Microprocessor Design/FPGA

Microprocessor Design

For more information about FPGAs, Verilog and VHDL, see Programmable Logic.

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) are programmable logic elements. FPGAs can be designed using a hardware description language (HDL) such as Verilog or VHDL, and that design can be mapped to a hardware design by the HDL synthesizer. FPGAs are the successors of their previous similar components, PLAs and PALs, used at the first steps of the programmable logic era.

An FPGA

FPGAs are quick to design, and because they are reprogrammable, troubleshooting is quick and easy.

FPGAs are useful for designing microcontrollers, which is why we have discussed HDL implementations of various components in the text of this book. In this chapter we will will discuss the implementation of a microcontroller in HDL, and some of the consequences of that implementation.

Dozens of FPGA CPU designs are available for download and tinkering. An appendix to this book, Microprocessor Design/Resources, lists details on how to get them.