New TI tiny PLDs (TPLD)

[coppice]

Considering today's tiny chip geometries, I'm surprised it's worth doing chips with such low logic count - AIUI the die size is limited by the bond pads, so within that constraint, logic in teh middle comes almost for free ( apart from testing)

You noticed yourself that these things are 5V tolerant, so they aren't in a fine geometry. The I/O ring can be less of a limitation than it used to be. A staggered I/O ring is run of the mill these days, and can really push up the I/O count on a small die.

[BrianHG]

Yep, and TI also promises software which would allow full simulation of part behavior. Historically TI has been pretty good in that department, so assuming simulator will be sufficiently true-to-life, it will be great. Especially for what I'm looking for - which is essentially a 3-6 pin device (+power pins) which can be programmed to perform some logical function. These would be very useful as there are many places where one would need some kind of logical gate/LUT, but placing CPLD would be overkill.

A word of caution.  TI is big and has different divisions doing different things, so such expectations may not be met if their PLD team is completely new.

In the past, with TI, I have learned that if you do not use TI devices in the exact way they describe or the way their engineers have intended things to be used, even though the spec of their component says it can be done, you may be debugging in the dark until you decode the occasional mis-documentation about their core functionality.

[asmi]

In the past, with TI, I have learned that if you do not use TI devices in the exact way they describe or the way their engineers have intended things to be used, even though the spec of their component says it can be done, you may be debugging in the dark until you decode the occasional mis-documentation about their core functionality.

I worked with their parts extensively before COVID (when they have became unobtanium), and I don't remember ever having any issues with their parts not working like they should. Infact I know about a few cases when they shouldn't work according to spec, but they actually do in practice.

[asmi]

I have been hearing this for almost 30 years already. 'TTL logic' will dissapear 

I want them to solve my specific problem, and they do just that according to what I see so far.

On top of that TI has a poor track record of keeping up with demand in times of crisis. TI's parts where among the hardest to procure during the credit crunch and Covid pandemic.

That problem can be easily solved by maintaining a sufficient stock of those parts. And given how cheap they are claimed to be, I see no problem in stocking enough of those parts for several years worth of my needs.

[Hella_Wini22]

Meh. Looks like GreenPaks, only worse.

GreenPaks rule.
If one is about to bring competition, after all this time one would expect to see something original and better.

[Hella_Wini22]

Nonsense. These are in differenet worlds.

Try making somethign that ALSO workd as a voltage shifter from anywhere from 1.8V to 5.5V
.
GreenPaks can utilize dual power supply and each one has its I/O ad bank.

GreenPaks also have plenty of analog functions. Does your GAL have enalog comparator or MOSFET switch ?

Can your GAL be either programmed or just configured (== setting the circuits just by wrtitng SRAM configuration registers, without burning on-board PROM) ?

Can you reconfigure it on the fly while working through I2C interface ?

[SiliconWizard]

Is there a way to write some source code to configure these chips, instead of using their GUI tool though?

[tszaboo]

GreenPaks

Is made by Renesas, therefore a lot of us is not going to touch it with a 10 feet pole.
I would tell you why, but first let's sign an NDA, and you have to promise a million dollar in business revenue with me.

[asmi]

Is there a way to write some source code to configure these chips, instead of using their GUI tool though?

As far as I can tell, no.

[Vtech]

Meh. Looks like GreenPaks, only worse.

GreenPaks rule.
If one is about to bring competition, after all this time one would expect to see something original and better.

Interesting chips. I've never seen them before. From my observation, only two versions are programmable in-system via I2C. The rest (the interesting ones) seem to only be programmable by Renesas. The documentation says you must send an email and wait 6 weeks for samples . Strange design choice. I would use them if they were easily programmable. I wonder how TI parts are programmed. If it's in-system, preferably 1-2 pins with a cheap dongle, then I'm in.

That's odd. Mouser has a lot of stock SLG46140V, but if they can't be programmed, why bother? Am I missing something?

[xvr]

The rest (the interesting ones) seem to only be programmable by Renesas.

Not exactly:

The SLG46140 is a user programmable device with One-Time-Programmable (OTP) memory elements that are able to construct
combinatorial logic elements. Three of the I/O Pins provide a connection for the bit patterns into the OTP on board memory. A
programming development kit allows the user the ability to create initial devices. Once the design is finalized, the programming
code (.gpx file) is forwarded to Renesas Electronics Corporation to integrate into a production process.

So you can program it (not 'in system' thought) by special programmer from Renesas
And programmability by Renesas can be considered as additional service, not as mandatory process.

[Vtech]

So you can program it (not 'in system' thought) by special programmer from Renesas
And programmability by Renesas can be considered as additional service, not as mandatory process.

Yes, I just realized that. There is a kit called "GreenPAK Advanced Development Platform" SLG4DVKADV or SLG4DVKINTRO to program them. Edit: There is also a much cheaper SLG4DVKLITE board. There are also adapters with sockets for the chips or breakout boards with goldpins. Now it makes sense.

It looks to be the same on TI parts. There is a USB "programmer" TPLD-PROGRAM and TPLD EVM board with a socket for the device itself. Programming requires 8V.