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Is Spartan-6 obsolete?

What AMD has discontinued in the Spartan-6 family, what it named as the replacement, and what you can still order today.

Updated 5 min readBased on AMD data sheets and notices

Short answer

No. AMD has not discontinued the Spartan-6 family. Its only Spartan-6 discontinuation notice, XCN11008 (January 2011), withdrew the -4 speed grade of commercial LXT devices and named the -3 version of each part as its direct replacement.[1] Spartan-6 LX and LXT devices in the -2, -3 and -1L grades were not affected.

Family status
Not discontinued; one grade withdrawn in 2011
Withdrawn
LXT -4, commercial (29 parts)
Final orders / deliveries
11 April 2011 / 11 July 2011
Direct replacement
Same part in -3 (per XCN11008)
Core supply
1.2 V (-2, -3); 1.0 V (-1L)
Devices
13 XC6S devices, LX4 to LX150T

What AMD discontinued

In January 2011 Xilinx (now AMD) discontinued the -4 speed grade of the Spartan-6 LXT devices in the commercial temperature grade.[1] The notice does not apply to Spartan-6 LX devices, which were never offered in -4. Final orders were accepted until 11 April 2011 and final deliveries were made by 11 July 2011.

The reason was a speed-file upgrade rather than an end of production: AMD upgraded the -3 speed files so that -3 devices perform as well as -4 did, and asked -4 customers to move to the -3 part. The upgraded speed files work with any -3 device already shipped.

Before switching a -4 design to -3

XCN11008 says designs that met timing in -4 are expected to meet timing in -3, but asks customers to re-run timing analysis with the upgraded -3 speed files (ISE 12.4 or later) before moving to the replacement part.[1]
Discontinued partDirect replacement (XCN11008)
XC6SLX25T-4CSG324CXC6SLX25T-3CSG324C
XC6SLX25T-4FG484CXC6SLX25T-3FG484C
XC6SLX25T-4FGG484CXC6SLX25T-3FGG484C
XC6SLX45T-4CSG324CXC6SLX45T-3CSG324C
XC6SLX45T-4CSG484CXC6SLX45T-3CSG484C
XC6SLX45T-4FG484CXC6SLX45T-3FG484C
XC6SLX45T-4FGG484CXC6SLX45T-3FGG484C
XC6SLX75T-4CSG484CXC6SLX75T-3CSG484C
XC6SLX75T-4FG484CXC6SLX75T-3FG484C
XC6SLX75T-4FG676CXC6SLX75T-3FG676C
XC6SLX75T-4FGG484CXC6SLX75T-3FGG484C
XC6SLX75T-4FGG676CXC6SLX75T-3FGG676C
XC6SLX75T-4FGG676C0866XC6SLX75T-3FGG676C
XC6SLX100T-4CSG484CXC6SLX100T-3CSG484C
XC6SLX100T-4FG484CXC6SLX100T-3FG484C
XC6SLX100T-4FG676CXC6SLX100T-3FG676C
XC6SLX100T-4FG900CXC6SLX100T-3FG900C
XC6SLX100T-4FGG484CXC6SLX100T-3FGG484C
XC6SLX100T-4FGG676CXC6SLX100T-3FGG676C
XC6SLX100T-4FGG676C0866XC6SLX100T-3FGG676C
XC6SLX100T-4FGG900CXC6SLX100T-3FGG900C
XC6SLX150T-4CSG484CXC6SLX150T-3CSG484C
XC6SLX150T-4FG484CXC6SLX150T-3FG484C
XC6SLX150T-4FG676CXC6SLX150T-3FG676C
XC6SLX150T-4FG900CXC6SLX150T-3FG900C
XC6SLX150T-4FGG484CXC6SLX150T-3FGG484C
XC6SLX150T-4FGG676CXC6SLX150T-3FGG676C
XC6SLX150T-4FGG676C0866XC6SLX150T-3FGG676C
XC6SLX150T-4FGG900CXC6SLX150T-3FGG900C

Part numbers ending 0866 are special-order versions; the notice replaces them with the standard -3 part.

What you can still order

Every Spartan-6 LX and LXT device outside that one grade was untouched by the notice. The family runs from the XC6SLX4 to the XC6SLX150T; the LXT devices add GTP transceivers.[2]

DeviceLogic cellsParts
XC6SLX43,84012
XC6SLX99,15223
XC6SLX1614,57920
XC6SLX2524,05120
XC6SLX25T24,05112
XC6SLX4543,66122
XC6SLX45T43,66118
XC6SLX7574,63718
XC6SLX75T74,63717
XC6SLX100101,26120
XC6SLX100T101,26126
XC6SLX150147,44326
XC6SLX150T147,44328

Speed and temperature grades

Spartan-6 is ordered in three speed grades, -2 and -3 for standard performance and -1L for low power, in commercial (0 to +85 °C junction) and industrial (−40 to +100 °C) ranges.[2] The -2 and -3 grades run from a 1.2 V core supply; -1L runs from 1.0 V, so it is not a drop-in swap for a -2 or -3 part on the same board.[3]

GradeWritten in the part numberCore supplyOffered on
-3-31.2 VLX and LXT
-3N-N31.2 VLX and LXT, without memory controller support
-2-21.2 VLX and LXT
-1L-L11.0 VLX only

If you're moving to a newer family

For a new design, AMD's 7-series parts are the natural next step, but they are not pin-compatible with Spartan-6. Spartan-7 runs its core at 1.0 V[4] and uses its own package codes (CPGA196, CSGA225, CSGA324, FTGB196, FGGA484 and FGGA676), none of which is a Spartan-6 package. Moving means a new board and a new design in Vivado rather than ISE.

Spartan-6 vs Spartan-7 compared sets the two families side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Is Spartan-6 end of life?

No. AMD has not discontinued the Spartan-6 family. Its one Spartan-6 discontinuation notice, XCN11008 (January 2011), covered only the -4 speed grade of commercial LXT devices, with final orders on 11 April 2011.

What replaced the Spartan-6 -4 speed grade?

The -3 version of the same part. XCN11008 names it as the direct replacement for each -4 part: AMD upgraded the -3 speed files so designs that met timing in -4 are expected to meet timing in -3, after re-running timing analysis.

Is Spartan-7 pin-compatible with Spartan-6?

No. Spartan-7 uses different package codes (CPGA196, CSGA225, CSGA324, FTGB196, FGGA484, FGGA676) and a 1.0 V core supply where Spartan-6 -2 and -3 devices use 1.2 V, so moving to Spartan-7 means a new board.

How do you order the Spartan-6 -1L low-power grade?

As -L1 in the ordering code, for example XC6SLX9-L1TQG144C. The -1L grade runs from a 1.0 V core supply and is offered on Spartan-6 LX devices only.

References

  1. [1]Xilinx (AMD) XCN11008, Product Discontinuation Notice for Spartan-6 LXT -4 Devices (v1.0, 10 January 2011)
  2. [2]Xilinx (AMD) DS160, Spartan-6 Family Overview (v2.0, 25 October 2011)
  3. [3]Xilinx (AMD) DS162, Spartan-6 FPGA Data Sheet: DC and Switching Characteristics
  4. [4]AMD DS180, 7 Series FPGAs Data Sheet: Overview

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