Silicon Blue spills 40nm mobile FPGA roadmap

CUSTOM MOBILE DEVICE FIRM Silicon Blue has revealed its 40nm mobile FPGA (field-programmable gate array) roadmap.

The company is aiming to significantly lower power draws and improve performance of sensors and displays for the smartphone market.

The devices will make use of the low power 40nm CMOS process from TSMC, which results in mobile FPGAs with between 30 and 50 per cent increases in performance while also having lower overall power requirements.

Silicon Blue plans to bring out 15 custom mobile devices with footprints smaller than 50mm2. One of these, dubbed "Los Angeles" will offer port expansion and sensor management additions. There will be support for USB 2.0-based HSIC and ULPI interfaces, along full high-definition support with HDMI and MIPI.

The Los Angeles chip is expected in the second half of the year, with the "San Francisco" design slated for the end of this year or early next year. The company plans a 28nm range of chips dubbed "Portland" for release in 2013.

Silicon Blue said it is targeting the areas where smartphones and other handhelds differentiate and that it will have designs ready this year for an expected "explosion" in handheld products.

Further details on the company's mobile FPGA devices are expected in the second quarter of this year. µ