Computer Aided Design Tools for FPGA Exploration

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Over the past 50 years, advances in Integrated Circuit fabrication technology have enabled society to progress faster than ever before. As integration continues its exponential progress, however, the complexity of the underlying fabrication technology, the expertise required to exploit it, and the financial risks associated with each deployment have also grown at an exponential rate. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have become the implementation medium of choice for many of these crucial applications of digital circuits. FPGAs can be configured to implement any circuit, allowing designers to immediately test designs without the cost, risk and delay of producing a fully-customized chip. They provide companies with large-scale integration without requiring access to a state-of-the-art chip fabrication plant. This is crucial; the cost of building an integrated circuit is rising dramatically, and is far out of reach for most small and medium sized Canadian electronics companies. Without FPGAs, these companies will be unable to economically produce equipment that can compete with their counterparts internationally.