Xilinx Inc. has expanded its XA (Xilinx Automotive) programmable logic device (PLD) family with 90 nm Spartan-3E devices for applications that demand low cost per-gate–1,000 system gates for $.03–and the 90 nm Virtex-4 FX12 field-programmable gate arrays for high-performance requirements.

The Spartan-3E devices, ranging from 100 K to 1.6 M system gates, are intended for use in MicroBlaze 32-bit soft processor solutions. The devices reduce the need for additional discretes by supporting 18 common I/O standards, including PCI, RSDS and mini-LVDS, as well as interfaces to commodity-priced DDR memories.

Based on a proprietary architecture, ASMBL, Xilinx’ Virtex-4 FX12 devices work with embedded 32-bit PowerPC RISC processors, 500 MHz Xtreme DSP multipliers, and 10/100/1000 Ethernet MAC blocks. The enhanced PowerPC processor can exceed 700 DMIPS at 450 MHz, an auxiliary processor unit (APU) controller facilitates hardware accelerator integration, and the Ethernet MAC blocks in hard IP allow for high-speed uploads of new or updated software into a board, module or system.

Automotive industry-specific IP includes a CAN solution available in Xilinx’ LogiCore library. Applications for the expanded PLD family include gateway, infotainment, driver assistance and comfort and convenience functions.