Lattice Semiconductor, a United States-based chipmaker, recently unveiled a new suite of hardware and software solutions aimed at expanding its edge to cloud field programmable gate array (FPGA) innovation leadership.

"At Lattice, we are proud to lead technological advancements in low power, small form factor FPGAs, ensuring our customers have the optimal devices, tools and solutions to design groundbreaking applications that are power efficient, fast and secure," said Esam Elashmawi, chief strategy and marketing officer at Lattice Semiconductor.

An FPGA is a type of integrated circuit that enables the development of custom logic for rapid prototyping and final system design.

"From the edge to the cloud across a variety of industries, FPGAs stand at the forefront of innovation, and we're committed to delivering versatile and robust small and mid-range FPGA solutions that enable our customers and partners to unlock their full potential."

FPGAs are different from other custom or semi-custom ICs due to their inherent flexibility. Such flexibility allows them to be programmed and re-programmed via software downloads to adapt to the evolving needs of larger systems. FPGAs are suited for today's fastest-growing applications, like edge computing, artificial intelligence, 5G, system security, factory automation and robotics.

Frank Xie, senior director of application engineering for Lattice in the Asia-Pacific region, said at a news conference on Wednesday that the new Lattice Nexus 2 small FPGA platform combines connectivity advancements, power and performance optimizations, and leading security and reliability capabilities to meet the growing demand for edge applications requiring efficient processing, bridging and control capabilities.

Built on 16-nanometer Fin-FET TSMC process technology, the Nexus 2 platform promises up to three times lower power draw than similar class competitive devices, as well as up to 3.2 times faster MIPI speeds for faster connectivity and data transfer.

Lattice also announced new midrange FPGA device capacity options — Lattice Avant 30 and Avant 50 — and new versions of Lattice design software tools and application-specific solution stacks to help accelerate customer time-to-market.

The launch comes as Lattice expands its portfolio to address a broad range of industries such as industrial and automotive sectors in its key China market.

Xie highlighted the company's continued focus on industrial and automotive markets, where demand for innovative solutions is growing. "We've seen rapid growth in orders from industrial customers, particularly in applications requiring high levels of customization," Xie said. "But looking long-term, we see significant potential in the automotive sector, especially in electric vehicles. EVs now account for around 50 percent of new car sales in China, and we expect this trend to continue."

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that new energy vehicle production and sales reached 1.566 million and 1.512 million units, respectively, in November, up 45.8 percent and 47.4 percent year-on-year. Sales of new NEV vehicles accounted for 45.6 percent of the overall total of new car sales.

Xiao Xinjian, an expert at a Beijing-based government think tank, said China's burgeoning NEV sector has huge growth potential.

Xiao noted that China's edge in the NEV sector is powered by market forces, especially sufficient market competition, expressing optimism and confidence about the sector's future growth prospects.

Seeing the burgeoning EV sector growth, Xie from Lattice Semiconductor said the company "is particularly focused on the new energy market in China", where the company's close collaborations with original equipment manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers yield great results.

"While automotive development cycles are long, we believe in the sustainable growth of this sector and are excited about the new solutions we've developed for it. In 2024, we've already rolled out five or six new solutions tailored for automotive applications, up from just two or three in previous years," he said.