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A roadmap for those who want to build a career as an FPGA / ASIC Engineer

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FPGA / ASIC Engineering Roadmap

๐Ÿšง WORK IN PROGRESS!

According to the positive feedback I received for the Embedded Systems Engineering Roadmap and due to my own interest in FPGA, I decided to create a separate roadmap specifically for FPGA design in this repository.

Warning

The contents in this repository are gathered from various sources to create a roadmap. At present, no sorting or filtering has been done on this information. If you require a comprehensive roadmap right now, the contents in this repository might not yet be suitable for you.

Tip

To differentiate between the types of learning resources and the quality of their content, specific symbols are used before each item.

Resource types:

  • ๐Ÿ“˜ : Books
  • ๐ŸŽž๏ธ : Videos
  • ๐Ÿ“ : Write-ups, articles, and blog posts
  • ๐Ÿ”— : Other links that do not fit into any of the above categories

Content quality symbols:

  • ๐Ÿ‘ถ : Easy-to-understand and beginner-friendly resources. Refer to them if you do not have prior knowledge in a topic.
  • ๐Ÿ’Ž : Well-known references that have truly invaluable and comprehensive content. Refer to them if you want to deepen your understanding of a topic.

Learning Resources

Projects

Roadmap

The world of FPGA engineering thrives on two crucial disciplines: Implementation Engineering and Verification Engineering. While intertwined, each plays a distinct role in bringing innovative ideas to life on programmable hardware.

Implementation Engineers are the architects of the FPGA, meticulously crafting the design by translating algorithms and functionalities into hardware configurations. They leverage their expertise in hardware description languages and synthesis tools to optimize design performance and resource utilization.

Verification Engineers, on the other hand, safeguard the design's integrity. They design and execute comprehensive test strategies, utilizing advanced simulation tools and real-world test setups. By comparing expected behavior with actual outputs, they identify and eliminate errors, ensuring the final product functions as intended.

Both disciplines are equally critical, working hand-in-hand throughout the development process. Implementation engineers rely on verification feedback to refine their designs, while verification engineers depend on accurate implementation models to create effective tests.

Commons skills and specialized expertise needed in these disciplines are mentioned below:

โœณ๏ธ Common Skills

๐Ÿ”ต Hardware Description Languages (HDLs):

Knowledge of VHDL and/or Verilog is crucial as they're commonly used to design and describe digital circuits.

๐Ÿ”ต Digital System Design

Fundamental concepts in digital system design like logic gates, finite-state machines, and memory architectures.

๐Ÿ”ต Computer Architecture

Deep understanding of how CPUs and memory systems work. This can be extended to specialized architectures, such as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or custom accelerator designs.

๐Ÿ”ต Test and Debugging Techniques

Knowledge of simulation tools, testbenches, and hardware debugging techniques.

๐Ÿ”ต Version Control

Familiarity with systems like Git or Subversion is important for managing code and tracking changes.

๐Ÿ”ต Familiarity with FPGA and ASIC Design Flow

Understanding the overall process of design, from specification to synthesis and place-and-route, is helpful in order to interface effectively with the design team.

Both implementation and verification engineer need to be aware of requirements, architecture and interconnect standards and interfaces.


โœณ๏ธ Implementation Engineer

As an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) implement engineer, there are several important topics to be well-versed in:

๐Ÿ”ต FPGA Design Methodologies:

Understanding of various FPGA design techniques and best practices is important.

FPGA design methodologies encompass a broad range of techniques and strategies used in the process of designing and implementing digital logic on FPGA devices. Here are some key methods:

๐Ÿ”ถ RTL Design

Register Transfer Level (RTL) design is a method where the digital system is described at a high level in terms of data flow between registers and the logical operations performed on the data. This allows the designer to focus on the logic functionality and data flow, rather than the specifics of how each gate is connected.

๐Ÿ”ถ High-Level Synthesis (HLS)

HLS is a design methodology where the digital system is described in a high-level programming language such as C or C++, and then automatically converted into RTL code by an HLS tool. This approach can be faster and easier than writing RTL code directly, especially for complex algorithms.

๐Ÿ”ถ IP Core Based Design

IP (Intellectual Property) cores are pre-designed circuit blocks that can be reused in multiple designs. Using IP cores can significantly speed up the design process and improve the reliability of the design, since the IP cores have been pre-verified.

๐Ÿ”ถ Hardware-Software Co-Design

In many FPGA applications, a portion of the system functionality is implemented in software running on an embedded processor, while other portions are implemented in custom hardware on the FPGA. Hardware-software co-design involves designing the hardware and software components together to achieve the best overall system performance.

๐Ÿ”ถ Design for Test (DFT)

This is a design methodology where testability features are added to the hardware design to make it easier to test and debug. This might include adding scan chains or built-in self-test (BIST) capabilities.

๐Ÿ”ถ Timing-Driven Design

This design methodology prioritizes meeting timing constraints. This may involve strategies such as pipelining to increase clock speed, carefully partitioning the design to reduce routing congestion, or using timing constraints files to guide the place-and-route process.

๐Ÿ”ถ Resource-Optimized Design

This involves making the most efficient use of FPGA resources such as logic blocks, DSP blocks, and memory blocks. It might involve strategies such as sharing resources between multiple functions, or optimizing the logic to reduce the number of logic blocks used.

These methodologies are not mutually exclusive and can often be used together in the same design. The appropriate methodology to use depends on the specific design goals and constraints.

๐Ÿ”ต Timing Analysis

Proficiency in handling setup and hold times, clock domain crossings, and other timing-related issues.

๐Ÿ”ต Embedded Systems

Understanding of embedded system design, including both hardware and software aspects.

๐Ÿ”ต Digital Signal Processing

Depending on the application, an understanding of digital signal processing concepts can be very useful.

๐Ÿ”ต Power and Thermal Management

Techniques to optimize the power consumption and manage heat dissipation.

๐Ÿ”ต Software Development Skills

Including proficiency in languages such as C/C++, Python, and knowing how to work with software drivers for hardware interfaces.

๐Ÿ”ต FPGA Toolchain

Understanding of specific FPGA toolchains like Xilinx Vivado, Intel Quartus, etc.


โœณ๏ธ Verification Engineer

The other side of the coin is the verification engineer they play a crucial role in the development of hardware and software systems, ensuring the design meets the specified requirements. Here are several important subjects and topics that a Verification Engineer should know:

๐Ÿ”ต Hardware Verification Languages (HVLs)

These include SystemVerilog, which is commonly used for hardware verification, and others like Property Specification Language (PSL).

๐Ÿ”ต Testbench Creation

Verification engineers must know how to develop testbenches to simulate and verify the functionality and performance of a design.

๐Ÿ”ต SystemVerilog Assertions and Functional Coverage

These are key for ensuring the design behaves as expected under all conditions, and for making sure all important scenarios are tested.

๐Ÿ”ต Universal Verification Methodology (UVM)

This is an industry-standard methodology for verification of hardware designs.

๐Ÿ”ต Formal Verification Methods

Including equivalence checking and model checking.

๐Ÿ”ต Scripting Languages

Languages such as TCL, Python, Perl, or Shell scripting are often used to automate tasks in the verification process.

๐Ÿ”ต Industry Standards

Familiarity with relevant industry standards can be important, especially in fields like telecommunications or automotive.

Contribution

If you are an expert or experienced individual in the field of FPGA and ASIC design, I kindly request for comments and suggestions on this roadmap.

What topics should be included in the FPGA / ASIC design roadmap?

What are the best resources you know to learn each topic in the roadmap?

Feel free to open an issue or make a pull request and express your ideas.

The first step to building a roadmap is to gather information, categorize it under different titles, and determine the importance of each title. So I started a discussion about the roadmap on Reddit.

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to u/No_Delivery_1049 the reddit user who made this comment that served as the base of this roadmap.

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