CIE Components in Electronics
Lattice Semiconductor has introduced a new AEC-Q100-certified automotive family, the LA-LatticeECP3, which includes 6 devices. The family has been designed to leverage the company’s expertise in low power, small size, and cost optimised FPGAs to deliver programmable technology that can be used for all classes of automobile as well as automotive aftermarket products.
“Vehicle designers want to differentiate by enabling safety and electronic features found in luxury cars to a universe of affordable automobiles,” said Gordon Hands, Director of marketing for low density products at Lattice. “This is limited by the availability of cost effective devices to enable this deployment. LA-LatticeECP3 devices leverage our experience in the mobile consumer space to deliver the programmable performance, size, and power necessary to immediately deploy advance automotive electronic technologies that can be used in all cars.”
The LA-LatticeECP3 FPGA family provides a versatile programmable platform that includes SERDES. The power optimised SERDES uses half of the power of comparable multi-protocol SERDES. The devices also include powerful digital-signal processing, high-density on-chip memory, programmable DDR3 memory interfaces, and offers up to 35K look-up tables (LUTS). Moreover, the LatticeECP3 family includes up six banks of configurable I/O and four 3Gbps SERDES to efficiently link automotive based networks, components and technologies.
Delivered in packages as small as 10mm x 10mm, the LA-LatticeECP3 Automotive FPGA family allows designers to implement driver assistance systems such as the replacement of side mirrors with high resolution camera systems. Lattice provides its HDR-60 Video Camera Development Kit so engineers can easily develop solutions in areas such as collision avoidance, driver assistance, infotainment and telematics. In addition to providing increased safety the elimination of mirrors improves automobile aerodynamics to dramatically increase fuel efficiency.
The range of solutions now possible using the LA-LatticeECP3 FPGA family also includes cost effectively extending the number of sensors throughout the automobile by enabling power efficient pre-processing for a distributed system. These new devices also enable advanced cloud based, high resolution infotainment systems and in-cabin integration of mobile devices such as smartphones that can be deployed throughout all classes of vehicle.
