Product category:
Programmable Logic Devices
News Release from: Actel Europe | Subject: ProASIC Plus
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 01 October 2004
FPGAs protect Indesign's audio IP
Actel's Flash-based field-programmable gate arrays are used in Indesign's JS-2 wireless high-fidelity streaming audio platform.
Actel's Flash-based field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are used in Indesign's JS-2 wireless high-fidelity streaming audio platform Indesign's JS-2 system provides a robust, CD-quality, near zero latency, wireless audio link between an audio source and speakers, headphones or other high-fidelity audio components
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 3 Feb 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Flash-based FPGAs control comms on the rails
Flash-based ProASIC Plus FPGAs are used in Far Systems' Multifunctional Vehicle Bus and Wire Train Bus onboard railway communication products.
Flash-based FPGAs pass full set of military tests
ProASIC Plus FPGAs have passed extensive testing at extreme conditions to achieve compliance with MIL-STD-883 Class B and qualify for use in high-reliability defence applications.
Indesign selected Actel's single-chip, live at power-up ProASIC Plus FPGAs to serve as the receiver-side baseband processor and perform various system control functions between the baseband processor and the codec.
The ProASIC Plus devices also serve as an interface for configuring components in the radio subsection of the JS-2 wireless system.
"Because our JS-2 system uses proprietary, patent-pending signalling algorithms to deliver the right balance of high datarate and extended range, we needed a solution that would protect our intellectual property, yet still offer the ability to change the design to meet a customer's specifications", said Jerry Gotway, President of Indesign.
Further reading
FPGAs fly with Airbus
More than 700 Actel FPGAs have been designed into the Airbus A380.
Flash-based FPGAs enable novel cable modem design
Integen Technologies has used ProASIC Plus FPGAs to implement the core of its cable modem design, which forms part of its Guest Room Integrated Delivery System.
Flash-based FPGAs put to work on Eurofighter
Teldix has selected Actel's Flash-based, single-chip ProASIC Plus FPGAs for use in common processor modules for the Eurofighter Typhoon.
"Virtually impossible to copy or reverse engineer, Actel's ProASIC Plus Flash-based FPGAs gave us increased security compared to a hard-wired ASIC, with all of the flexibility typically associated with a programmable device".
Martin Mason, Director of Flash Product Marketing at Actel, said: "Indesign has a solid reputation for delivering innovative electronic products for its customers in the consumer, medical, military and communications markets".
"In addition to providing Indesign with unprecedented design security, our single-chip ProASIC Plus FPGAs allowed Indesign to reduce its overall system component count versus using an SRAM-based FPGA, leading to savings in system cost and board space".
Indesign's patent-pending baseband processor is implemented using an APA075 device from Actel's ProASIC Plus family.
The receiver baseband processor performs many system functions including communication with the radio frequency (RF) section, forward error correction and interface with the codec.
Together with a state-of-the-art radio, the system delivers 96dB of dynamic range and 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response with less than 1ms of latency.
Given the cost savings and security benefits that Indesign has realised using Actel devices, the company plans to implement future versions of its transmitter baseband processor using Actel devices as well.
Protecting intellectual property (IP) is paramount to a company's success in the marketplace.
For increased design security, Actel's ProASIC Plus devices include the FlashLock feature, whereby special security keys are hidden throughout the fabric of the device to prevent internal probing and overwriting.
The keys are located in such a way that they make both invasive and subtler, non-invasive attacks against the ProASIC Plus FPGAs very difficult.
The secure ProASIC Plus devices are virtually immune from over-building during manufacturing or from cloning once the final system has shipped.
The ProASIC Plus family consists of devices ranging from 75,000 to 1 million system gates.
The combination of a fine-grained, single-chip ASIC-like architecture and nonvolatile Flash configuration memory makes Actel's ProASIC Plus offering a strong ASIC alternative.
The devices are live at power-up, low power, highly secure, resistant to neutron-induced firm errors and require no separate configuration memory, all characteristics shared by ASICs.
The ProASIC Plus architecture and design methodology support popular FPGA and ASIC tool flows, reducing time-to-market and permitting designers to migrate easily between FPGA and ASIC solutions.
• Actel Europe: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
