Nonvolatile Programmable Switch With Adjacently Integrated Flash Memory and CMOS Logic for Low-Power and High-Speed FPGA

Abstract

Novel nonvolatile programmable switch for low-power and high-speed field-programmable gate array (FPGA) where flash memory is adjacently integrated to CMOS logic is demonstrated. The flash memory and the high-speed switching transistor (SwTr) are fabricated close to each other without deteriorating their respective performance. Furthermore, programming schemes to write and erase the flash memory are optimized so that the memory is successfully programmed without any damage to the SwTrs. Flash-based configuration memory in the nonvolatile programmable switch has only half the area of the conventional static random-access memory-based one, and it can be placed in each block in FPGA, enabling efficient power gating that offers low-power FPGA operation.