Actel Provides Multiple Solutions for Airbus A380 Next-Generation Commercial Airliner
Actel FPGAs and IP Designed into a Broad Range
of Applications on Recently Tested Aircraft
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 21, 2005 —
Actel
Corporation (Nasdaq: ACTL) today announced that the company has provided
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and intellectual property (IP)
core modules for a number of applications onboard the Airbus A380 commercial
airliner, which successfully completed its maiden test flight on April
27, 2005. More than 700 devices from the company's ProASICPLUS and
SX-A FPGA families have been designed into the following applications:
flight computers; engine control and monitoring; braking systems; safety
warning systems; cabin air conditioning and pressurization; and cockpit
displays. In addition, Actel's Core10/100 IP module, an Ethernet Media
Access Controller, and a ProASICPLUS FPGA were selected
for use in an Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) communications
link for the A380, which is being billed as the largest, most advanced
and most efficient commercial airliner ever. 
"Actel's proven track record of providing high-performance, reliable
solutions to the aviation market was recognized by a number of design
teams working on many of the subsystems for the Airbus A380, resulting
in more than 700 of our FPGAs being used in each aircraft," stated
Ken O'Neill, director, military and aerospace product marketing at Actel. "Not
only did we provide the silicon and IP solutions necessary to meet the
demanding performance and safety requirements of this world-class airliner,
but our industry-leading support also played a key role in helping everyone
involved stay on target for meeting the goal of starting passenger service
by 2006."
Actel's flash-based ProASICPLUS devices are single-chip,
live at power up solutions that combine high performance and low power
with nonvolatility and in-system reprogrammability. The SX-A family of
antifuse-based FPGAs provides a combination of high speed and low power
in highly secure single-chip solutions.
Unlike SRAM-based FPGAs, Actel's ProASICPLUS and SX-A
devices are immune to neutron-induced, single-event functional interrupts
("firm errors") and require no radiation-mitigation techniques.
When high-energy neutrons penetrate the SRAM memory cells used for configuration
of an SRAM FPGA, it is highly probable that functional failure will cause
the device to operate in an unpredictable manner. This can be particularly
detrimental in aerospace applications.
The Core10/100 IP module supports 10/100 Mbps full and half duplex operations.
For the Airbus A380, the IP core was selected for an AFDX communications
link in a down-wing application for engine-control monitoring. This challenging
application required severe temperature capabilities and firm-error resistance.
Actel's ProASICPLUS FPGAs and the Core10/100 IP module
provided a reliable, high-performance solution with guaranteed service.
For more information, an application note on designing AFDX solutions
can be found at http://www.actel.com/documents/AFDX_Solutions_AN.pdf.
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
