FPGA Prototype - Why Prototyping Is Important

Why Prototyping Is Important

1. Running a SoC design on FPGA prototype is a reliable way to ensure that it is functionally correct. This is compared to designers only relying on software simulations to verify that their hardware design is sound. About a third of all current SoC designs are fault-free during first silicon pass, with nearly half of all re-spins caused by functional logic errors. A single prototyping platform can provide verification for hardware, firmware, and application software design functionality before the first silicon pass.
2. Time-to-Market (TTM) period is shrinking: In today's technological driven society, new products are introduced rapidly, and failing to have a product ready at a given market window, can cost a company a considerable amount of revenue. If a product is released too late of a market window, then the product could be rendered useless, costing the company its investment capital in the product. After the design process, FPGAs are ready for production, while standard cell ASICs take more than six months to reach production.
3. Development Cost: Development cost of 90-nm ASIC/SoC design tape-out is around $20 million, with a mask set costing over $1 million alone. Development costs of 45-nm designs are expected to top $40 million. With increasing cost of mask sets, and the continuous decrease of IC size, minimizing the number of re-spins is vital to the development process.