Actel Provides Path to the Future for Military and Aerospace Community with Broad Hi-Rel Product Roadmap
Company Plans Include the First Flash-Based FPGA
for Space and Extensions to its Industry-Leading, Antifuse-Based RTAX-S
Family
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., September 06, 2005 —
Providing
the military and aerospace markets with a clear path to future designs,
Actel Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTL) today revealed an extensive product
roadmap that will enable military and aerospace engineers to develop
system designs with high reliability (hi-rel), advanced features and
superior performance. As part of the roadmap, Actel plans to deliver
the first flash-based live at power-up FPGA for space applications, enabling
easy prototyping and in-space reconfigurability. Actel's roadmap also
includes two additions to its existing antifuse-based families. The RTAX4000S
device, also announced today (see separate press release entitled, "Actel
Unveils Industry's Highest-Density Radiation Tolerant FPGAs for Space
Designs"), will be the industry's highest density radiation-tolerant
(rad-tol) FPGA at 4 million system gates. Further, the onshore-manufactured
RHAX250S device, based on Actel's existing RTAX250S device, will be radiation-hardened
(rad-hard) assured (RHA) and offer a guaranteed high total dose rating
with QML class-V screening.
"The minimal form factor of our single-chip devices and their high radiation
tolerance have allowed Actel to rise above the competition in the military
and aerospace markets," said Ken O'Neill, director, military and aerospace
product marketing at Actel. "In addition, we continue to develop new
technologies for the space industry that will push densities to new levels
and drive innovation in features and performance while offering extremely
high reliability."
The Space Industry's First Flash-Based FPGA
Actel's flash-based FPGAs for space applications will bring a unique
set of advantages for system designers. Like Actel's other space-flight
FPGAs, the devices will be single chip, for minimum board space and weight,
and practically immune to radiation-induced single-event upsets (SEUs).
In addition, the devices' reprogramability will be useful for quick prototypes
and in-flight reconfigurability. These devices will be extensively modified
for space-flight applications and will have higher radiation tolerance
than the equivalent commercial parts.
Onshore Manufactured Rad-Hard FPGA
The RHAX250S device, derived from the company's successful RTAX-S family,
is a rad-hard, 250,000 system-gate FPGA that is planned for manufacture
at BAE Systems' RH CMOS foundry in Manassas, Virginia. The BAE Systems
foundry will give the product two distinct benefits for space-flight
customers: It will be an RHA product with a high guaranteed total dose
rating with QML class-V screening and will also be manufactured entirely
within the continental U.S., as required by the recent "trusted foundry" initiative
established by the U.S. Department of Defense. No competitor today offers
an RH-FPGA of this density level from an onshore foundry. Products are
planned for delivery by the end of 2006.
As part of its ongoing effort to support the military and aerospace
markets, Actel will continue to develop military-temperature plastic,
military-temperature hermetic and Mil-Std 883 Class B versions of the
company's commercial products. Since designers of space systems generally
require that new technology first obtain an established track record
of reliability in non mission-critical applications, Actel maintains
a philosophy of developing and delivering products to its commercial
customer base and then enhancing those product offerings for the hi-rel
community.
Further, Actel provides support to its military and aerospace customers
with a hi-rel tools package that offers a comprehensive selection of
tools for synthesis, functional verification and the implementation of
DSP functions.
About Actel
Actel Corporation is the leader in single-chip FPGA solutions. The Company
is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol ACTL and is
headquartered at 2061 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, Calif., 94043-4655.
For more information about Actel, visit http://www.actel.com.
Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835).
Contact: Stephanie Mrus, Actel Corporation, 650.318.4614
