Companion Chip - Introduction

FPGA companion chips expand the capabilities of embedded host processors by adding missing host features and by offloading high-speed processing tasks.  FPGA provide the ideal platform to add custom features tailored to specific project needs and much of the design can be re-used to support multiple processors. Efficient FPGA companion chips seamlessly integrate with the host processor at the hardware and the software levels in a cost effective manner.

Xylon's logiCRAFT-CC Companion Chip Kits provides an excellent pre-developed framework for the development of Xilinx® Spartan®-6 FPGA based companion chips. Thanks to the pre-designed PCIe® and USB reference FPGA designs, which include Linux drivers and other advanced software support, designers get the resources they need for tight integration of the FPGA companion chip with the host processor without the need for extensive validation.

The connectivity functions incorporated in the logiCRAFT-CC can save months of development time, and they allow the designers to focus on the rest of the system and its differentiating functions.