Lattice launches smallest fpga, targets new markets
1 min read
Lattice Semiconductor has launched the iCE40 LP384 fpga, the smallest member of its iCE40 family. The device is intended to help designers to add new features and to develop differentiated products. The company believes the device will find application in such markets as portable medical monitors, smartphones, digital cameras, eReaders and compact embedded systems.
The LP384, manufactured on a 40nm process, features 384 look up tables and has a static power consumption of 25µW. A range of packages is available, with the smallest measuring 2.5 x 2.5mm, with a migration path to 2 x 2mm available. Bearing in mind its target markets, Lattice is making the part available for less than 50cents in high volume.
Brent Przybus, senior director of corporate and product marketing, said the introduction recognised that system size is shrinking and that designers were having to offer more in smaller products. "There's lots of data handling and lots of functions that require hardware processing," he noted. "And power consumption is important because these devices are battery powered."
The acquisition of Silicon Blue, which developed the iCE family, has allowed Lattice to look to new markets. "We will be different to the other companies and looking at markets which they aren't," he told New Electronics. "We're looking to put fpgas in the hands of companies that haven't been able to use the technology before by making them easier to use and removing the barrier to entry."
