An electrically reconfigurable array (ERA) is a logic chip containing programmable blocks and interconnects that can be updated electrically without removing the component from the board. Unlike older one-time programmable chips, the configuration is stored in reprogrammable memory cells. This allows hardware designers to push updates or change circuit behavior on the fly.
The new board uses an ERA so we can patch the logic design later if the protocol changes.
Related terms
FPGA
A field-programmable gate array is an integrated circuit whose internal logic can be configured by the user.
PLD
A programmable logic device is an integrated circuit configured by the user to build custom digital circuits.
EEPROM
Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory is a non-volatile storage chip.