A virtual VLSI architecture for computer hardware evolution
Farouk Smith · 2010
A System-On-Programmable-Chip (SOPC) is presented: the Virtual-FPGA (V-FPGA). It has been designed to ease the implementation of computer hardware evolution by giving direct access to the configuration bits. The V-FPGA is a second configuration layer residing on top of the hardware FPGA layer. When the V-FPGA is uploaded into the FPGA, the following units are created in the FPGA: an array of programmable logic elements (LE); a programmable Registered Element (RE, programmable flip-flops); a programmable interconnection network (Routing Matrix - RM); a configuration memory (CM) and; a configuration port (CP). Computer hardware evolution can be facilitated, as every configuration bit of the virtual configuration array can be accessed by a soft-core microprocessor such as the Altera Nios II.