Industry Report Sheds Light on FPGA Reliability
iRoC Technologies Study Demonstrates that Neutrons Cause Ground-Level
Failures in SRAM FPGAs, While Antifuse- and Flash-Based FPGAs are Immune
to Soft Errors
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 19, 2004 —
Actel
Corporation (Nasdaq: ACTL) today announced the results of a comprehensive
third-party investigation verifying that field-programmable gate arrays
(FPGAs) based on flash and antifuse technologies are immune to configuration
upsets caused by high-energy neutrons naturally generated in the earth's
atmosphere. The study also determined that SRAM-based FPGAs are vulnerable
to neutron-induced configuration loss not only under high-altitude conditions,
as traditionally believed, but also in ground-based applications, including
automotive, medical, telecommunications, and data storage and communications.
The tests, which followed the industry-prescribed JESD-89 test methodology,
were conducted in February 2004 by iRoC Technologies at the Los Alamos
Neutron Sciences Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
The results of the independent study are documented in the report, "Radiation
Results of SER [Soft-Error Rate] Test of Actel, Xilinx, and Altera FPGA
Instances,"
which is available free of charge beginning April 19, 2004 at http://www.actel.com/products/solutions/ser/.
"iRoC ran tests on different technologies of field programmable
devices using identical procedures, the same tester and the same neutron
source. As a third party test house, we use a consistent, high quality
methodology so results can be compared with confidence. We confirmed
that SRAM technology is much more susceptible to soft errors than all
other technologies tested," stated Olivier Lauzeral, Director of
U.S. Operations at iRoC Technologies. "When high-energy neutrons
penetrate memory cells, such as those used in SRAM-based programmable
logic devices, it is highly probable that functional failure will cause
the device to operate in an unpredictable manner. This can be detrimental
to systems we rely on every day, such as the telephone network, automotive
airbags, medical equipment and even military and aerospace applications."
Barry Marsh, vice president of product marketing at Actel, stated, "This
report represents the first time devices from Actel, Altera and Xilinx
have been simultaneously tested for neutron reliability in a controlled
environment. As an independent, repeatable study, we believe the iRoC
results clearly demonstrate that immunity to neutron-induced errors must
be on a designer's short list of FPGA selection criteria. Actel's antifuse-
and flash-based FPGA technologies are inherently immune to neutron-induced
functionality changes. Even as process geometries shrink, our underlying
architectural benefits will continue to protect the integrity of high-reliability
and mission critical designs."
Test Methodology and Results
In response to industry-wide concern surrounding neutron-induced upsets,
iRoC conducted a series of tests to determine the failure rate of five
different FPGA architectures, including Virtex-II and Spartan-3 SRAM-based
FPGAs from Xilinx; an SRAM-based Cyclone FPGA from Altera; and the antifuse-based
Axcelerator FPGA and flash-based ProASICPLUS devices from
Actel. The testing demonstrated that antifuse- and flash-based FPGAs
suffered no loss of configuration under neutron bombardment while the
tested SRAM-based FPGAs demonstrated a FIT (failures in time) rate ranging
from 1,150 at sea level to 3,900 at 5,000 feet to 540,000 at 60,000 feet.
One FIT is defined as one failure in 109 hours. While integrated circuits
typically have FIT rates lower than 100, high-reliability applications
require a FIT rate of 10 to 20.
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 more than 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
