1. Low power consumption with Flash-based technology

To begin with, PLDs are broadly categorized into the following technologies:

a. Antifuse

b. UV erasable type (EPROM)

c. Electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM, Flash memory, etc.)

d. Static memory (SRAM)

c and d are programming technologies widely used in current FPGAs.

Next, a comparison of FPGA routing technologies is shown below.

SRAM becomes volatile and requires programming from an external configuration ROM. SRAM-based FPGA and Flash-based FPGA have lower power consumption due to the difference in cell structure. How are the cell structures different? Let's compare a competitive SRAM cell with Microchip's Flash cell.

As you can see from the structure of the SRAM cell, six transistors are used to configure one SRAM cell. A Flash cell, on the other hand, consists of a single transistor. The leakage current of each transistor in an SRAM cell is more than six times that of a Flash cell, resulting in very high static power consumption, including leakage current differences due to manufacturing processes. This is the difference from SRAM-based FPGAs, and one of the main reasons why Flash-based FPGAs have low power consumption.

At this point, some of you may be thinking, "Huh? Vendors other than Microchip also have Flash-based FPGAs." That's right. Vendors other than Microchip also have Flash-based FPGAs.

However, the structure inside the FPGA is different. Below is a structural comparison of Flash-based FPGAs.

As mentioned above, other companies' Flash-based FPGAs use Flash for configuration memory, but SRAM for logic cell/wiring storage elements. In comparison, Microchip's FPGA uses Flash as the storage element for logic cells/wiring, eliminating the need for memory for configuration.

As I mentioned earlier, there is a large difference in power consumption between SRAM cells and Flash cells. Even with the same Flash-based FPGA, Microchip's FPGA can achieve lower power consumption.

In addition, since no configuration is required, you get the following benefits:

• fast boot
• Reduction of inrush current
• Reduced power consumption during configuration

The figure below shows the rise time and power consumption after power-on for SRAM base and Flash base.

Compared to SRAM-based systems, Flash-based systems can reduce the inrush current that occurs when the power is turned on, and because they do not require configuration, they can start up faster.

As for 2., it's very simple.

2. Transceiver optimization

Other companies' FPGAs use Transceivers designed for High-end products also for Midrange products, so Transceivers are designed to support high-speed frequency bands. In other words, a large amount of power is consumed even in the frequency band used by Midrange products.

In comparison, Microchip's FPGA has a Transceiver optimized for the frequency band used in Midrange products. For example, in Microchip's latest mid-range FPGA, PolarFire, the Transceiver is optimized for operation at frequencies up to 12.7 Gbps and achieves low power consumption.

Seeing is believing.

Below is a graph comparing power consumption in order to see what we have introduced so far.

As mentioned above, Microchip's FPGA can reduce power consumption by up to 50% compared to other companies. You can see that Microchip's FPGA has overwhelmingly low static and Transceiver power consumption compared to other companies.