Programming Technologies for Field Programmable Gate Arrays

A comprehensive study of various programming techniques available for field programmable gate arrays is recorded. The idea is to provide a framework to select a FPGA for specific application on the basis of their programming method. The programming method has a due impact on FPGA performance so adapting an appropriate programming technology for a particular application set makes a clear idea to enable the design engineer to find a trade-off between power consumption, simplified fabrication process and the programmable switch area. The importance of these programmable switches comes from the fact that they form the interconnection wiring between various logic cells and also the input/output blocks. There are other parameters, like volatility and non-volatility, on chip reprogrammability, switch-resistance, parasitic capacitance, etc. that also have to be considered as they greatly affected the FPGA loading and programming time.