PolarFire® Core FPGAs and SoCs: Streamlined Silicon for Cost-Efficient, Low-Power Embedded Systems

Introducing the PolarFire^® Core Series

In response to increasing pressures around Bill of Materials (BOM) costs and application-specific optimization, Microchip Technology has introduced the PolarFire^® Core FPGA and SoC FPGA series—cost-optimized variants of the well-established PolarFire FPGA and SoC families. These new devices maintain the architectural strengths of their predecessors while selectively streamlining features to deliver up to 30% cost savings.

Strategic Feature Reduction Without Compromising Core Performance

PolarFire Core devices are pin-compatible with standard PolarFire offerings but differ in several ways. These derivatives omit high-speed serial transceivers (SERDES) and the PCI Express (PCIe) interface, both of which are unnecessary in many mid-range applications. Additionally, these variants do not include hardened crypto processors or military-grade (MIL) temperature support—two areas that can contribute to device cost and complexity in use cases that don't demand them.

This selective feature removal enables substantial cost reductions while preserving the essential benefits that define PolarFire:

• Ultra-low static and dynamic power
• Robust security architecture (excluding the hard crypto core)
• High reliability, including Single Event Upset (SEU) immunity
• Extended lifecycle and stable supply

Figure 1 - PolarFire Core SoC FPGA Block Diagram

Targeted for Cost-Conscious, High-Volume Applications

The PolarFire Core line is aimed at markets such as industrial automation, medical devices, automotive and communications, where not every design requires full high-speed I/O or extreme environmental tolerance. For applications centered around edge processing, real-time control and deterministic embedded compute, PolarFire Core SoC FPGAs integrate a quad-core, 64-bit RISC-V MPU, maintaining compatibility with our Mi-V ecosystem.

By providing pin-compatible options, designers can easily scale up or down across product SKUs without redesigning boards—enhancing platform reusability and BOM optimization.

Development Ecosystem Compatibility

PolarFire Core devices are fully supported by our Libero® SoC Design Suite v2025.1, SmartHLS and VectorBlox Accelerator SDK, as well as a wide array of RISC-V development tools and platforms within the Mi-V ecosystem. Existing development boards and IP cores remain compatible, enabling a rapid transition for current PolarFire users.

A Focused, Cost-Efficient Path to Innovation

With no unnecessary overhead and lower unit pricing, PolarFire Core FPGAs and SoC FPGAs strike a pragmatic balance for applications where performance-per-watt and cost-per-function are paramount. These devices are positioned to help engineers meet aggressive design constraints without compromising on essential quality and deterministic compute.

For more details, developers and system architects can explore the PolarFire Core portfolio.