What do fpga engineers do?

The work of fpga engineers is introduced as follows:

The work of FPGA engineers is mainly divided into hardware part and software part. Hardware engineers mainly analyze the internal architecture, working environment and related driving conditions of FPGA to build a hardware platform. They need to have a good English level, a deep knowledge of analog and digital electricity, knowledge of circuits and systems, signal integrity and EMC, and be proficient in a drawing software.

FPGA software engineers are mainly responsible for some related algorithms, which are implemented by software codes. You should master a series of professional courses in any industry and a programming language (V/VHDL)-hardware description language.

FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is the abbreviation of field programmable gate array, which is simply a method of logic digital circuit design. As a semi-custom circuit in the field of application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), it not only solves the shortcomings of custom circuits, but also overcomes the shortcomings of limited gates of the original programmable devices.

Field programmable gate array

Basic problem

The foundation of FPGA is digital circuit and VHDL language. Suggestions for learning FPGA well There is a book on digital circuits at the bedside. No matter which version, this is the foundation. Knowing more will also help to form the idea of hardware design.

In terms of language, beginners are advised to learn Verilog language. VHDL language has strict grammar, slow debugging and Verilog language is easy to use. Moreover, large enterprises use Verilog language, and the specification of VHDL language is easy to read, so the general military industry uses VHDL.

Tool problem

It is enough to be familiar with a few commonly used ones, such as Quartus II or ISE, which are basically the same. If you know which one, the other one is easy. It is suggested to use Modelsim for functional simulation. If you are a chip manufacturer, you can learn other simulation tools. If you are an FPGA manufacturer, Modelsim is enough. Synplify is generally used as a comprehensive tool. Beginners don't have to care too much about this, just use Quartus to synthesize it.

Ideological problems

For novices, especially those who change careers in software, the designed program is resource-consuming and slow, and it is very likely that it will not be integrated. This requires us to be familiar with the writing of some fixed modules, which can be integrated in many books and language introductions. Don't take it for granted to write hardware with the idea of software. In the process of learning the development of FPGA, we should first be familiar with the circuit design and understand the working process of the circuit: the circuit is executed in parallel.

Habit problem

FPGA learning needs more practice and simulation. SignaltapII is a good tool, and you can see the true value of each signal. Beginners are advised to do more by themselves. It's no use just reading books. Regarding English documents, if you want to learn all the functions of Quartus II, you only need to read its manual. It is very detailed. For people in the IT industry, most of the knowledge sources are English documents. You must be patient and learn a lot from it.

Algorithm problem

As an FPGA engineer, in the end, he usually specializes in algorithms. These basic knowledge are all hand-picked. If you are not prepared to engage in theory, learning FPGA can only stay in the primary stage. For beginners, digital signal processing is the foundation, so we should understand it well. You don't need to learn everything in a deeper direction, according to your future direction, such as communication, image processing, radar, sonar, navigation and positioning.