CPLD Trends

Earlier this year AMD announced the discontinuation of a number of small FPGA device families as well as its only currently active CPLD device family, the CoolRunner II¹. 

These devices are used for logic consolidation to reduce the number of parts and PCB board space in applications, like portable devices where smaller product size and lower weight are essential. They are also used in system monitoring and safety systems where safety / interlock logic needs to be active at power-up, such as an automated assembly line or a medical device. Their general-purpose utility makes them candidates for a wide range of applications across different types of devices including those used in the industrial, automotive, medical and consumer sectors.

With the obsolescence of the CoolRunner II device family, AMD no longer has any product offerings for flash-based CPLD or small FPGAs. The AMD Spartan 6 (which requires legacy IDE tools) or the Spartan 7 are the smallest FPGA devices in their product portfolios. These devices are SRAM-based and require an external configuration device or an external processor to store the configuration bitstream.

Intel still has some presence in the flash-based CPLD/FPGA device market with the MAX V and MAX 10 device families. The MAX V launched in 2010 and is not recommended for new designs. That leaves only the MAX 10 device family, which only has BGA-based packages (excluding wafer-scale products).

It has been a trend with the largest FPGA vendors (AMD, and Intel) to focus on larger FPGA devices that include various levels of integration of hard-core blocks and to leave the smaller FPGA / CPLD market to other FPGA vendors.

There are still many applications where flash-based programmable devices with logic resources from a few hundred to a few thousand registers and look-up-tables, in a variety of package options, are needed. These applications include support for legacy designs using the CoolRunner II and new designs where logic consolidation, small device packages and single voltage rail operation are needed.

The Lattice MachX02 devices² are well positioned to fill the flash-based CPLD/FPGA device gap for replacement of CoolRunner II devices in legacy designs and for new designs. The MachX02 device family supports logic densities from 256 to almost 7000 look-up-tables and includes several package options including QFN, TQFP and BGAs. The QFN32 and QFN48 are a good match where PCB space is limited. The TQFP100 and TQFP144 provide higher pinout options for designs that are avoiding a BGA package. The BGA package options include 0.5 mm, 0.8 mm and 1.00 mm pitch devices up to 484-balls.

Since the MachX02 device family is a ‘cross-over’ device, it has a good mixture of CPLD and FPGA features that are well suited for many applications. Lattice’s commitment to long product life cycles also provides the assurance of availability for the long run.

Over the past 20 years Nuvation has implemented CPLD and small FPGA designs for a wide range of applications. In size-constrained applications, these devices reduce PCB board space by consolidating logic components within a single device. We have also used these devices in applications that require a large number of signals or more serial peripherals than are available on typical microcontrollers. These devices are also useful as a bridge between a microcontroller and sensors and actuators with non-standard interfaces (i.e. ADCs with LVDS interfaces) that are not typically included in microcontroller devices.

Flash-based CPLDs and small FPGAs provide functionality very soon after power-up without any external intervention. This is often an essential requirement of safety / monitoring systems. These devices provide safety / interlock control logic and timing / sequencing logic for applications with precise event timing. CPLDs and small FPGAs are important design elements for many applications.

Nuvation is a member of the Intel Programmable Solutions Group and the AMD Adaptive Computing Partner Program. We have extensive experience with both Intel and AMD FPGA devices across a wide range of applications. We also have experience with Lattice devices and design tools.

Contact Us if you need help with a CoolRunner II replacement project or new projects that could benefit from a CPLD or small FPGA device.

¹January 29, 2024. Product Discontinuation Notice for XC9500XL, CoolRunner XPLA 3, CoolRunner II, Spartan II, and Spartan 3, 3A, 3AN, 3E, 3ADSP Product Families. AMD Technical Information Portal. Retrieved 2024-06-11 from https://docs.amd.com/v/u/en-US/XCN23009.

²Mach X02; Bridging and I/O expansion versatility. Rapid hardware acceleration for improved signal control. Lattice Semiconductor website. Retrieved 2024-06-11 from https://www.latticesemi.com/Products/FPGAandCPLD/MachXO2.