"With more than a 20 percent improvement in speed and nearly twice the logic utilization of traditional FPGAs, designers using Actel's new high-density Axcelerator devices require a comprehensive offering of leading-edge software and hardware tools to streamline the design process," said Bryon Moyer, senior director of tools and technical marketing at Actel. "Our enhanced Libero and Designer software tools, our easy-to-use verification and logic analysis tools, a robust programmer, and a flexible evaluation platform -- combined with third-party support from industry-leading EDA vendors -- enables designers to achieve the highest internal performance for their next-generation communications, interfacing and bridging applications."

For users of Axcelerator devices, the Actel Libero 2.2 design environment includes best-in-class tools from Actel, Innoveda, SynaptiCAD, Mentor Graphics and Synplicity. Libero streamlines the design flow and enables schematic capture, stimulus and structural specification, import of structural design, test bench generation, simulation, synthesis, place and route, verification and real-time internal probing. Libero also supports mixed-mode design entry input, which is especially valuable for designers integrating intellectual property (IP) into Axcelerator FPGA designs.

Integrated into the Libero environment or used as a standalone tool suite, Actel's enhanced Designer R1 2002 software contains user-friendly productivity tools to accelerate and automate the system design process without forcing the designer to relinquish control. With both automated and manual flows, Designer delivers automatic place and route, offers robust power analysis, allows hierarchical netlist viewing, provides support for fixed pins, creates customized macros and ensures accurate timing throughout the development cycle. Actel Designer also works seamlessly with best-in-class synthesis, schematic and simulation tools from leading EDA vendors including Cadence Design Systems, Innoveda, Mentor Graphics, Model Technology, SynaptiCAD, Synopsys and Synplicity.

Actel provides its Silicon Explorer II, a verification and logic analysis tool, for real-time internal probing of Axcelerator devices. The Silicon Explorer II software has been upgraded to deliver test and debug support for Axcelerator devices. The combination of hardware and software diagnostics allows designers to decrease the time spent verifying circuit operation and accelerate the design debug process, thereby offering users a time-to-market advantage.

For optimized Axcelerator programming support, Actel offers its enhanced Silicon Sculptor II, a compact, single-device programmer. Silicon Sculptor II provides self-test capability, offers backwards compatibility with Silicon Sculptor adapter modules, and includes universal socket adapters. The standalone software for Silicon Sculptor II has also been upgraded to deliver programming support for Axcelerator devices.

A complete evaluation board enables designers to demonstrate and evaluate the feasibility of the designs leveraging the Axcelerator's unprecedented internal core performance of over 500 MHz. Other features of the board include an Axcelerator AX1000 or AX2000 test chip, a PowerQUICC II processor control subsystem, multiple standard I/O testing, single-ended and internal phase-locked loop (PLL) utilization, 10/100 Ethernet MII and Gigabit Ethernet GMII interfaces, and cable- and board-level low-voltage differential signal (LVDS) interconnect support.

About the Axcelerator Family

Based on a 0.15-micron, seven-layer metal antifuse process, the Axcelerator family, with devices ranging in density from 125,000 to 2-million system gates, will achieve the highest internal performance in the industry, delivering over 500 MHz operation and up to 100 percent resource utilization. Built upon the company's new AX architecture, the Axcelerator family features several key architectural advancements, including an embedded FIFO controller, a fully fracturable SuperCluster, an embedded 64-bit PerPin FIFO, a scalable Core Tile structure and flexible clock structure.

Pricing and Availability

Libero 2.2 and Designer R1 2002 with Axcelerator support are available now. The complete Axcelerator evaluation platform, Silicon Explorer II and Silicon Sculptor II programmer are available for $2,500, $1,495 and $1,850, respectively. For further information about pricing and availability, please contact Actel.

Forward-looking Statements

The statement that the Axcelerator family "will achieve the highest internal performance in the industry" is a forward-looking statement made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those forecast in the forward-looking statement due to the Risk Factors set forth at the end of Part I of Actel's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 6, 2002, including those discussed under the following headings: Competition; Dependence on Customized Manufacturing Processes; and Technological Change and Dependence on New Product Development.

About Actel

Actel Corporation is a supplier of innovative programmable logic solutions, including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) based on antifuse and flash technologies, high-performance intellectual property (IP) cores, software development tools and design services targeted for the high-speed communications, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) replacement and radiation-tolerant markets. Founded in 1985, Actel employs approximately 500 people worldwide. The Company is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ACTL and is headquartered at 955 East Arques Avenue, Sunnyvale, Calif., 94086-4533. Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835). Internet: http://www.actel.com .

NOTE: The Actel name and logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Actel Corporation. All other trademarks and servicemarks are the property of their respective owners.