Field programmable analog arrays: past, present and future perspectives

The development of accurate, low-cost, rapid prototyping techniques for analog circuits has been attempted at various times using variety of implementation formats over the past several decades with varying degrees of success. Commercial products introduced recently, along with progress made at University research labs, indicates renewed interest and further accomplishment in achieving this goal. This paper reviews past work in the area from both universities and industry, provides a status report on the state of activities world-wide, and attempts to forecast developments in prototyping analog and mixed-signal systems one can expect in the near future.