Combining Advanced Silicon Modular Block (ASMBL) architecture with a wide variety of flexible features, the Virtex-4 family from Xilinx greatly enhances programmable logic design capabilities, making it a powerful alternative to ASIC technology. Virtex-4 FPGAs comprise three platform families—LX, FX, and SX—offering multiple feature choices and combinations to address all complex applications. 

The wide array of Virtex-4 FPGA hard-IP core blocks includes the PowerPC processors (with a new APU interface), tri-mode Ethernet MACs, 622 Mb/s to 6.5 Gb/s serial transceivers, dedicated DSP slices, high-speed clock management circuitry, and source-synchronous interface blocks. The basic Virtex-4 FPGA building blocks are enhancements of thouse found in the popular Virtex, Virtex-E, Virtex-II, Virtex-II Pro, and Virtex-II Pro X product families, so previous-generation designs are upward compatible. Virtex-4 devices are produced on a state-of-the-art 90 nm copper process using 300 mm (12-inch) wafer technology.