A 50,000-gate MCM-based PLD for gate array prototyping

Commercially available Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) offer up to 16,000 gates, providing large quantities of uncommitted logic resources to implement system-level designs. The typical trend-line is for PLD density to double every 2 years. An MCM-based PLD has been developed which eclipses that 2-year cycle by combining four large PLDs and a programmable interconnect to deliver a 50,000-gate PLD using an MCM substrate. The EPF8050M may be viewed as a monolithic PLD by the automatic partitioning software.