model deep-submicron physical effects (wire delay, repeaters, clock distribution) and their impact on architecture/CAD choices.
  • Evaluate FPGA designs using benchmarking and architecture-exploration methodologies to guide trade-off decisions.

Topics Covered

  1. Introduction: Evolution of FPGAs and deep-submicron challenges
  2. FPGA Fabric Primitives: LUTs, CLBs, and memory blocks
  3. Interconnect and Switchbox Topologies
  4. Physical Effects in Deep-Submicron Processes (wire delay, repeater insertion)
  5. Logic Block and Interconnect Architecture Trade-offs
  6. Routing Architectures and Channel Width
  7. Placement Techniques for FPGAs
  8. Clustering, Packing and Technology Mapping
  9. Routing Algorithms and Timing-Driven Routing
  10. Timing Analysis and Optimization for FPGAs
  11. Power, Clock Distribution and Reliability Issues
  12. Architecture Evaluation, Benchmarking and Case Studies
  13. Future Directions in FPGA Architecture and CAD

Languages, Platforms & Tools

Generic FPGA architectures (applicable to Xilinx and Altera/Intel families)Academic CAD tools and frameworks (e.g., VPR-style place-and-route concepts)General CAD tool concepts (timing analysis, benchmarking frameworks)

How It Compares

More academic and architecture-focused than practical 'FPGA prototyping' guides; complements system-level books like Wayne Wolf's 'FPGA-Based System Design' by diving deeper into CAD algorithms and architecture trade-offs rather than system integration.

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