Xilinx has unveiled its Spartan-3A family of I/O-optimized field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). This new family is an extension of its low-cost, high-volume Spartan-3 Generation. The Spartan-3A platform provides a cost-reduced solution for applications where I/O count and capabilities are more important than logic density. With support for the industry's widest range of I/O standards (26) and unique power, configuration capabilities and anti-cloning security advantages, Spartan-3A FPGAs provide a flexible and cost-saving solution for applications such as display panel interfaces, video/tuner board interfaces and video switching.

Built upon 90 nm technology, the new platform comprises five devices offering up to 1.4 million system gates and 502 I/Os. Offering what is said to be the lowest cost per I/O in the industry, the new family also features significant advances in power management, device configuration and design security.

The Spartan-3A platform integrates a number of innovative features. These include wide I/O standards support: Xilinx's TMDS-compliant FPGAs enable DVI and HDMI support for video applications as well as compliance with 26 popular single-ended and differential signaling standards. There are also pre-engineered solutions for PCI, PCI Express, USB, Firewire, CAN and SPI — as well as support for popular low-cost DDR and DDR2 memory interfaces up to 333 Mb/s.

Engineering samples of the XC3S700A and XC3S1400A devices are now shipping with the XC3S50A, XC3S200A and XC3S400A devices to follow in the first quarter of 2007. The 3S700A device lists for $11.95 and the 3S1400A device lists for $16.95 — both in 250,000-piece quantities.