Question 1

True or false: FPGA configuration data is often stored in an external flash memory and loaded at power-up.

Accepted Answer

True. Most SRAM-based FPGAs load bitstreams from a SPI flash chip on boot, as their internal configuration memory is volatile.

Question 2

True or false: Most modern FPGAs contain built-in analog blocks like ADCs and DACs.

Accepted Answer

True. Many Xilinx and Intel FPGAs include hard analog blocks (e.g., XADC in 7-series) for monitoring voltages or interfacing with sensors.

Question 3

True or false: A single FPGA can be used to implement a complete soft-core processor system, including memory and peripherals.

Accepted Answer

True. You can instantiate a soft CPU like MicroBlaze or RISC-V inside an FPGA, adding RAM and I/O blocks—all in programmable logic.

Question 4

True or false: FPGAs can be reconfigured to act as CPUs, GPUs, or custom digital circuits on the fly.

Accepted Answer

True. FPGAs are reprogrammable hardware; you can load different configurations to emulate CPUs or GPUs, though with lower performance than dedicated chips.

Question 5

True or false: FPGAs consume less power than ASICs performing the same task because they use fewer transistors.

Accepted Answer

False. FPGAs typically use more power than ASICs due to programmable routing overhead and larger transistor count for flexibility.

Question 6

True or false: All FPGAs use SRAM-based lookup tables to implement logic functions.

Accepted Answer

False. Some FPGAs (e.g., Microchip PolarFire) use flash-based or antifuse technology; SRAM LUTs are common but not universal.

Question 7

True or false: You can design an FPGA using only Python code and no hardware description language.

Accepted Answer

True. Tools like Xilinx Vitis HLS or open-source Amaranth allow high-level synthesis from Python, though HDLs are still common for low-level control.

Question 8

True or false: FPGAs are immune to single-event upsets caused by cosmic radiation in space applications.

Accepted Answer

False. FPGAs are actually vulnerable to SEUs (bit flips from radiation); space-grade versions use triple modular redundancy to mitigate errors.

FPGA Trivia Questions