What's Really Behind the Adoption of eFPGA?

By Andy Jaros, VP of Flex Logix

System companies are taking a more proactive role in codesigning their hardware and software roadmaps, so it’s no surprise that they are also driving the adoption of embedded FPGAs (eFPGA.)

But why and why has it taken so long?

Today, most system companies leverage FPGAs to offload intensive compute workloads from the main processor or provide broader IO capability than any packaged ASIC can support. In these examples, the FPGA is used to connect any hard wired accelerator to the ASIC processor subsystem or facilitates the connection between the ASIC and the system’s bus. By definition, the FPGA is universal as it is a blank programmable fabric regardless if it’s from Intel, Xilinx, Lattice, etc., which makes it invaluable to system companies who can’t get the functionality they really need or want from their semiconductor partner. Plus, they get the added benefit that they don’t have to share their proprietary circuitry with their semiconductor partner or other companies in the supply chain.

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