Xilinx Stays a Generation Ahead at 16nm with New Memory, 3D-on-3D, and Multi-Processing SoC Technologies

New UltraScale+ FPGA, SoC, and 3D IC applications include LTE Advanced and early 5G wireless, terabit wired communications, automotive ADAS, and industrial IoT

SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 23, 2015 -- Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ:XLNX) today announced its 16nm UltraScale+™ family of FPGAs, 3D ICs, and MPSoCs, combining new memory, 3D-on-3D and multi-processing SoC (MPSoC) technologies, delivering a generation ahead of value. In addition, to enable an even higher level of performance and integration, the UltraScale+ family also includes a new interconnect optimization technology, SmartConnect. These devices extend Xilinx's UltraScale portfolio – now spanning 20nm and 16nm FPGA, SoC, and 3D IC devices – and leverage a significant boost in performance/watt from TSMC's 16FF+ FinFET 3D transistors. Optimized at the system level, UltraScale+ delivers value far beyond a traditional process node migration – providing 2–5X greater system level performance/watt over 28nm devices, far more systems integration and intelligence, and the highest level of security and safety.

The new Xilinx UltraScale+ FPGA portfolio is comprised of Xilinx's market leading Kintex^® UltraScale+ FPGA and Virtex^® UltraScale+ FPGA and 3D IC families, while the Zynq® UltraScale+ family includes the industry's first all programmable MPSoCs. With this portfolio, Xilinx addresses a broad range of next generation applications, including LTE Advanced and early 5G wireless, terabit wired communications, automotive ADAS, and industrial Internet-of-Things (IoT).

Memory Enhanced Programmable Devices: UltraRAM attacks one of the largest bottlenecks affecting FPGA- and SoC-based system performance and power by enabling SRAM integration. The new technology can be leveraged to create high capacity on-chip memory for a variety of use cases – including deep packet and video buffering – providing predictable latency and performance. By integrating massive amounts of embedded memory very close to the associated processing engines, designers can achieve greater system performance/watt and BOM cost reduction. UltraRAM scales up to 432 Mbits in a variety of configurations.

SmartConnect Technology: SmartConnect is a new and innovative interconnect optimization technology for FPGAs. It provides additional 20-30 percent performance, area, and power advantages through intelligent system-wide interconnect optimization. While the UltraScale architecture attacks the silicon-level interconnect bottleneck through re-architected routing, clocking, and logic fabric, SmartConnect applies interconnect topology optimizations to match design-specific throughput and latency requirements while reducing interconnect logic area.

Industry's First 3D-on-3D Technology: The high end of the UltraScale+ portfolio leverages the combined power of 3D transistors and third generation of Xilinx 3D ICs. Just as FinFETs enable a non-linear improvement in performance/watt over planar transistors, 3D ICs enable a non-linear improvement in systems integration and bandwidth/watt over monolithic devices.

Heterogeneous Multi-processing Technology: The new Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoCs include all of the aforementioned FPGA technologies with an unprecedented level of heterogeneous multi-processing, deploying the "the right engines for the right tasks." These new devices deliver approximately 5X system level performance/watt relative to previous alternatives. At the center of the processing-subsystem is the 64-bit quad-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 processor, capable of hardware virtualization, asymmetric processing, and full ARM TrustZone® technology support.

The processing sub-system also includes a dual-core Cortex-R5 processor for real-time deterministic operation, ensuring responsiveness, high throughput, and low latency for the highest levels of safety and reliability. A separate security unit enables military-class security solutions such as secure boot, key and vault management, and anti-tamper capabilities – standard requirements for machine-to-machine communication and industrial IoT applications.

For complete graphics acceleration and video compression/decompression, the new devices incorporate an ARM Mali™-400 graphics processor as well as a H.265 video codec unit, combined with support for Displayport, MIPI and HDMI. Finally, a dedicated platform and power management unit (PMU) has been added to support system monitoring, system management, and dynamic power gating for each of the processing engines.

"Xilinx is delivering a generation ahead of value with 16nm FinFET FPGAs and MPSoCs to a variety of next generation applications," said Victor Peng, executive vice president and general manager of the Programmable Products Group at Xilinx. "Our new UltraScale+ 16nm portfolio delivers 2-5X higher system performance-per-watt, a dramatic leap in system integration and intelligence, and the highest level of security and safety required by our customers. These capabilities enable Xilinx to significantly expand its available market."

"TSMC's ongoing collaboration with Xilinx has resulted in the realization of world class 16nm FinFET enabled products," said Dr. B J Woo, TSMC vice president of Business Development. "Xilinx and TSMC have clearly demonstrated leading silicon performance with the lowest power consumption and highest system value."

Availability

Early customer engagements are in process for the UltraScale+ families. First tape out and early access release of the design tools are scheduled for the second calendar quarter of 2015. First ship is scheduled for the fourth calendar quarter of 2015. To see the latest Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC technology demonstrations, visit the Xilinx Stand H1-209 at Embedded World, February 24-26, at the Nuremberg Exhibition Hall in Nuremberg, Germany. To learn more visit http://www.xilinx.com/ultrascale.

About Xilinx

Xilinx is the world's leading provider of All Programmable FPGAs, SoCs, and 3D ICs. These industry-leading devices are coupled with a next-generation design environment and IP to serve a broad range of customer needs, from programmable logic to programmable systems integration. For more information, visit www.xilinx.com.

Xilinx Stays a Generation Ahead at 16nm with New Memory,
3D-on-3D, and Multi-Processing SoC Technologies
February 23, 2015
Quote Sheet

"We have collaborated closely with Xilinx to ensure that developers can take full advantage of the diverse range of ARM technology that is integrated in this new and exciting suite of products. The ARM DS-5 Development Studio supports all Xilinx® Zynq® and UltraScale™ devices, and includes a certified compiler for safety applications, heterogeneous debug and trace, as well as system level analysis tools spanning processor, system and graphics IP."
Hobson Bullman, General Manager, Development Solutions Group, ARM

"As a Xilinx Premier Design Service Alliance Member, DornerWorks is proud to be a solutions provider and system integrator to the Xilinx 16nm UltraScale+ MPSoC. In support of customers who have expressed the desire for an open source hypervisor capable of running multiple operating systems on the Application Processor Unit of the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, DornerWorks will deliver the Xen hypervisor, documented, supported and integrated within the Xilinx development tools and workflow. DornerWorks will provide customization and services to MPSoC customers across several system aspects including hypervisors, real-time system development and system certification."
David Dorner, President, DornerWorks

"As Xilinx Premier Design Service Alliance Member, Fidus is uniquely positioned to offer Xilinx's most advanced technology and solutions to our customers. We are thrilled with the level of performance and integration Xilinx has brought to the 16nm UltraScale+ family of FPGAs, 3D ICs and the MPSoC. With Fidus' strong capabilities in FPGA and MPSoC design and system integration, we are already well positioned to offer leading edge, value-added solutions to our mutual customers at 16nm."
Michael Wakim, CEO, Fidus Systems

"With the integration of our Integrity RTOS and tools for the Zynq-7000 platform, Green Hills has been able to offer a world class solution for customer applications in a wide variety of markets, including industrial, medical, automotive, software defined radio, and aerospace and defense. We are looking forward to continue helping customers accelerate the design process while minimizing risk with the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC platform."
Robert Redfield, Director, Business Development, Green Hills

"Lauterbach was first to market with TRACE32® Debug and Trace tools for the Zynq platform and we are now looking forward to offering the same world class tools for the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC platform."
Norbert Weiss, Manager, Global Sales, Lauterbach

"We are pleased to announce our LynxSecure Separation Kernel Hypervisor support for the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC to enable developers to build advanced security applications for connected embedded systems in Automotive, Industrial IoT, Critical Infrastructure and Medical markets. We believe that the combination of the highly secure virtualization offered by LynxSecure coupled with the 64-bit multi-core processing power of the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC will enable large scale system consolidation, while improving both security and power consumption in complex connected embedded systems."
Robert Day, Vice President of Marketing, Lynx Software Technologies

"MathWorks and Xilinx have a long history of collaboration, bringing Model-Based Design to engineers using Xilinx All Programmable FPGAs and SoCs. With the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, a workflow based on MATLAB® and Simulink® enables developers to take full advantage of the performance-per-watt benefits of the device architecture while reducing their time to production."
Jim Tung, Fellow, MathWorks

"Mentor Graphics is excited with the new Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC platform that enables us to showcase our complete embedded solution that includes Linux®, Nucleus® RTOS, Sourcery™ CodeBench and the Mentor® Embedded Multicore Framework (MEMF). The combination of processing engines in the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC provides Mentor's customers with increased system performance while benefiting from lower power consumption to deliver the next generation of embedded systems in the Wireless, Automotive, Industrial and Medical markets."
Glenn Perry - Vice President & General Manager, Mentor Graphics

"Micrium is committed to supporting the Zynq and Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC platforms. Our embedded RTOS, including the µC/OS-II® and µC/OS-III® kernels, has been ported to the Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC, and we look forward to extending support to include Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC devices. Together, Xilinx and Micrium are ideal for applications where reliability, security and connectivity are critical, such as LTE Advanced and early 5G wireless, terabit wired communications, automotive ADAS, and Industrial IoT."
Mike Kaskowitz, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Micrium

"NI has been collaborating with Xilinx for many years to deliver a LabVIEW® platform-based design flow that incorporates some of the most competitive technology on the market today. Xilinx All Programmable FPGAs and SoCs incorporated into NI reconfigurable CompactRIO and PXI hardware abstract the complex and time-consuming RTL and software design tasks our customers face. The new UltraRAM and SmartConnect technologies and the scalable heterogeneous processing in the UltraScale+ portfolio provide a tremendous opportunity to improve system-level performance per watt and open up new customer applications for us."
Jamie Smith, Director of Embedded Systems Product Marketing, NI

"Northwest Logic, a Premier Member of the Xilinx Alliance Program, provides complete, hardware proven PCI Express® based solution IP including its high-performance PCI Express 3.0 Controller Cores, DMA Cores and Drivers (Windows and Linux). This IP enables our customer to quickly and reliably develop PCI Express based products on Xilinx FPGA platforms. Northwest Logic's PCI Express IP has been a market staple for Xilinx's 28nm and 20nm devices. We are excited about the potential of the 16nm FinFET UltraScale+ FPGA family of devices and will actively support the devices as they become available."
Brian Daellenbach, President, Northwest Logic

"TED Inrevium's board/kits, reference designs and IP solutions for Xilinx All Programmable platforms have enabled thousands of customers across Japan, APAC and North America in developing and deploying smarter electronics systems based on the Xilinx All Programmable Technology. The 16nm UltraScale+ FPGAs, 3D ICs and MPSoCs extends the current UltraScale family's performance and system integration capabilities to a much higher and unprecedented level. As a Xilinx Premier Design Service Alliance Member, TED Inrevium is fully committed and ready to embrace the 16nm UltraScale+ family with upgraded Inrevium board/kits and IP solutions. We are confident that the Inrevium Design and Manufacturing services can offer optimized system implementation and integration, maximum performance/cost ratio, and enable customers to go-to-market faster."
Yasuo Hatsumi, President of Tokyo Electron Device Limited Inrevium Company

"As Xilinx Premier Design Service Alliance Member and solution provider, Topic has designed our current SoM product, Miami, around the Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC and we are looking forward to extending the product portfolio to include Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC."
Rieny Rijnen, Founder & CEO, Topic Embedded Products

"We believe that the combination of our VxWorks real-time operating system and Wind River Linux platform with Xilinx's Zynq and Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC platforms will provide our customers with a compelling offer applicable to a wide range of applications such as LTE Advanced and early 5G wireless, terabit wired communications, Automotive ADAS, and Industrial IoT."
Dinyar Dastoor, Vice President and General Manager, Operating System Platform, Wind River

"Our logicBRICKS product portfolio is currently available on the Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC platform, and we look forward to extending the support to the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC. As a long-standing Premier Member of the Xilinx Alliance Program, our early access to emerging Xilinx silicon products and developments tools also enables us to offer our IP cores and solutions to customers who are building embedded Smarter Vision systems at the beginning of their development cycle."
Davor Kovacec, Founder and CEO, Xylon