Product category:
Programmable Logic Devices
News Release from: Actel Europe | Subject: ProASIC Plus for automotive applications
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 11 February 2004
Flash-based FPGAs tackle automotive
tasks
Actel has added its nonvolatile, Flash-based ProASIC Plus FPGAs in extended automotive temperature range versions to its successful line of automotive solutions.
Actel has added its nonvolatile, Flash-based ProASIC Plus field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in extended automotive temperature range versions to its successful line of automotive solutions The addition of its reprogrammable, single-chip ProASIC Plus FPGAs rounds out Actel's automotive FPGA product portfolio with densities up to a million system gates, making it the industry's broadest automotive offering
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 23 Apr 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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First flash-based industrial-grade FPGAs
Actel is shipping the industry's first flash-based "live-at-power-up" FPGA devices qualified to industrial specifications.
Largest-yet claim for flash-based FPGAs
Actel is sampling the A500K180 and A500K270 flash-based ProASIC 500K gate FPGAs with 369,000 and 473,000 system gates, respectively.
Actel's ProASIC Plus automotive devices are optimised for telematics and other in-cab applications that require flexible, high-reliability solutions, including navigation, speech recognition, passenger control and comfort systems, intelligent occupant sensors and heads-up displays.
Further, the tamper-resistant nature of Actel's Flash and antifuse technologies also makes Actel's automotive line a suitable platform for developing occupant safety systems, electronic engine control modules for camless engine control units (ECUs) and other under-bonnet powertrain management systems.
"Due to its low power, reprogrammable, live at power-up features and tamper-resistant capabilities, we are seeing a growing demand among our customers for flash-based FPGA technology for use in a wide range of applications, including in-cab automotive telematics and engine control", said Barry Marsh, Vice President of Product Marketing at Actel.
Further reading
Libero sweeps up full set of FPGA design tools
Libero is Actel's next-generation integrated design environment for field-programmable gate array (FPGA) development and design.
FPGAs have hardened latches for space reliability
Actel has qualified and is shipping its RT54SX32S FPGA, the first member of its radiation-tolerant RTSX-S family specifically designed to address single-event upsets (SEUs) in space.
Libero sweeps up FPGA design software
Actel has enhanced its Libero integrated design environment for FPGA development and design.
"Therefore, with the addition of our successful flash-based ProASIC Plus FPGAs to our broad portfolio of automotive products, customers can confidently choose the nonvolatile FPGA with the range of features that best suits their design requirements".
Actel's ProASIC Plus FPGAs have already been utilised in automotive applications.
Life Racing, the electronics design arm of AER (Advanced Engine Research), used an APA450 device to enable unprecedented flexibility and performance in an automotive ECU.
With Actel's in-system programmability (ISP), Life Racing was able to replace off-the-shelf Time Processor Unit (TPU) controllers with a single FPGA, reducing component count, saving board area and minimising debug requirements.
Implementing a flexible hardware solution enabled Life Racing to shorten software development time and speed overall time to market.
The ProASIC Plus automotive solutions are supported by the industry's most comprehensive portfolio of IP cores specifically designed and optimised for in-cab and under-the-hood automotive applications, including LIN, CAN, SPI, 8051, Z80, 6809, Reed Solomon and DES/3DES/AES.
By providing customers with preverified IP, Actel helps reduce design time and provides the ability to integrate multiple design elements into a one-chip solution, reducing an application's overall component count and cost.
Ranging in density from 3000 to 1 million system gates, the industry's broadest portfolio of automotive FPGA solutions, Actel's automotive products include its antifuse-based eX, MX and SX-A families and its Flash-based ProASIC Plus family.
These offerings extend the inherent low power, high performance, low cost and security benefits of Actel's nonvolatile, single-chip technologies to the automotive development community.
Qualified to operate at temperatures from -40 to +150C, the automotive devices from Actel function at some of the highest temperatures among competing solutions.
Actel's automotive FPGAs are optimised for in-cab control and interconnect functions for a range of telematics and other in-cab applications that require flexible, high-reliability solutions.
The full-line of automotive ProASIC Plus devices are available now.
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