FPGA Run-Time Reconfiguration: Two Approaches

Run-time reconfiguration for FPGA designs is an increasingly important requirement for many user markets, particularly military users who must adapt quickly to different threats and evolving communications waveforms. Run-time reconfiguration is defined as the ability to modify or change the functional configuration of the device during operation, through either hardware or software changes. This is an FPGA feature that is important to communications, military, and consumer applications as an approach to reducing component count and power consumption, by reusing the same FPGA for several functions.