Real Time Group

FPGA and Programmable devices

The growing market of programmable devices as FPGA's and CPLD's has produced the need for skilled HW engineers that can cope with ongoing development of new devices and technologies.

FPGA's have grown in past ten years in number of gates and memory capacity and can handle very large designs that were in the past implemented in ASIC's only.

According to MOORE's law device size doubles every 18 months. PFGA's include beside logic elements, other utilities as DSP blocks, high performances clocking features and a variety of memories.

FPGA's host many CPU types that can be designed according to a specific embedded environment. FPGA's are now in the core of every design, they offer a quick solution for system architects that require descending Time to Market and reliability.

Designing FPGA's requires a skilled HW engineer that can cope with developing environment of design and synthesis tools and new devices merging every quarter. Beside FPGA design skills, FPGA designers must have other HW skills and many fields as electrical board design real time engineering and specific knowledge as networking or DSP.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

Electrical and computer engineers, HW designers, that want to become FPGA designers.

FPGA COURSE GOALS

Train Hardware engineers from various fields with to become FPGA designers with hands on experience of design tools and most common design environments that are used in the industry.

Help graduates find a position in the FPGA design growing market, assist students before interviews to increase chances of finding a job.

COURSE CONTENT

FPGA DESIGN CORSE includes all topics hardware engineer needs to accomplish successful FPGA design.  Course includes background information, and specific languages and up to date design tools. Below are listed the topics that are taught in the course.

DIGITAL DESGIN CONCEPTS :

1. Basic logic elements.
2. Combinatorial logic design.
3. State machines.
4. Clock division.
5. Communication circuits.
6. Memories – types and technologies.

FPGAS and CPLD Technology:

1. Where to use what.
2. Device architecture.
3. Internal structure.
4. Logic elements and internal modules.
5. FPGA Interconnectivity.

HDL- Hardware Description languages:

1. VERILOG & VHDL – Intensive learning of both languages including class practice and home drills.
2. Writing test benches.
3. Verification methodology.
4. Code convention and design rules.
5. Simulators- Modelsim.

Design Skills:

1. Study design skills – prepare Design documents DR, PDR, CDR.
2. Data sheet – device selection and understanding content.
3. Block diagrams top-down and bottom up design.
4. DFT-Design for testability.

Common Interfaces:

1. Study and practice common industrial interfaces RS232, I2C, MDIO, nMII, SPI, Data flow interfaces.
2. CPU interfaces.
3. Real-time/Embedded design considerations.
4. Memory interface design.

Networking issues:

1. PLL usage.
2. Transceivers design.
3. Packet processors.
4. CRC calculation.
5. Parity calculation-BIP/BIP8.
6. FIFO Design and usage : S&F vs. Write through.
7. Memory management – Policing/Shaping.
8. Traffic management.
9. DATA Throughput calculations – backpressure and feedback.

FPGA DESIGN TOOLS:

1. Quartus II IDE- intensive usage skills.
2. Compiling designs to devices.
3. Evaluation board usage.
4. Timing issues and considerations.
5. Debug tools-Signal Tap/Chip Scope.
6. Jitter/Wander/Skew.
7. Clock speed selection.

PROJECTS

Personal/Pair project as a conclusive course task that can be presented as personal experience.

Class project – Simulate a team project where each student takes part as a team member, with responsibility on one block.