Embedded FPGAs seen surging

Embedded FPGAs seen surging
By George Leopold, EE Times
January 13, 2003 (11:49 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20030113S0023

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The nascent embedded FPGA market should remain immune to the impact of the recent semiconductor industry slide while continuing to attract investment, a market reseacher said.

In-Stat/MDR reported in a study released Monday (Jan.13) that embedded FPGA technology remains in the early stages of development and is thus more likely to survive the downturn seen in other market segments like DRAMs. The situation has been aided by continuing strong investment in technology development, the market researcher found.

Citing IBM Corp.'s recent licensing of Xilinx's SRAM-based FPGA core, In-Stat analyst Jerry Worchel concluded that “embedded FPGA technology will be well on its way to recovery and growth” by the first part of 2003.

The market for cell-based designs containing blocks of embedded FPGAs is forecast to reach more than $600 million by 2006, the researchers said. That means compound annual growth rates during the period co uld top 190 percent. Communications applications could lead the way, especially for networking and telecommunications infrastructure applications.

Moreover, the researcher forecast that the flash architecture could dominate consumption of embedded FPGAs. The SRAM approach could also gain ground, Worchel added.