Reliable laser programmable gate array technology

Zhuo Gao, Ji Luo, Hu Huang, Wei Zhang, J. B. Bernstein

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Field-programmable gate arrays have become popular ever since their introduction. Compared to other digital circuit implementation media, they have lower non-recurring engineering (NRE) cost and rapid turnaround with the penalties of reduced speed and larger size. Thus better FPGA programmable switch technology is desired in order to gain speed and density advantages. In this paper, laser-induced MakeLink™ technology is proposed as a programmable switch element. The electrical resistance is as low as 0.8 Ω to 11 Ω, depending on the size of the link, which is 2-3 orders smaller than that of NMOS transistor in a SRAM based FPGA. Thus the speed improvement for laser field-programmable gate array (LFPGA) is significant. Other features of laser-induced vertical links technology, such as small size and radiation hardness, can also greatly improve the FPGA performance. The cluster-based LFPGA with 128 by 64 basic logic elements (BLE) is laid out under a 0.5 μm commercialized technology. The chip size is about 138 mm2.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 2002 3rd International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design, ISQED 2002
PublisherIEEE Computer Society
Pages252-256
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)0769515614
DOIs
StatePublished - 2002
Externally publishedYes
Event3rd International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design, ISQED 2002 - San Jose, United States
Duration: 18 Mar 200221 Mar 2002

Publication series

NameProceedings - International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design, ISQED
Volume2002-January
ISSN (Print)1948-3287
ISSN (Electronic)1948-3295

Conference

Conference3rd International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design, ISQED 2002
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Jose
Period18/03/0221/03/02

Keywords

  • Costs
  • Digital circuits
  • Electric resistance
  • Field programmable gate arrays
  • Logic
  • MOSFETs
  • Optical arrays
  • Random access memory
  • Reliability engineering
  • Switches

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Reliable laser programmable gate array technology'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this