Evaluation of a non-volatile FPGA based on MRAM technology

In this paper, we propose a new structure of FPGA based on MRAM technology; we name it MFPGA (Magnetic FPGA). FPGA based on SRAM technology has been developed in the last years, because of its high speed and near limitless number of reprogramming, however SRAM is volatile thereby the configuration information and the intermediate data will be lost when power is turned off. By using MTJs (Magnetic Tunnel Junction) as the storage elements of FPGA, we can realize the non-volatility of FPGA, and then we will not need the external memory. In our simulation, the start-up time of circuit can be decreased up to some hundred pico seconds. Except for the rapid start-up time, we can also configure the algorithm and logic function of the FPGA circuit very simply and rapidly. The other advantage of using MRAM technology is that we will not enlarge the circuit surface, because the storage element MTJs are on the semiconductor surface.