Many of our customers have come to us asking for help “resurrecting” FPGAs that have gone EOL but are still needed in their system designs. To help our defense customers address challenges caused by EOL issues, over the last few years Lattice has supported the defense market segment to ensure they have alternatives to components that are no longer available. Remember, this all happened because just one out of tens of thousands of components used in a defense system is or is going EOL. This process can take years, incurs major expense to the taxpayer, and impacts national security and defense planning. If the manufacturer can’t make the lifetime buy or did not purchase enough supply in advance, they are faced with managing a costly and time-consuming redesign, validation, and certification of a new hardware and software stack. The lifetime buy also means the manufacturer must hold the devices in a climate-controlled, secure environment for many of years (sometime over a decade), which adds additional complexity to program management. An even less appealing solution is to defund other high priority programs to accommodate the new urgent need. They can make a lifetime buy, but that can involve using funds that were not appropriated which can lead to interest payments. When an FPGA goes EOL, the defense system manufacturer has few options. FPGAs provide more flexibility as they can actually change the algorithmic engine and memory/weights/coefficients. It would be like trying to change from an x86 processor to a RISC-V on the fly. While some would argue that an MPU or MCU can do the same, both are limited to only changing the memory the engine is ‘hard’ and locked down in silicon. FPGAs can provide the system with ASIC-like speed, determinism, low latency, and low power consumption, in addition to supporting reprogramming in the field as the mission requirements change. The FPGA gives the defense system nearly any interface or algorithm at any time. Because they’re able to be reprogrammed in the field, designers can use FPGAs to extend the lifecycle of the device with future innovations and updates. One of the most important components in many defense systems or platforms is the FPGA. The supply chain is also under the microscope to make sure that components selected for use in a defense system will be available for a longtime to come. support for extended temperature ranges and resistance to shock, vibration, and radiation effects). Of course, all of these components are vetted and heavily scrutinized to make sure they meet the system’s mission requirements (i.e. When a semiconductor goes EOL, the resulting supply shortages of key microelectronic components can have a significant impact on national security.įor example, a defense system designed in the 1990s and in production for 30 years is made up of many different components from the commercial and defense supply chain. For defense customers, EOL can have significant ramifications for system designs that were expected to be in production for decades, unlike commercial systems that often become obsolete in as little as 18-24 months. Unfortunately for defense OEMs, the problems caused by chip supply shortages can be exacerbated when semiconductor companies issue the dreaded ‘End of Life” (EOL) notices for their products. The challenges of 2020/21 pandemic brought to light the world’s dependency on semiconductors as global supply chains struggled to get inventory levels back to normal.
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