Introduction

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are reconfigurable devices that can execute variety of hardware applications. A software CAD flow transforms a hardware application to a programming bitstream, which can easily be and instantly programmed on an FPGA. This re-programmability of an FPGA device can be used to execute different hardware applications at mutually exclusive times. Similarly any errors or updates in the final product can be corrected/upgraded by simply reprogramming the FPGA. An FPGA also allows partial re-configuration i.e, only a portion of an FPGA is configured while other portions are still running. Partial re-configuration is useful in designing systems which require to adapt frequently according to run-time constraints. Compared to alternate technologies that fabri- cate specific application circuits on silicon, FPGA-based applications have less non recurring engineering (NRE) cost and shorter time-to-market. These advantages make FPGA-based products very effective and economical for low to medium volume production.