When unit volumes are low, Field Programmable Gate Arrays are frequently the greatest end-game for today's product companies. They can be the quickest road to initial product proof of concept or even full production. By providing real-time software debugging solutions for embedded SoC solutions, FPGAs can also help to reduce risk. When developing even the simplest FPGAs, however, caution and dedication are required to treat the design and verification processes with the same rigour as their custom-mask counterparts. Because the FPGA contains far too much logic (and IP) to test from pins in your lab (because to a lack of controllability and observability), the chip must be designed to perform correctly the first time — within the target system.
FPGAs are frequently recommended and incorporated by Fiori as a vital component of an end-game bespoke SoC. Because processors allow software to function on these systems, the sooner the software team can start booting up the system and testing their algorithms on real hardware, the faster the product will reach the market. Furthermore, genuine prototypes can be used to demonstrate system functioning and tune performance during funding and budget cycles.
The market for FPGAs is shifting. Low-power, high-performance, and low-cost FPGAs are increasingly being used in applications that were previously only supported by ASSP/SoCs.
Due to the increasing size and complexity of FPGA devices, hardware designers confront a number of obstacles and require the appropriate tools and methodologies to finish their designs. The Synopsys FPGA Platform is a design, verification, and debug solution that teaches developers how to detect and repair errors earlier in the design process. The use of a combination of upfront verification planning, static and formal verification, simulation, synthesis, and debug can help reduce time-to-revenue and reduce schedule risks.
Fiori's FPGA prototyping and ASIC emulation / prototyping reduces risks and accelerates ASIC development. FPGA prototype (also known as ASIC prototyping or ASIC emulation) is putting a piece or the entire ASIC design into an FPGA to test its operation. This method is very useful for locating features that are either crucial or impossible to verify via simulation.
Revising an ASIC to fix damaged functionality is an extremely expensive operation due to the high non-recurring cost of creating an ASIC.
Fiori's team of experts can assist you with ASIC prototype, including platform selection and the conversion of your ASIC-targeted RTL into FPGA-compatible RTL (memory migration, clocks handling, etc.).
Fiori specializes in RTL to GDSII flow conversions using both Cadence and Synopsys. We not only employ a staff of dedicated subject matter experts with extensive knowledge in the physical design flow and techniques crucial to obtaining optimum performance, power, and area, but we also maintain a leading EDA infrastructure for physical design (PPA).
Our tried-and-true processes and procedures ensure that the design passes through a variety of foundry-specific DRCs, LVSs, and ERCs exactly, avoiding several revisions and keeping the project on track.
