Patent ID: 6460172
Filing Date: 2002-10-01
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A microprocessor-based, mixed-signal field programmable integrated circuit on a chip, comprising:an array of digital programmable cells, and a programmable routing architecture that is configurable to interconnect said array of digital programmable cells in a predetermined manner, and a set of programmable digital pads for input/output communication to the outside of the chip; a set of analog programmable cells for signal conditioning, acquisition and generation, and a set of programmable analog pads for communication to the outside of the chip; and a microprocessor used to a) configure the digital and analog programmable cells, the routing architecture, the digital pads, and the analog pads through write operations, and used to b) probe in real time the status of the analog signals through an analog-to-digital converter and the status of the digital signals through normal memory access of the user application, and used to c) run general purpose computational and control programs specified by a user and also to control the set of programmable digital pads.