FPGAworld'2010 - Munich

Key Note Speech

Speeker: Jim Robinson, Snr. Director: FPGA Implementation and Core Technology at Synopsys
Title: FPGA Trends . . . and what can we do about them?
Abstract:
The FPGA vendor’s mantra has always been” bigger, faster, cheaper” but at each leap forward, new challenges are faced by tool developers and FPGA users alike.
Bigger: For the last 20 years, as each new family of FPGAs has been introduced, the cry has gone up, “who on earth is going to need XXX* gates and how do you fill that anyway!?” (* insert any number which seems quaintly small these days). And yet, last year’s unmanageable Behemoth quickly become this year’s mainstream device. At each step the tools, IP and methodology have risen to the challenge. How are we facing the challenge of 5 million gate devices and beyond? Do I hear you say “who on earth is going to need 5 million gates and how do you fill that anyway!?”
Faster: Maximising the performance of FPGAs is not just about raw silicon geometry. Realizable performance has always been a matter of reducing the number of blocks in a path and interconnect between them, plus optimising the placement and routing of those blocks in the final device. A re-entrant flow of synthesis, placement and routing delivers higher performance and is becoming mainstream technology. What is the roadmap for maintaining performance benefits in device families which are increasingly created to meet power goals, rather than raw performance?
Cheaper: That’s not really a problem, is it? Well no but . . . some corners are inevitably cut during an FPGA family’s creation in order to provide the lowest cost silicon. Selected blocks may have less functionality, some routing may be sacrificed here, buffer strength may be trimmed there. Each compromise puts pressure on the tools to maintain performance and capacity. What technologies are possible to help balance the cost, power and performance equation? This keynote speech will provide unique insight into the development and direction of FPGA methodology of the future.

Jim Robinson Sr. Director FPGA Implementation Tools & Core Technology.
Jim Robinson joined Synopsys in May 2008 with the acquisition of Synplicity. He is responsible for the development of Synopsys FPGA implementation tools, and core SW technologies used by the Confirma™ rapid prototyping software. He has 13 years of experience developing tools for Designers implementing FPGAs in production products and for Engineers using FPGAs to prototype ASIC Designs. Prior to joining Synplicity in 1997, Jim worked for Intel Corporation for 13 years in Design and Verification Engineering roles and he also worked for Quickturn Design Systems as an Applications Engineer consulting with customers on their ASIC emulation projects.

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