SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a move that extends
the reach of its reprogrammable, flash-based ProASIC Plus field-programmable
gate array (FPGA) family, Actel Corporation (Nasdaq: ACTL - News) today introduced
the 75,000-gate APA075, expanding the family to seven devices ranging in
density from 75,000 to 1-million system gates. At the new density and
sub-$8 price point, the APA075 device enables Actel to provide a suitable
price/performance solution to the cost-sensitive, high-volume consumer market.
The company also unveiled its FlashLock on-chip security feature, which adds
another level of design security to the company's flash-based FPGA devices.
In addition, 20 percent performance improvements have been made possible by
Actel's design tools, Actel Designer software and Actel Libero integrated
design environment. These security and performance improvements allow Actel
to target a wider range of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)
alternative applications. These include set-top boxes, video games, network
and telecom line cards, industrial controls, wireless networking, medical and
avionics.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001019/ACTLLOGO )"The industry's acceptance of Actel's flash-based offerings has exceeded
our expectations. Since its introduction earlier this year, the ProASIC Plus
solution has won an unprecedented number of design wins in multiple market
segments, making it the fastest ramping family in Actel's history," said
John East, president and chief executive officer at Actel. "And now, with the
new APA075 device, FlashLock security feature and 20 percent performance
improvement derived from the Actel Designer and Actel Libero tools, we expect
that a broader base of the design community will migrate to ProASIC Plus,
especially in the cost-sensitive consumer arena."
The Design Security Advantage
As the complexity, capabilities and market share of FPGAs increase so does
the need to secure the intellectual property implemented in FPGAs.
Nonvolatile flash FPGAs, like Actel's ProASIC Plus family, offer levels of
design security beyond conventional SRAM-based FPGAs and ASIC solutions.
Actel's ProASIC Plus FPGAs are user programmed with a key, ranging from 79 to
263 bits, that blocks external attempts to read or alter the configuration
settings. Built from the ground up to offer enhanced design security, Actel
has unveiled its on-chip security mechanism, called FlashLock, that enables
designers to lock the design after programming to prevent unauthorized
changes. The FlashLock feature can also be used to thwart common security
problems faced by designers using conventional SRAM devices, including
overbuilding, cloning, reverse engineering and denial of service.
Performance Improvements
Design benchmarks show that the Actel Designer R1-2002 software, announced
in June 2002, and Actel Libero integrated design environment deliver an
average of 20 percent better performance on ProASIC Plus designs in a variety
of customer applications. This improvement was achieved through enhancements
to the Quadratic Placer in the Actel Designer offering. Integrated into the
Actel Libero integrated design environment or used as a standalone tool suite,
the Actel Designer software includes place-and-route, timing analysis and
memory generation functionality to accelerate and automate the system design
process without forcing the designer to relinquish control.
About ProASIC Plus
Actel's second-generation, reprogrammable, flash-based ProASIC Plus FPGA
family delivers high performance with system speeds of up to 100MHz and allows
designers to seamlessly interface between 3.3- and 2.5-V devices in a
mixed-voltage environment. The family contains two advanced
clock-conditioning blocks, each consisting of a phase-locked loop (PLL) core,
delay lines and clock multiplier/dividers. Additionally, two high-speed
LVPECL differential input pairs accommodate clock or data inputs. In-system
programmability (ISP) is supported through the IEEE standard 1149.1 JTAG
interface. The single-chip, "live-at-power-up" APA075 device includes
multiple PLLs and support for up to 27k bits of two-port embedded SRAM and
158 user-configurable I/Os.
Pricing and Availability
Sampling and production of the APA075 is scheduled to begin in Q3 2002.
Volume pricing for the new device is expected to be below $8 by Q1 2003 in
100,000 unit quantities. Samples of the initial six ProASIC Plus devices are
currently available. For further information about pricing and availability,
please contact Actel.
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.
