Clive“Max”Maxfieldissixfeettall,outrageouslyhandsome,Englishandproudofit.Inadditiontobeingahero,trendsetter,andleaderoffashion,heiswidelyregardedasanexpertinallaspectsofelectronicsandcomputing(atleastbyhismother).AfterreceivinghisB.Sc.inControlEngineeringin1980fromSheffieldPolytechnic(nowSheffieldHallamUniversity),England,Maxbeganhiscareerasadesignerofcentralprocessingunitsformainframecomputers.Duringhiscareer,hehasdesignedeverythingfromASICstoPCBsandhasmeanderedhiswaythroughmostaspectsofElectronicsDesignAutomation(EDA).Tocutalongstoryshort,MaxnowfindshimselfPresidentofTechBitesInteractive(www.techbites.com).Amarketingconsultancy,TechBitesspecializesincom-municatingthevalueofitsclients’technicalproductsandservicestonon-technicalaudiencesthroughavarietyofmedia,includingwebsites,advertising,technicaldocuments,brochures,collaterals,books,andmultimedia.Inadditiontonumeroustechnicalarticlesandpapersappearinginmaga-zinesandatconferencesaroundtheworld,Maxisalsotheauthorandco-authorofanumberofbooks,includingBeboptotheBooleanBoogie(AnUnconventionalGuidetoElectronics),DesignusMaximusUnleashed(BannedinAlabama),BebopBYTESBack(AnUnconventionalGuidetoComputers),EDA:WhereElectronicsBegins,TheDesignWarrior’sGuidetoFPGAs,andHowComputersDoMath(www.diycalculator.com).Inhissparetime(Ha!),Maxisco-editorandco-publisheroftheweb-deliveredelectronicsandcomputinghobbyistmagazineEPEOnline(www.epemag.com).MaxalsoactsaseditorfortheProgrammableLogicDesignLinewebsite(www.pldesignline.com)andfortheiDESIGNsectionoftheChipDesignMagazinewebsite(www.chipdesignmag.com).Ontheoff-chancethatyou’restillnotimpressed,Maxwasoncereferredtoasan“industrynotable”anda“semiconductordesignexpert”bysomeonefamouswhowasn’tprompted,coerced,orremuneratedinanyway!AbouttheAuthorwww.newnespress.comwww.newnespress.comTheFundamentalsChapter1FPGADefinitions●Fieldprogrammablegatearrays(FPGAs)aredigitalintegratedcircuits(ICs)thatcontainconfigurable(programmable)blocksoflogicalongwithconfigurableinterconnectsbetween...
