Fpga

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A semiconductor device that can be programmed after manufacturing to perform specific logical functions and digital circuit designs
2. An integrated circuit designed to be configured by the user to implement custom hardware functionality through programmable logic blocks and interconnects
3. A type of chip that allows hardware developers to create and test circuit designs by programming the chip's internal architecture to behave like desired electronic components

Etymology: FPGA stands for "field-programmable gate array," and the name tells you most of its history. A gate array is a grid of basic logic gates that can be wired together into circuits, and "field-programmable" means the wiring can be set by the user after the chip has left the factory, rather than being fixed during manufacture. The idea took shape in the 1980s, when Xilinx introduced the first commercially available device of this kind in 1985, and the term became standard in the industry soon after. The acronym is a modern coinage built from English words, not a classical term, so there is no older sense to trace. Its parts were each in use long before the chip existed: "gate" in electronics dates to the early twentieth century for a circuit element that controls signal flow, and "array" was already a common word for an ordered arrangement of components. The surprise is how completely the abbreviation has replaced its own expansion, so engineers rarely speak the full phrase aloud.

Synonyms: field-programmable gate array, programmable logic device, PLD, FPGA chip