How do FPGA-based control systems compare to processor-based systems?
Like processor-based control systems, FPGAs have been used to implement all types of industrial control systems, including analog process control, discrete logic, and batch or state-machine-based control systems. However, FPGA-based control systems differ from processor-based systems in significant ways. When you compile your control application for an FPGA device, the result is a highly optimized silicon implementation that provides true parallel processing with the performance and reliability benefits of dedicated hardware circuitry. Because there is no operating system on the FPGA chip, the code is implemented in a way that ensures maximum performance and reliability. In addition to offering high reliability, FPGA devices can perform deterministic closed-loop control at extremely fast loop rates. In most FPGA-based control applications, speed is limited by the sensors, actuators, and I/O modules rather than the processing performance of the FPGA. For example, the proportional integr
