Xilinx keeps pace as PLDs pursue low-end gate arrays

SAN JOSE, CALIF. - Xilinx Inc., staying stride for stride with arch-rival Altera Corp., said last week said it too has a programmable- logic family in the works that will achieve die-size parity with comparable gate arrays.

The Xilinx XC 5200XL family is slated to sample in the fourth quarter, using a 0.35-micron process and operating at 3.3 V. The company introduced the 5200 family two years ago and claims to have shipped 2.5 million units to date. The strategy for the family has been to target gate-array users at the low end with such benefits as fast turnaround time and no NRE. So far, the family has not...