Embedded Systems Design with Platform FPGAs

2

The Target

“What is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”

Lewis Carroll

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)

The intention of this book is to show how to build embedded systems where the FPGA is the central computing device. The goal is not to teach how to design and fabricate an FPGA or show how to develop computer-aided design (CAD) tools for FPGA devices. Nonetheless, to meet the complex performance metrics described in the previous chapter, a good system designer has to understand how the programmable logic devices are manufactured, their basic electrical characteristics, and their general architectures. Unfortunately, the 10,000-meter view of FPGA devices of the first chapter is insufficient. Certain ...