Customers´ needs drive complex PLDs to in-system programmability (ISP)

In-system programmability is the logical evolution of programmable device technology. PLDs have evolved from the fuse-based, one-time programmable devices invented in the 70´s, to the electrically erasable components of the 80´s, and now the Lattice ISP (in-system programmable) device of the 90´s. The time and expense benefits of employing Lattice ISP makes its widespread use inevitable. The author discusses the design, manufacturing and testing of Lattice´s ISP devices. The performance of the ispLSI 3000 family, the highest density ISP device family from Lattice, is considered and the boundary scan support is mentioned briefly