Configurable heat generators for FPGAs

This work describes methodology for implementation of high-performance synthetic heat generators within the FPGA fabric. The proposed design flow is compatible with vendor tools and the generated synthetic heat generators can be seamlessly integrated with existing designs. Various architectures of synchronous and asynchronous heaters are evaluated in terms of their efficacy and dynamic range. We provide temperature and power measurements of the heaters implemented in Virtex5 FPGA. Measuring power consumption allows to validate heater performance and the extent to which its power dissipation can be controlled.