a very nooby question

Ilik,

Think of it like this.

There are Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons - and they are what make up Atoms. (transistors -> cmos P-channel, n-channel, diordes, etc).

These Atoms can then be grouped together to make Compounds (Water - brass - etc)

(LE's, F/F, Adders, RAM's, etc). From that we get all sorts of useful things like Cars, Boats, Houses - but even that is tiny compared to the solor system and the Galaxy...

How do we get from here to there?

The designers at Altera use 'engineering tools' to create "pictures" of layers of silicon to stack up upon one another to build the die that we know called an FPGA. That is where the analog stuff (in saturation mode) exists. We do not get to work directly with that level of stuff. It is what "makes" the FPGA internal structures. These designers give that stuff (called Masks) to a company they have been using for a very long time called TSMC who makes the parts (in a place called a FAB). These are the parts that we get to use - sort of. First they have to be tested, then inserted into packages by another company so we can easily solder them to the boards we use when designing systems (the PCB).

Where do 'we' come in?

What we get to play with is inserting a programming file (called a .sof or .pof file) which sets these internal "transistors" to open or closed such that the LE's, the F/F's, etc are realized & interconnected to make our design (on the fabric).

I hope this helps you see how things are made from the bottom up.

There are many "layers" in the electronic world where one can learn the craft, choose a profession, and earn a living, be it down deep in the making of hte chips, all the way up to the using of them to build large systems. Keep asking questions, and keep learning.

Cheers,

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