Xcell Journal: The authoritative journal for programmable ... - Xilinx

function at smaller screen sizes up to common
intermediate format (CIF) resolutions,
but to go beyond this to standard
definition (SD) or high definition (HD)
requires the performance of a Xilinx FPGA
to perform some of the more math-intensive
functions (such as motion estimation)
in conjunction with a programmable video
processor. Our DSP capability makes
Xilinx the technology of choice for these
new demanding applications.
For years the only other solution for these
very high performance DSP applications
was custom devices – ASICs. Yet ASICs take
far longer to design, cost much more to
develop, cannot easily be modified to meet
changing requirements, and are risky because
of their complexity. Xilinx programmable
devices and development tools provide a far
better solution with less overall cost.
Today, the high-performance FPGAbased
DSP market alone is worth more
than $200 million, and we have over 80%
of that market. According to market estimates,
the DSP market addressable by
FPGAs is expected to grow to more than
$3 billion by 2007. So, as you can see, the
future looks very bright for Xilinx as the
demand for very high performance DSP
continues to grow. We are well positioned
to provide the devices, the development
tools, and the support services to meet this
growing demand.
Embedded Processing
We are relatively new to the embedded processing
market – three years ago we introduced
our Virtex-II Pro family, which
includes an embedded hard-core IBM
PowerPC processor. Although it took
awhile for the idea to catch on, we now have
thousands of design wins using our embedded
processors. And in addition to the
PowerPC processor, we now offer our 32-bit
MicroBlaze and the 8-bit PicoBlaze
soft-core processors. All of these embedded
processors work together, using the same
peripherals and IP, so you can easily create
complete high-performance, multi-processor
systems on a single low-cost chip.
The total embedded processor market is
very fragmented because there are multiple
architectures and multiple operating sys-
V I E W F R O M T H E T O P
tems. Customers tend to stay with a known
architecture because of their long-term software
investment – no one wants to re-code
and re-port their designs to a new architecture.
That’s one reason why we chose the
PowerPC as our high-performance processor,
because (except for cell phones and
video games) it is the one most used in our
industry, and it is well supported by both
IBM and Motorola. Capturing even a relatively
small percentage of this $15 billion
market would mean significant revenue for
Xilinx. Many embedded processing customers
are beginning to realize the benefits
of our technology – and we’ve only started
to focus on this market segment.
Because our MicroBlaze and PicoBlaze
processors are created as soft cores, they are
very flexible and extensible. Plus, they are
fast enough to meet the needs of many
applications, very inexpensively. Combined
with our high-performance PowerPC
processor, they form an unbeatable alliance
that can handle the most demanding applications
with ease, all on a single programmable
device.
Our processor strategy is to provide a
range of embedded processors, all using
the same peripherals and IP, all working
together seamlessly on a single chip, and
working seamlessly with our DSP and
logic functions. Thus you can build and
simulate very complex systems and produce
production-ready designs faster than
ever before. Then, as your requirements
change or as design errors are uncovered,
you can quickly modify your design and
resume production without losing customers.
That’s the power of programmability;
that’s what Xilinx does best. The
advantages are enormous.
Focusing on the Future
Our original focus was on supporting logic
designers – the traditional customers for our
devices. However, DSP and embedded processing
designers are very different from logic
designers; they use different tools, they have
different needs and expectations, and they
approach their designs in different ways. For
example, DSP designers usually work with
algorithms such as Fast Fourier Transforms
and FIR filters; embedded processing design-
ers work with high-level languages such as C
or C++, while logic designers usually work in
VHDL or Verilog. Although the final
implementation is in an FPGA, the design
approach is very different for each of these
customers, and thus we must support these
customers in different ways.
Therefore, to ensure that we are addressing
the needs of each market segment, I
decided to create two new divisions within
Xilinx; one to focus on the DSP market
and one to focus on the embedded processing
market. Each new division, headed by a
vice president, will focus on providing the
development tools, devices, IP (cores), support
services, and marketing functions to
fully capitalize on these growing technologies.
We intend to be the leader in all of
these key programmable technologies.
Conclusion
Xilinx is the only company that can bring
all these programmable technologies
together in a single device, giving you a
tremendous advantage in performance,
cost, and time to market. If you do a system-on-chip
design in an ASIC, it will
require tens of millions of dollars in upfront
(NRE) investment, and ASIC designs
are risky because you not only have to do
the logic design – you must also do the
physical design. This can only be justified
for high-volume, low-cost applications.
With Xilinx you can do a system-onchip
design with no NRE. And because the
chip itself is already designed and
debugged, you don’t need to worry about
physical design issues such as crosstalk and
power distribution. All you need to do is
develop the logic design, which can be
quick and easy using our growing family of
IP and development tools that solve many
complex design problems for you.
Basically, now we can offer a systemon-chip
for the masses, because now we
have the advantages of an ASIC in a flexible
and programmable device. Now you
can create a single chip that includes DSP
and embedded processors, along with IP
and custom logic, for much less cost and
no risk. All these programmable technologies,
available on a single device, give you
a significant advantage.
Winter 2004 Xcell Journal 7