Embedded FGPA: an integration strategy for flexible system solutions

The ASIC business faces a challenge from larger and larger FPGAs and CPLDs. As part of an ongoing development and discussed in other feature papers in this edition of FPEE, some programmable logic vendors are moving towards t he ASIC camp by offering hard and soft processors, (pp75), while second is offering bulk embedded memory blocks, (pp83). Will the response of the ASIC camp be to include blocks of FPGA? Here the merits of that direction are d iscussed.