Product category:
Programmable Logic Devices
News Release from: Actel Europe | Subject: RTAX4000S
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 03 July 2006
Space qualified FPGA raises the stakes
for density
The RTAX4000S is billed as the industry's highest-density high-reliability field-programmable gate array for space-bound systems.
Maintaining its steadfast support for designers in the aerospace industry, Actel has announced prototype availability of the RTAX4000S, the industry's highest-density high-reliability field-programmable gate array (FPGA) for space-bound systems With the four-million-gate RTAX4000S prototype, designers obtain the same architecture, density and timing properties, and packaging options offered by space flight-quality RTAX-S devices, without the added costs of MIL-STD 883 qualification and hermetically sealed packaging
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 8 Sep 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Space-qualified FPGA expands to 4 million gates
Actel has unveiled the industry's highest density radiation-tolerant field-programmable gate array for space designs.
FPGA survives outer space conditions
MIL-STD 883 Class B qualification opens high-bandwidth processing applications in spacecraft payloads for the RTAX4000S FPGA.
With the prototype, designers can validate a design and evaluate performance before programming a fully qualified FPGA, leading to significant reductions in overall design risk, time and costs.
"The RTAX4000S prototype answers the need of space designers searching for a programmable platform for the evaluation of a design prior to space flight", said Ravi Pragasam, Senior Manager, Military and Aerospace Product Marketing at Actel.
"This prototyping strategy for the RTAX4000S allows customers to verify the functionality of their designs and derive timing numbers that correspond to the actual flight silicon".
Further reading
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.
The RTAX4000S is well suited for satellite payload systems that require high gate counts, such as data processing applications in communications, earth observation and scientific satellites.
Like the flight units of the radiation-tolerant RTAX4000S, the RTAX4000S prototype boasts four million system gates (double the gate count of the previous largest RTAX-S part), 840 I/Os and 540Kbit of embedded memory.
Compared with traditional RH-ASIC solutions, the RTAX4000S delivers cost and time to market advantages.
RH-ASICs can deliver high gate counts, but have long lead times and require high up-front tooling charges that, in combination with the minimal volume requirements for many space applications, often translate into higher total unit costs.
With the advent of the RTAX4000S and the prototyping solution, customers can take advantage of the flexibility of the programmable fabric to speed the design process and improve overall system cost.
The RTAX4000S PROTO LG 1272 (land grid array) is available now.
The RTAX4000S PROTO CG 1272 (ceramic column grid array) will be available by the end of August 2006 and the RTAX4000S PROTO CQ 352 (ceramic quad flat pack) will be available at the end of September.
Orders for the prototype units are now open.
Software support for the RTAX4000S is also available now.
Space flight units of the RTAX4000S, in production quantities, are expected to be available to customers during Q1 2007.
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