Lattice recently introduced AEC-Q100 qualified versions of its LatticeXP2 Instant-On FPGA family. These are devices built using a process that includes SRAM Programmable Logic + FLASH Storage on a single-die. Lattice has raised the capabilities of automotive FPGAs by offering new system-on-chip (SoC) features such as full-feature DSP blocks, pre-engineered source I/O blocks and its exclusive FlexiFLASH™ architecture.
The FlexiFLASH architecture integrates the configuration Flash on the same silicon die as the SRAM FPGA logic. The non-volatile FlexiFLASH architecture enables Instant-On startup speed, FlashBAK capabilities as well as the additional benefits of fault tolerance and redundancy. FlashBAK enables the contents of the Embedded Block RAM to be written back to the FLASH memory so that during subsequent device initializations, the EBR memory is loaded with the new values.
Automotive system designs are using a growing number of FPGA devices to add additional capabilities and flexibility. The LA-XP2 provides designers the broadest offering for performance and features of any AEC-Q100 qualified FPGA. The instant-on capability allows the LA-XP2 FPGA to be used for applications that cannot wait for a typical FPGAs to startup such as Engine Control Units, FlexRay and CAN interfaces, processor bus decoders, Power-on-Reset and low power designs using duty cycling.
Instant-On, Redundancy and FlashBAK, these are a few of the advanced features offered in the LA-XP2 that are enabling advanced automotive systems.