Chapter 1: Introduction to FPGA Architectures and Xilinx Vivado
In the following chapter, we will be exploring Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and the underlying technology that creates them. This underlying technology allows companies such as Xilinx to produce a reprogrammable chip from an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) process. We'll then learn how to use an FPGA for a simple task. Whether you want to accelerate mathematically complex operations such as machine learning or artificial intelligence, or simply want to do some projects for fun, such as retro computing or reproducing obsolete video game machines (https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki), this book will jumpstart your journey. There couldn't be a better time to get into this field than the present, even if only as a hobby. Development boards are cheap and plentiful, and vendors have started making their tools available for free for their low cost, smaller parts.
In this book, we are going to build some example designs to introduce you to FPGA development, culminating in a project that can drive a VGA monitor.
By the end of this chapter, you should have a good understanding of an FPGA and its components.
In this chapter, we are going to cover the following main topics:
- What is an ASIC?
- How does a company create an FPGA?
- What makes up an FPGA?
- How can we use the Xilinx Vivado tools to design, test, and implement an FPGA
