Actel Drives Flash Into Automotive Applications
ProASICPLUS Flash-based FPGAs Add Reprogrammability to
Industry's Broadest Line of Automotive Offerings
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., February 09, 2004 —
Actel Corporation (Nasdaq:
ACTL) today announced that it has added its nonvolatile, flash-based
ProASICPLUS field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in extended
automotive temperature range versions to its successful line of automotive
solutions. The addition of its reprogrammable, single-chip ProASICPLUS FPGAs
rounds out Actel's automotive FPGA product portfolio with densities up
to 1-million system gates, making it the industry's broadest automotive
offering. Actel's ProASICPLUS automotive devices are optimized
for telematics and other in-cab applications that require flexible, high-reliability
solutions, including navigation, speech recognition, passenger control
and comfort systems, intelligent occupant sensors and heads-up displays.
Further, the tamper-resistant nature of Actel's flash and antifuse technologies
also makes Actel's automotive line a suitable platform for developing
occupant safety systems, electronic engine control modules for camless
engine control units (ECUs) and other under-the-hood powertrain management
systems.
"Due to its low power, reprogrammable, live at power-up features
and tamper-resistant capabilities, we are seeing a growing demand among
our customers for flash-based FPGA technology for use in a wide range
of applications, including in-cab automotive telematics and engine control," said
Barry Marsh, vice president of product marketing at Actel. "Therefore,
with the addition of our successful flash-based ProASICPLUS FPGAs
to our broad portfolio of automotive products, customers can confidently
choose the nonvolatile FPGA with the range of features that best suits
their design requirements."
Actel's ProASICPLUS FPGAs have already been utilized in automotive
applications. Life Racing, the electronics design arm of AER (Advanced
Engine Research Ltd.), used an APA450 device to enable unprecedented
flexibility and performance in an automotive ECU. With Actel's in-system
programmability (ISP), Life Racing was able to replace off-the-shelf
Time Processor Unit (TPU) controllers with a single FPGA, reducing component
count, saving board area and minimizing debug requirements. Overall,
implementing a flexible hardware solution enabled Life Racing to shorten
software development time and speed overall time to market.
The ProASICPLUS automotive solutions are supported by the
industry's most comprehensive portfolio of IP cores specifically designed
and optimized for in-cab and under-the-hood automotive applications,
including LIN, CAN, SPI, 8051, Z80, 6809, Reed Solomon and DES/3DES/AES.
By providing customers with pre-verified IP, Actel helps reduce design
time and provides the ability to integrate multiple design elements into
a one-chip solution, reducing an application's overall component count
and cost.
About Actel's Automotive Solutions
Ranging in density from 3,000 to 1-million system gates, the industry's
broadest portfolio of automotive FPGA solutions, Actel's automotive products
include its antifuse-based eX, MX and SX-A families and its flash-based
ProASICPLUS family. These offerings extend the inherent low
power, high performance, low cost and security benefits of Actel's nonvolatile,
single-chip technologies to the automotive development community. Qualified
to operate at temperatures from -40 degrees C up to 150 degrees C, the
automotive devices from Actel function at some of the highest temperatures
among competitive solutions. Actel's automotive FPGAs are optimized for
in-cab control and interconnect functions for a range of telematics and
other in-cab applications that require flexible, high-reliability solutions.
Pricing and Availability
The full-line of automotive ProASICPLUS devices
are available now with pricing starting at $5.40 each in quantities of
250K. For more information about Actel's automotive solutions, please
visit the Actel Web site at http://www.actel.com/products/solutions/auto/.
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 2061 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA,
94043-4655. Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835). Internet: http://www.actel.com.
Contact: Stephanie Mrus, Actel Corporation, 650.318.4614
