Advanced FPGA Design & Engineering Services

FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) design is the process of creating custom digital circuits on reconfigurable silicon. Unlike fixed-function ASICs, FPGAs can be reprogrammed in the field, making them ideal for low-to-mid volume production, defense systems requiring hardware-level security, and applications demanding real-time deterministic processing with sub-microsecond latency.

Inovasense provides end-to-end FPGA design services — from RTL development through verification, synthesis, and deployment — using industry-standard toolchains from AMD (Xilinx), Intel (Altera), Lattice Semiconductor, and Microchip.

Why FPGA Over Traditional Approaches?

Choosing the right processing platform is a critical architecture decision. Here’s how FPGAs compare in 2026:

Factor	FPGA	Microcontroller	ASIC
Time-to-market	3–6 months	1–3 months	12–24 months
NRE cost	Low–Medium	Very Low	Very High (>€500K)
Per-unit cost (10K units)	€5–€200	€1–€20	€0.50–€5
Reconfigurability	Yes (field update)	Firmware only	No
Deterministic latency	<1 µs (hardwired)	10–100 µs	<1 µs
Hardware security	No software attack surface	Software-based	No software attack surface
AI acceleration	Custom datapath (INT8/INT4)	Limited NPU	Fixed architecture
Longevity	15–25 year supply	7–10 year supply	Custom (guaranteed)

When to choose FPGA: Real-time signal processing (radar, lidar, SDR), custom cryptographic acceleration, protocol bridging, defense/aerospace (DO-254), AI inference with custom datapaths, and applications requiring hardware-rooted security with no OS attack surface.

Our FPGA Design Capabilities

RTL Development & Verification

We develop synthesizable RTL in VHDL and SystemVerilog, following a structured V-model methodology:

• Architecture specification — Functional decomposition, interface definitions, clock domain analysis
• RTL coding — Parameterized, reusable IP blocks following coding guidelines (e.g., Xilinx UG901)
• Simulation & verification — Self-checking testbenches, constrained-random verification, code coverage >95%
• Formal verification — Property checking for safety-critical logic paths using Jasper/VC Formal
• Timing closure — Multi-corner STA (Static Timing Analysis) ensuring reliable operation across PVT corners
• CDC analysis — Clock Domain Crossing verification for multi-clock designs

Supported FPGA Platforms (2026)

Vendor	Families	Key Feature	Toolchain
AMD/Xilinx	Versal AI Edge, Versal Premium, Kintex UltraScale+, Zynq SoC	AI Engine array, hardened NoC	Vivado, Vitis Unified
Intel/Altera	Agilex 7, Agilex 5, Stratix 10	CXL 2.0, HBM2e	Quartus Prime Pro
Lattice	Avant-G, CertusPro-NX, CrossLink-NX	Ultra-low power (<75 mW)	Radiant, Propel
Microchip	PolarFire SoC, RT PolarFire	RISC-V + FPGA, radiation-tolerant	Libero SoC
Efinix	Titanium Ti180	RISC-V + FPGA, low-cost	Efinity

Custom Hardware Design

Beyond FPGA fabric, we design the complete system:

• Multi-layer PCB design — 4–20 layer stackups, controlled impedance, high-speed signal integrity analysis (DDR5, PCIe Gen5, 112G SerDes, LVDS)
• Power delivery networks — Point-of-load regulators, sequencing, power integrity simulation (PDN analysis)
• Chiplet integration — UCIe (Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express) and multi-die designs for next-generation architectures
• Component sourcing — EU-preferred supply chain with second-source strategy and CBAM carbon cost analysis
• Thermal management — CFD analysis for passive and active cooling, including vapor chamber and liquid cooling for high-performance FPGA. See our Industrial Design capabilities.

FPGA Applications We Deliver

• Custom cryptographic accelerators — AES-256-GCM, SHA-3, Post-Quantum Cryptography (ML-KEM, ML-DSA) in hardware, achieving >100 Gbps throughput
• Real-time signal processing — Radar pulse compression, digital beamforming, adaptive filtering at >5 GSPS
• Protocol bridges — PCIe Gen5, CXL 2.0, Ethernet 100G, custom serial protocols, legacy interface preservation
• AI inference accelerators — Custom INT8/INT4 datapaths achieving >20 TOPS/W on Versal AI Edge
• Motor control & power electronics — FOC (Field-Oriented Control), GaN/SiC gate drivers with <10 ns dead-time
• Software-Defined Radio (SDR) — Wideband digital front-ends, channelizers, cognitive radio for spectrum sharing

Our Engineering Process

We follow a gated development process aligned with V-model methodology:

1. Requirements & Architecture — Stakeholder workshops, system partitioning, interface control documents (ICDs)
2. Detailed Design — Block-level design documents, simulation planning, resource estimation
3. Implementation — RTL coding, synthesis, place-and-route, timing closure
4. Verification — Simulation, formal verification, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing
5. Validation — On-target testing with production hardware, environmental testing per MIL-STD-810H or IEC 60068
6. Production Transfer — Programming files, manufacturing test procedures, serial number management, OTA update support

Compliance & Certification

• DO-254 — Design assurance for airborne FPGA-based electronics (DAL A–E)
• IEC 61508 — Functional safety for industrial FPGA applications (SIL 1–4)
• EU Dual-Use Regulation (2021/821) — Export compliance for controlled FPGA technologies, including 2025 control list updates for >50K LUT devices
• EU Chips Act (2023/1781) — Alignment with EU semiconductor sovereignty objectives
• EU Cyber Resilience Act (2024/2847) — Secure development lifecycle for FPGA-based connected products
• CE marking — EMC (EN 55032/55035) and safety (EN 62368-1) for EU market access
• REACH & RoHS — Full material compliance with CBAM carbon reporting readiness

All FPGA IP developed by Inovasense is designed and verified within the European Union, with full IP ownership retained by the client. No unverified third-party IP blocks are used in safety-critical designs.