Configurable SoC tech from Toshiba as a low cost FPGA replacement

Toshiba America Electronic Component has made available a new Metal-Configurable Standard Cell (MCSC) platform SoC to speed ASIC development and is also suggested as low-cost FPGA replacement.

"This powerful platform technology completely changes the development landscape for next-generation SoCs by providing a viable alternative to high-cost, high-power FPGAs, or for traditional ASICs and ASSPs by significantly reducing the fixed-mask costs and time to volume," says Saba Sharifi, vice president of the Logic LSI Business Unit, System LSI Group at TAEC. "It is an ideal solution for customers who need to deliver products that require customization, may have smaller volume requirements compared to traditional ASICs, need to make more frequent changes, or want to develop a platform family of products to address multiple market segments while avoiding large mask costs."

Some of the other key features of the platform SoC as per Toshiba include:
500+ core cell library
Configurable FPGA-like memory with optimized size and performance
Scalable technology for 28nm and smaller geometries
Enhanced-cell architecture allowing for improved routability, power structure and area optimization
Configurable I/Os, PLLs, DDR/LVDS PHYs and multi-protocol transceivers
A wide variety of packaging options to enable compatibility with existing FPGAs
Design of multiple SoCs from one MCSC platform using the same EDA tools and methodologies as for ASICs

Availability : Toshiba said it has completed the qualification of this process and is accepting new designs for the platform SoC technology. Samples are available with a minimum of five weeks from RTL to prototype.