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[Blog] From Flash to MRAM: Meeting the Demands of Modern FPGA Configuration

[Blog] From Flash to MRAM: Meeting the Demands of Modern FPGA Configuration
Posted 01/17/2025 by Jim Tavacoli, Senior Director, Segment Marketing

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In the fast-evolving world of technology, emerging Avionics, critical infrastructure, and automotive applications are redefining the expectations from Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Traditionally, FPGAs relied heavily on flash memory to store their configuration bitstreams. This approach was suitable for many mainstream FPGA configuration applications; however, recent advancements and demands for higher reliability and performance have fueled the necessity for a more diversified range of configuration memory options. The catalyst for this shift lies in the diverse requirements of applications and industries that are now pushing the boundaries of what is achievable with FPGAs, demanding improvements in areas such as data integrity, system endurance, and operational efficiency.

Modern Applications Demand Modern Features

  1. Higher Endurance and Reliability: Applications like advanced driver assistance systems and advanced connected avionics technologies require components that can withstand adverse environmental conditions and offer high endurance rates. Flash memory, while reliable under certain conditions, exhibits limitations in endurance, making it inadequate for these rigorous requirements.
  2. Faster Configuration Times: In environments where time is critical—such as real-time sensor data processing or high-reliability communications—the need for rapid configuration is paramount. Traditional flash memory can introduce latency in boot times.

Flash to MRAM: Critical to Mission Success

Design of a circuit or application for an FPGA involves the use of a Hardware Description Language (HDL) to describe how the functions inside an FPGA should be wired. The HDL code is compiled into a FPGA configuration file, known as bitstream, using FPGA development software such as Lattice Radiant™. The bitstream contains binary data that tells each logic element (flip-flops, gates, etc.) inside the FPGA how to connect and perform digital functions. Once the bitstream is generated, it is stored on a non-volatile memory device. During power up, the configuration bitstream is loaded into the FPGA. Once configured with the bitstream, the FPGA starts executing any number of its programmed tasks such as data or signal processing, control functions, and protocol bridging, to name a few.

Magnetoresistive Random-Access Memory (MRAM) is an emerging non-volatile memory technology that leverages the magnetic properties of materials to store data. Unlike traditional flash memory, which relies on charge storage, MRAM uses magnetic tunneling junctions to represent binary data as the orientation of magnetic states. This approach offers several advantages, including lower power, higher endurance, and faster read and write speeds. Additionally, MRAM's non-volatility ensures data retention even without power, making it a reliable and efficient alternative to flash. The MRAM scalability and ability to integrate seamlessly with CMOS processes further position it as a strong contender in the quest for energy-efficient memory solutions.

Traditional memory technologies like flash have served well, but new applications drive the need for more reliable configuration memory with better retention and higher performance under harsh environmental conditions. For example, in edge applications where high endurance or high performance is required, MRAM can handle a high number of fast read / write cycles over-the-air (OTA) to support constant data updates without the need for erase cycles, flash file systems, or a dedicated controller.

In automotive applications, MRAM operates effectively across wide temperature ranges and harsh conditions. In mission critical transportation and avionics, MRAM is essential for storing system settings and operational data logging. In space applications, where data reliability is of utmost importance, MRAM exhibits resistance to harsh radiation, limiting radiation induced errors as it simplifies in-orbit reprogramming.

Future-proof with MRAM-enabled FPGAs

Lattice FPGAs including the Lattice Certus™-NX, Lattice CertusPro™-NX, and Lattice Avant™ FPGAs utilize robust process technology, architectural enhancements, and sophisticated design techniques that enable background reconfiguration, built-in hard scrubbers to detect and correct errors, fault tolerant IP, and a wide variety of targeted tools to help mitigate reliability risks. With these FPGA devices, users can benefit from low power FPGA architectures and fast secure bitstream configuration / reconfiguration.

To enhance the programming experience for our high reliability customers, Lattice is updating the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools to support native MRAM programming. We have been working with prominent suppliers of MRAM products, including Everspin Technologies and Avalanche Technology, to demonstrate hardware interoperability and native software integration.

Lattice’s latest Radiant tool release enables direct access and programming interface of bitstreams on MRAMs with support for a wide variety of data rates and memory capacities. It supports devices with up to 256 Mb of MRAM capacity and full support for SPI, QSPI, and xSPI. Enabling the industry’s fastest configuration time, Lattice’s latest FPGAs now support X8 data widths at operating frequency of 160 MHz. Leveraging this high-performance FPGA configuration interface in conjunction with MRAM brings inherent design benefits to mission critical systems.

MRAM SPI flash support on Lattice Radiant
MRAM SPI flash support on Lattice Radiant

The shift towards MRAM for storing FPGA configuration bitstreams is more than just a technological upgrade, it's a strategic move to future-proof high-reliability systems. As industries continue to demand more from their electronic components, MRAM-enabled FPGA systems stand out as the optimal solution for applications where failure is not an option.

To learn more about how Lattice can help you accelerate your mission critical application development with MRAM-enabled FPGA configuration, download the latest Lattice Radiant design software or reach out to speak with the team at Lattice.

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