Product category:
Programmable Logic Devices
News Release from: Actel Europe | Subject: RTAX-SL
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 26 June 2007
Space qualified FPGAs cut power
consumption
The low-power radiation-tolerant RTAX-SL FPGA family is specifically targeted at high-reliability space-flight designs.
Extending its low-power offerings to the space community, Actel has developed the low-power, radiation-tolerant RTAX-SL FPGA family specifically targeted at high-reliability space-flight designs The industry's lowest power programmable logic solution for space applications, the new RTAX-SL family offers approximately 50% lower standby current than the leading space FPGA offering at 125C
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 5 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The company has also announced an extension to its prototyping portfolio for the RTAX-SL, RTAX-S and RTSX-SU families and a new EV production flow, which implements all the steps specified by QML Class V and provides a higher level of testing for its space products.
"Our new low-power RTAX-SL FPGA family directly addresses the demand from the space community for lower power solutions as design requirements and power budgets tighten", says Rich Brossart, Vice President of Product Marketing at Actel.
"For high-reliability, mission-critical aerospace systems, our new low-power family, prototyping options and EV processing flow enable our customers to reduce system power and save development costs while still meeting the stringent quality and reliability requirements for flight".
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Programmable devices add ADC calibration
Fusion PSC calibration intellectual property eliminates the additional discrete ADCs and prescalers often required to achieve higher levels of accuracy.
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New Igloo AGL015 and ProASIC3 A3P015 FPGAs provide lower cost, lower power alternative to low-density FPGAs and CPLDs in consumer, medical, comms and industrial applications
Based on Actel's successful RTAX-S architecture, the new RTAX-SL family comprises three members: the RTAX250SL, RTAX1000SL and RTAX2000SL.
Designed to offer radiation performance that exceeds the requirements of most space applications, the family also offers embedded memory, SEU-hardened flip-flops, high I/O count, multiple I/O standard support and hermetic packaging.
Addressing the three prototyping phases - early concept proof, mid-prototyping and final verification - Actel provides a comprehensive prototyping portfolio for its aerospace customers.
For early concept proof of Actel's space-optimised devices, Aldec offers a prototyping solution using Actel's ProASIC3 Flash-based FPGAs, allowing customers to tap the flexibility and reprogrammability of Flash-based prototypes for multiple aerospace applications.
For a cost-effective mid-prototyping solution, Actel offers commercial footprint-compatible Axcelerator (AX) products and prototyping adapters.
Customers at the final verification stage have access to pin-compatible RT silicon with the same architecture, functionality and timing attributes as the flight-qualified FPGAs.
These solutions offer tremendous savings in design time by eliminating design cycles, which translates into overall lower development costs.
Increasing its already stringent testing and screening process, Actel's new EV devices provide an even higher quality level for high-reliability systems used in space deployment, such as command and data handling systems, telemetry, attitude and station keeping and spacecraft health systems.
The new EV production flow developed by Actel implements all of the steps specified by QML Class V, as defined in the MIL-PRF-38535, a performance-based specification document that defines the general, quality assurance and reliability requirements for the manufacture of integrated circuits intended for use in military and space applications.
The RTAX-SL devices and new prototypes for the RTAX-S and RTSX-SU can be ordered now for scheduled delivery in Q4 2007.
Devices processed to the new EV production flow can be ordered now for scheduled delivery in Q1 2008.
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