
FPGA targets USB interfaces with low power ASSP
FPGA designer Gowin Semiconductor has developed a line of standard chips with multiple power rails to support different interfaces from USB.
The GoBridge ASSP product line starts with the GWU2X and GWU2U USB interface bridging devices. The GWU2X ASSP features the conversion of USB to four peripheral interfaces including SPI, JTAG, I2C, and GPIO, while the GWU2U ASSP converts USB devices to UART. GOWIN’s GoBridge ASSP product line simplifies common interface bridging problems over a large range of consumer, automotive, industrial, and communication markets.
The new GOWIN GoBridge ASSPs provide support for multiple voltage levels including 3.3V, 2.5V, or 1.8V. Both the GWU2X and GWU2U come factory configured, eliminating the need for firmware loading.
The GWU2X and GWU2U ASSPs use Gowin’s FPGA fabric for communication and configuration for new end products. It also is well suited for replacing end-of-life and limited sourced semiconductor devices on existing or next-generation end products.
Gowin aims to minimize development effort by providing fixed-function devices when programmability is not necessary. This improves time to market and additional sourcing options to existing ASICs and ASSPs with similar functionality.
“We found that almost all FPGA and MCU development boards use USB to JTAG or USB to UART chips for programming and debugging yet few ASSP’s exist. The result is often high device cost not only for development boards and programming cables but for communication and configuration ports on many electronic end products,” said Grant Jennings, Director of International Marketing for GOWIN Semiconductor. “The GWU2X and GWU2U allow for a broader range of bridging vendor options as well as a single-source solution portfolio for our FPGA and MCU customers”.
“We are pleased to be the first to bring a lower-powered ASSP solution which will save costs and programming time,” said Scott Casper, Director of Sales, Americas for Gowin Semiconductor, “FPGA design engineers and embedded system architects can now easily use this ASSP bridging solution across several applications with GOWIN’s fully built-in USB protocol processing, without external programming.”
The GWU2U and the GWU2X support multiple operating systems and are compatible with GOWIN EDA for FPGA programming. They also provide a C/C++ based API to create USB interface programs. GOWIN also provides USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 PHY and Device Controller IP’s for FPGA users who would want to develop more flexible USB-related solutions.
The parts are packaged in a 6 x 6mm QFN32 with a 0.4mm pitch.
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