***NOTE: This is to be a Feature Product—TW***
SoC FPGAs Integrate ARM Processor and FPGA into 28-nm Single-Chip Solution
Altera has introduced a family of what in these pages have been dubbed application services
platforms (ASPs) and what it is calling SoCFPGAs. These are devices that integtrate a hardwired microprocessor and its most common peripherals onto the same die with an FPGA fabric
to form a programmable and configurable system on chip (SoC). The new Altera family
integrates a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor with Altera’s 28-nm Cyclone V and
Arri V FPGA fabrics. Since the integration is on a single die, the ARM portion is produced in the
same 28-nm process. The devices include error correcting code (ECC) protected memory
controllers and high-bandwidth interconnect.
The CycloneV and ArriaV SoC FPGAs feature a processor system with a dual-core 800 MHz
ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor, NEON media processing engine, single/double-precision
floating point unit, L1 and L2 caches, ECC-protected memory controllers, ECC-protected
scratchpad memory and a wide range of commonly used peripherals. The processor system can
deliver 4,000 DMIPS peak performance for less than 1.8 watts. The processor system and FPGA
fabric are powered independently and can be configured and booted in any order. Once in
operation, the FPGA portion can be powered down as needed to conserve system power.
The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor system and FPGA are interconnected by high
throughput data paths, providing over 125-Gbit/s peak bandwidth with integrated data
coherency. This level of performance is not possible in two-chip solutions because an integrated
single-chip SoC FPGA allows board designers to eliminate the external I/O paths between a
processor and an FPGA, eliminating latency and providing significant system power savings.
The CycloneV and ArriaV SoC FPGAs are based on a low-power 28-nm process (28LP). These
families feature embedded transceivers that operate up to 5 Gbit/s and 10 Gbit/s respectively.
The FPGA fabric includes variable-precision DSP blocks and up to three ECC-protected memory
controllers.
The CycloneV SoC FPGAs feature up to 110K logic elements (LEs) and provide low system
cost and power along with performance levels that make the devices suitable for differentiating
high-volume applications, including next-generation industrial drive on a chip, advanced driver
assistance and video surveillance. The ArriaV SoC FPGAs balance cost and performance while
delivering the lowest total power for mid-range applications. The devices feature up to 460K LEs
and are suitable for meeting the higher performance requirements in applications that include
remote radio heads, LTE base stations and multi-function printers.
Altera’s SoC FPGAs enable both hardware and software teams to use common tools and
development flows that support both the Cortex-A9 MPCore processor and the FPGA. Designers
can create custom peripherals and hardware accelerators using Altera’s Quartus II software and
integrate them with the processor system using Altera’s Qsys system integration tool. Qsys
accelerates the hardware design process by automatically generating interconnect logic to
connect intellectual property (IP) functions and subsystems. Qsys automatically generates an
FPGA-optimized network-on-a-chip (NoC) interconnect, delivering higher performance,
enabling improved design reuse and providing faster verification. Qsys supports industrystandard interfaces including Avalon Memory-Mapped, Avalon Streaming and AMBA AXI from
ARM, enabling users to leverage and reuse IP cores with multiple interfaces in a single design.
Because SoC FPGAs are based on the standard ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor, they are
compatible with the existing ARM software ecosystem
Embedded software developers can get started immediately writing device-specific application
software targeting Altera’s SoC FPGAs leveraging the SoC FPGA Virtual Target, which is
available for purchase now. SoC FPGA silicon will be available the second half of 2012
followed by reference designs and development boards. Pricing will start at less than $15 in high
volumes.
Altera, San Jose, CA. (408) 544-7000. [www.altera.com]
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