Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Intrasystem connection – Bus interface architecture
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-06
2003-10-21
Dharia, Rupal (Department: 2181)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Intrasystem connection
Bus interface architecture
C710S107000, C712S011000, C712S013000, C326S040000, C326S041000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06636930
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture. More particularly, the present invention relates to structures for coupling routing resources to one another in an FPGA architecture.
2. The Background Art
In the FPGA art, both antifuse based programmable architectures and SRAM based reprogrammable architectures are well known. In an FPGA, the logic elements in the gate array are connected together by routing resources to form a desired integrated circuit. The routing resources are connected to each other and to the logic elements in the gate array by programmable elements. In a antifuse based device, the number of the programmable elements far exceeds the number of elements in an SRAM based device because the area required for an antifuse is much smaller than an SRAM bit. Despite this space disadvantage of an SRAM based device, SRAM based devices are implemented because they are reprogrammble, whereas an antifuse device is presently one-time programmable.
Due to the area required for an SRAM bit, a reprogrammble SRAM bit cannot be provided to connect routing resources to each other and the logic elements at every desired location. The selection of only a limited number of locations for connecting the routing resources with one another and the logic elements is termed “depopulation”. Because the capability to place and route a wide variety of circuits in an FPGA depends upon the availability of routing and logic resources, the selection of the locations at which the programmable elements should be made with great care.
Some of the difficulties faced in the place and route caused by depopulation may be alleviated by creating symmetries in the FPGA. For example, look-up tables (LUT) are often employed at the logic level in an SRAM based FPGA, because a LUT has perfect symmetry among its inputs. The need for greater symmetry in a reprogrammable FPGA architecture does not end with the use of look-up tables. It also extends to the manner in which routing resources are connected together and the manner in which routing resources are connected to the logic elements. Without a high degree of symmetry in the architecture, the SRAM memory bit depopulation makes the place and route of nets in an SRAM based FPGA difficult.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide structures for connecting the routing resources in an FPGA to one another to improve the symmetry in the FPGA architecture.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to aspects of a semi-hierarchical architecture in an FPGA having top, middle and low levels. The FPGA architecture has structures for connecting the routing resources in the FPGA to one another and to the logic resources to improve the symmetry of the FPGA architecture and thereby increase the place and routability of an FPGA.
The top level of the architecture is an array of the B
16
×16 tiles arranged in a rectangular array and enclosed by I/O blocks on the periphery. On each of the four sides of a B
16
×16 tile, and also associated with each of the I/O blocks is a freeway routing channel. The width freeway routing channel in the rectangular array can be changed to accommodate different numbers of B
16
×16 tiles without disturbing the internal structure of the B
16
×16 tiles. The freeway routing channels can be extended in any combination of directions at each end by a freeway turn matrix (F-turn).
A B
16
×16 tile in the middle level of hierarchy is a sixteen by sixteen array of B
1
blocks. The B
16
×16 tile is a nesting of a B
2
×2 tile that includes a two by two array of four B
1
blocks. The B
2
×2 tiles are stepped into a four by four array of sixteen B
1
blocks in a B
4
×4 tile, and the B
4
×4 tiles are stepped into a eight by eight array of sixty-four B
1
blocks in B
8
×8 tile. A B
16
×16 tile includes four B
8
×8 tiles.
The routing resources in the middle level of hierarchy are expressway routing channels M
1
, M
2
, and M
3
including groups of interconnect conductors. The expressway routing chinnels M
1
, M
2
, and M
3
are segmented, and between each of the segments in the expressway routing channels M
1
, M
2
, and M
3
are disposed extensions that can extend the expressway routing channel M
1
, M
2
, or M
3
an identical distance along the same direction. The segments of an M
3
expressway routing channel is extended at the boundary of a B
16
×16 tile where an expressway routing channel M
3
crosses a freeway routing channel by an F-tab, and otherwise by an M
3
extension.
The expressway routing channels M
1
, M
2
, and M
3
run both vertically through every column and horizontally through every row of B
2
×2 tiles. At the intersections of each of the expressway routing channels M
1
, M
2
, and M
3
in the horizontal direction with the expressway routing channels M
1
, M
2
and M
3
in the vertical direction is an expressway turn (E-turn) disposed at the center of each B
2
×2 tile.
An E-turn is a passive device that includes a matrix of reprogrammable switches. The reprogrammable switches are preferably a pass device controlled by an SRAM bit. The interconnect conductors in the expressway routing channels M
1
, M
2
and M
3
that are fed into an E-turn may be coupled to many of the other interconnect conductors in the expressway routing channels M
1
, M
2
and M
3
that come into the E-turn by the programmable switches. Further, the interconnect conductors in the expressway routing channels M
1
, M
2
and M
3
that are fed into an E-turn continue in the same direction through the E-turn, even though the interconnect conductors are coupled to other interconnect conductors by the reprogrammable switches.
At the lowest level of the semi-hierarchical FPGA architecture, there are block connect (BC) routing channels, local mesh (LM) routing channels, and direct connect (DC) interconnect conductors.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5509128 (1996-04-01), Chan
patent: 5671432 (1997-09-01), Bertolet et al.
patent: 5815004 (1998-09-01), Trimberger et al.
patent: 6038627 (2000-03-01), Plants
patent: 6205533 (2001-03-01), Margolus
patent: 6268743 (2001-07-01), Kaptanoglu
patent: 6286093 (2001-09-01), Chang et al.
patent: 6338106 (2002-01-01), Vorbach et al.
Actel Corporation
Dharia Rupal
Ortiz Benjamin
Sierra Patent Group Ltd.
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