FPGA : Field Programmable Gate Array, which is a product of further development on the basis of programmable devices such as PAL, GAL, and CPLD. It emerged as a semi-custom circuit in the field of application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), which not only solves the shortcomings of custom circuits, but also overcomes the shortcomings of the limited number of original programmable device gates.
FPGA is too specialized and expensive, and its application fields are not wide. General military units or scientific research institutes, such places that are not sensitive to cost, use FPGA more.
Although FPGA is easy to get started, it is difficult to go upstairs. It is not enough to understand a few gate circuits. This requires good mathematics and knowing how to do algorithms. This is the essence. FPGA is just a tool, what to do with FPGA is the key point, not just limited to writing logic and drawing boards.
FPGA also has relatively higher requirements for logical thinking. Simulation and online debugging are more time-consuming and complicated than embedded software, and the growth cycle is long. Moreover, if the technical level wants to reach a certain height, it is closely related to the company's project, the people who lead you, and the level of effort. .
FPGA application scenarios
1) Applied to the field of data collection
Since most of the signals in nature are analog signals, the data acquisition function can be realized in the signal processing system. For the relatively common low-speed A/D and D/A converters, other standard interfaces or communication can be used for processing, but for high-speed If the A/D and D/A converters are used, the general signal processor will not work, and FPGA can only be used for data acquisition.
2) Apply to the logical interface field
In the traditional chip design, in the data communication with PC, there are too many interfaces needed to ensure the quality of signal transmission, resulting in relatively large chip size and energy consumption, which is not conducive to efficient transmission.
3) Applied to the level interface field
In the environment where new technologies are constantly emerging, in the application of electronic products, level standards must also be continuously changed to meet the update requirements of electronic products. In this extremely mixed level environment, traditional electrical The flat interface cannot meet the needs of the circuit, resulting in higher and higher complexity of the circuit, and FPGA can support the existence of multiple levels, and applying FPGA to the level interface can reduce a lot of unnecessary troubles.
Which prospect is better for FPGA and IC design?
The job requirements of FPGA engineers are mainly divided into two types. One is to do product design, and to do design and development directly on FPGA. The ultimate goal is to bring products related to fpga design to market.
The second is to specialize in fpga prototype verification, which is to perform functional verification on the FPGA for the functions in the ASIC design to ensure that the ASIC development functions are normal. This is mainly for testing, and the design will not be promoted as the final product, because the final The product is an ASIC chip.
From front-end design, verification, synthesis, DFT to back-end, ASIC engineers have corresponding responsibility requirements for each process position. The skills and knowledge reserves required for each position are also different, and it is necessary to cooperate with each other to ensure the design. The correctness of any link may lead to the failure of the entire project.
Therefore, the talents required for ASIC design need to be cautious and patient. Only by taking into account the errors that may occur in various aspects can the correctness of the process be guaranteed.
Although the current development prospects of FPGA engineers are indeed good, there is still a certain gap compared with ASIC design engineers. First of all, the market demand for FPGA engineers is not as large as that of ASIC design engineers. FPGA engineers are not scarce in the market, and many people are even in college. When you buy an FPGA board for thousands of dollars, you can develop it yourself.
From the perspective of job demand, ASIC engineers have a greater demand for talents, and the related skill requirements are relatively high, so the salary is also relatively high.
FPGA Engineer Salary
( More big factory salary analysis is available at the end of the article)
Tsinghua Unigroup:
Jingwei Qili
Fudan Microelectronics
Generally speaking, the threshold for FPGA talents is relatively high, and the average salary is relatively high. Before you get started, you may wish to learn more about salary, market conditions, employment and study-related matters with industry engineers. (IC company salary situation documents can be shared)
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