Multi-FPGA System with High-Speed Communication up to 20 Gbit/s
A generic FPGA framework for systems with up to 20 interconnected FPGAs: a reusable design platform including high-speed communication up to 20 Gbit/s — deterministic through a system-wide communication pulse, built on modern VHDL paradigms.
- 01
Starting Point
A system of up to 20 FPGAs exchanging data at up to 20 Gbit/s between devices — with a full determinism requirement: communication across the array had to be exactly predictable in time. Each FPGA serves its own function, but the requirements for communication, infrastructure, and interfaces are identical across all of them. Individual per-device implementations would have multiplied development effort and severely limited long-term maintainability.
- 02
Solution
We developed a consistently generic design: a shared platform deployed on every FPGA in the system, including high-speed communication, infrastructure, and clearly defined interfaces to the application-specific logic. A system-wide communication pulse synchronizes the entire array and guarantees deterministic timing behavior across all devices. The implementation follows modern VHDL paradigms: strongly typed interfaces, generic parameterization, and consistently reusable modules. The architecture is deliberately designed without an upper limit — the number of FPGAs in the array is not constrained by the design.
- 03
Result
One platform instead of 20 individual solutions: new FPGA functions are integrated into the verified environment, with communication, synchronization, and infrastructure already solved. Up to 20 Gbit/s of data throughput with deterministic timing behavior across the entire array, significantly reduced development and maintenance effort, a consistent codebase — and an architecture that grows with future expansion stages.