Field Programmable Gate Array. An IC (integrated circuit) chip that can be configured using an HDL (hardware description language) after shipping (i.e., in the field), as opposed to an ASIC, which has fixed architecture and configuration. FPGAs contain “logic blocks,” memory elements, and configurable interconnects that can be arranged to perform a variety of complex functions in either the digital or analog domain.
FPGAs are used for prototyping ASICs, for signal processing, in high-performance computing applications, and for low-volume manufacturing, where it is not affordable to use an ASIC.