Solution
Card Qualification
Two cards with the same part number are not the same card. Fluid Silicon characterizes every LUT and carry block at speed before a card enters service: how much margin it has and where it is weak.
Measured impact
On production shells, at realistic utilization.
*Fluid Silicon measurements. Varies with variation pattern, workload, vendor and device age.
Applications
Four applications, one measurement.
Incoming Characterization
Every card measured at speed on arrival, read-only.
Learn moreWeak-Resource Maps
Where each chip is slow, so your next build can avoid it.
Learn moreMargin-Based Binning
Cards sorted by measured margin, not part number.
Learn moreAcceptance Evidence
A per-card timing and variation report for acceptance, warranty and resale.
Learn moreIncoming Characterization
Measure it before you trust it.
- Every LUT and carry block measured at speed, about a second per card.
- A per-card timing and variation report.
- Tail cards identified on day one.
- The same report on AMD and Altera parts.
Where evaluations start
A sample of your cards in staging, a report per card, no change to any operating point.
Weak-Resource Maps
Know where each chip is weak.
- Measured slack mapped across the chip's logic elements.
- Random, systematic and spatial variation shown separately.
- Guidance for your next place-and-route, so critical paths avoid weak regions. Your current build is not touched.
- Re-measured for the life of the card.
Spatial variation
Neighbouring resources drift together, so one weak region can hold several critical paths.
- Last sweep
- 2 min ago, 1.0 s
- Aging model
- Power-law fit to this card's temperature history
- Recommended action
- Schedule a repair window
- Approval
- Waiting for your change process
Margin-Based Binning
Sort cards by what they measured.
- Cards binned by measured margin at their operating point.
- The fastest cards matched to the workloads that need them.
- Cards near the threshold kept out of critical roles.
- One binning rule across vendors and nodes.
Beyond the datasheet
A speed grade covers the worst chip in the bin. Measured margin places each of your chips.
Acceptance Evidence
A record from the first day to the last.
- A signed-off timing report per card at acceptance.
- The same measurement repeated in production and at exit.
- Evidence for warranty claims and vendor feedback.
- A history that supports resale, reuse or retirement.
Characterization brackets service
Once on the way in, continuously in production, once on the way out.
Industries
Where it applies.
Resources
BlogThe FPGA margin problem
Why timing models carry 30–54% margin for the worst chip in the population, why that was the right call, and what per-chip measurement changes.
ReadRead-only first: how an evaluation runs
Evaluate, observe, optimize, repair: four opt-in steps, and what each needs from your team.
ReadDevice support
AMD and Altera families, and the status of each.
ReadFAQ
Common questions.
Sensor architecture, deployment mechanics and calibration methods are shared with evaluation partners under NDA.
Is characterization destructive or slow?
Neither. A full sweep takes about a second at operating speed. Nothing is written to your design and no operating point changes.
Do we need a special test rig?
No. Characterization runs on the card in staging, with the same health layer used in production.
What does the report contain?
Measured slack per logic element, the weakest elements, the variation pattern across the chip, and a margin figure for the card at its operating point.
Can we characterize cards already in service?
Yes. The same measurement runs in production with no downtime, so deployed cards get a baseline on their first sweep.
Which devices are supported?
AMD 7-series, UltraScale and UltraScale+ today, with select Altera Agilex 7 devices; more families in development. See device support.
How does this connect to tuning?
The report is the starting point for per-chip sign-off. Voltage and frequency scaling are separate, opt-in steps that use the same measurements.
Measure a device at speed, live.
A 30-minute session: in-system slack measurements on a supported AMD or Altera device, and what an evaluation on your boards involves.