Energy-effiecient low-cost FPGAs

现代社会正处于一场充斥着手机、iPod、互联网、平板电视和手持电脑的数字电子革命之中。现场可编程门阵列(FGA)是可编程半导体芯片，是这场革命的一部分，并有望在10年内出现在每一件电子设备中。现场可编程门阵列的快速增长源于如今允许数十亿个晶体管安装在一块芯片上的技术规模。技术的每一次进步都与迅速升级的复杂性联系在一起，以至于制造一块定制芯片现在需要花费数千万美元，除了少数几家大公司外，其他所有公司都负担不起。现场可编程门阵列提供了获取先进半导体技术的廉价途径，允许从小型初创企业到大型工业到学术界的各种创新。

Modern society is in the midst of a digital electronics revolution replete with cell phones, iPods, internet, flat-panel TVs and hand-held computers. Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are programmable semiconductor chips that are part of that revolution, and poised to be present in every piece of electronic equipment within 10 years. The rapid growth of FPGAs stems from technology scaling that today allows billions of transistors to fit onto a single chip. Each advance in technology is tied to rapidly escalating complexity, such that building a custom chip now costs tens of millions of dollars, and is out of reach for all but a few large companies. FPGAs provide inexpensive access to advanced semiconductor technology, allowing innovation to happen across the spectrum, from small start-ups, to large industry to academia.