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programmablelogicZONE Products for the week of January 5, 2009
Lattice Semiconductor Says…
Small Form-Factor CPLDs are Ideal for High Volume Handheld Devices
ispMACH 4000ZE CPLDs boast 36% smaller footprint, targets high volume, ultra low power handheld designs
Lattice Semiconductor Corporation has announced two new, small footprint packages for its widely popular ispMACH 4000ZE CPLDs, (complex programmable logic devices), making them the best-in-class choice for use in high volume, handheld designs that demand ultra low power.
The ispMACH 4000ZE family is a new generation, ultra low power CPLD family based on Lattice’s highly successful ispMACH 4000 CPLD architecture. The ispMACH 4064ZE device is available now in a 64-ball ucBGA (ultra chip scale BGA) package with a 4mm by 4mm footprint, and the ispMACH 4128ZE device is available in a 132-ball ucBGA package with a 6mm by 6mm footprint, which enable both devices to accommodate the very tight space constraints common with portable and handheld equipment. In fact, the new space-saving packages enable designers to use these ispMACH 4000ZE devices in a board space that is 36% smaller than previously possible.
“Our customers have been emphatic in asking that we bring the ispMACH 4000ZE family’s benefits, including ultra low power, instant on operation, and easy system integration to the handheld market,” said Chris Fanning, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Low Density and Mixed Signal Solutions. “With this new packaging, we expect to further accelerate the adoption of our ispMACH 4000ZE CPLDs in hand-held GPS navigation, video camera, smart phone, barcode scanner and portable test equipment designs, among others, strengthening our competitive advantage in the handheld consumer and industrial markets.”
Ultra Low Power
The ispMACH 4000ZE family in-system programmable CPLD family is ideal for low power, high volume portable applications, with typical standby current as low as 10µA. The ispMACH 4000ZE devices operate from a nominal 1.8-volt power supply with operation extended down to 1.6-volts, accommodating extended end-of-battery-life voltages that can provide useful added margin for many systems. The family offers enhanced system features such as Power Guard dynamic power reduction; per pin pull-up, pull-down or bus keeper control; an on-chip user oscillator and timer; and input hysteresis. The Power Guard feature lowers power consumption by selectively disabling unused input pins so their switching does not consume dynamic power needlessly.
Flexible 5-Volt Tolerant I/Os Simplify System Integration
The ispMACH 4000ZE devices’ 5-volt tolerant I/Os are unique among the current generation of CPLD families. These I/Os may be used for connecting to TTL and PCI interfaces with no external components, which make them ideal for connecting to legacy chips and interfaces. The ispMACH 4000ZE devices have two I/O banks, each with its own power supply voltage that can be set at the appropriate level to support LVTTL and LVCMOS 3.3, 2.5, 1.8 and 1.5-volt outputs. The device input buffers have programmable thresholds that support the above standards independent of the I/O bank voltage. Extended range 3.3-volt I/O current is supported, instead of the more common narrow range version. The ispMACH 4000ZE family also offers "always on" input hysteresis for each pin. This feature provides improved noise immunity for 3.3V and 2.5V inputs. An internal oscillator also is provided for use in miscellaneous housekeeping functions such as watchdog “heartbeat” functions, digital de-glitch circuits and control state machines.
Design Tools
The ispMACH 4000ZE family is supported by Lattice’s ispLEVER Classic design tool suite, which is available for free download from http://www.latticesemi.com. The ispLEVER Classic design software includes all the tools necessary to take a project from concept to programmed device: project management; HDL, ABEL, and schematic design entry; module integration; fitting; timing analysis; and programming.
EN-Genius says…
While neither glamorous nor sexy, Lattice’s announcement of a smaller form factor for its workhorse ispMACH 4000ZE CPLDs is important for at least two reasons. First, it should make life much easier for nearly any designer who has to deal with creating shim logic, driving displays, or shifting interface voltages in space- and power-constrained handheld equipment. It also serves as an excellent example of how low-cost FPGAs and PLDs are playing an increasingly-important role in high-volume consumer electronics.
Why should Lattice make all this fuss about a lowly CPLD when many other companies have replaced the guts of their so-called CPLD series with FPGA technology? Lattice says that in many smaller, simple applications CPLD’s simple product-term architecture (vs. FPGA’s more complex LUTs) is much more cost-effective and can compete well with custom circuits in all but the highest volumes. For example, one of Lattice’s smallest devices contains 32-macrocells, each of which contains five AND terms, one OR gate and one register, an array that does the work of 20 - 40 standard gates you’d normally have to build out of several merchant parts, or spin as an ASIC. In addition, CPLDs are configured via an EEPROM that allows them to be ready as soon as the power comes up.
Boasting extremely low static power consumption (10 – 40 µA) and the ability to clock at speeds of up to 350 MHz, it’s easy to see why they are extremely handy for implementing display drivers, keyboard interface logic and GPIO expansion, but their ability to handle different I/O voltages also makes them handy for voltage translation tasks or to serve as shim/glue logic for stitching ASICs and ASSPs together. As the announcement notes, Lattice shrunk the packages on these devices to serve the mobile comms market but I’d also expect they will find a warm welcome in industrial sensor and control applications where their larger counterparts are already enjoying significant success.
Both the ispMACH 4064ZE 64-macrocell device in ucBGA-64 and the ispMACH 4128ZE 128-macrocell device in ucBGA-132 are in production as are the rest of the packages in this product family. Pricing in the new packaging is as low as $0.85 and $1.60, respectively, in high-volume.
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