A silicon-on-silicon field programmable multichip module (FPMCM) integrating FPGA and MCM technologies

Multichip module technology can dramatically increase the capability of field programmable logic devices (FPLD´s) and field programmable systems (FPS). We present the special advantages that MCM´s offer FPLD´s and the design of our first-generation field programmable multichip module (FPMCM). Our prototype is the first silicon-on-silicon FPMCM and has a maximum capacity of 40 K gates and 256 user IO, achieving a factor of four increase in capacity over the FPLD family with which it was designed. Our FPMCM has bean demonstrated in a system that can deliver 200 MOP´s of computing power for image processing applications. FPMCM´s can cost-effectively deliver 4-8 times the capacity of the largest FPLD´s and provide even larger reductions in the area of PCB-based field programmable systems. The upper capacity limits for FPMCM are determined mainly by the cost and defect density of the substrate technology. As CMOS processes move into the deep-submicron range, FPMCM´s will even faster and denser substrates