FPGA Prototyping: Untapping Potential within the Multimillion-Gate System-on-Chip Design Space

FPGA prototyping is an evolving science that has recently entered the multimillion-gate design arena. The availability of such technology has come at a cost however, in that new design methodologies, tools and devices are required to extract the full potential of the discipline. In this paper we present a FPGA prototype used in the implementation, verification and validation of a multimillion gate DVB-H system-on-chip receiver. The process of developing such a prototype is elaborated and its significant contribution towards productivity increases in the EDA industry is substantiated with reference to successful laboratory experimentation. The paper is concluded with a description of the findings on how the industry is to evolve for prototyping to unravel its full potential.