RTC 10 v3

Once relegated to mundane roles as glue logic—linking the CPUs, memory and I/O in computerbased systems—field-programmable gate arrays are moving into prime time. Today’s leading FPGA products boast multi-million gate counts, I/O pins in the high hundreds and true system chip-level functionality including embedded CPUs. As they continue to bulk up in all these directions, they’re evolving into subsystems in their own right. Bringing that trend to its full potential involves more than just the innovations of the FPGA vendors themselves. OEM board and system-level companies also play a part in placing FPGAs into new system roles.