Actel

Actel's Ultra-Low-Power Flash FPGAs

The Industry's Leading Low-Power Programmable Logic Devices

As a customer using programmable logic, the unrelenting claims of low-power leadership can get tiresome and confusing. How can all vendors claim low-power leadership? Ignore the claims and check the datasheets. Examine the basic power components: static, dynamic, and low-power mode. Then, check the estimation tools. That's what Actel did. We closely examined and compared datasheets, estimation tools, and even measured devices from Altera® and Xilinx®. After a comparison to Actel data, the conclusion was obvious. With power consumption now as low as 2 µW, only Actel gets you close to "zero power."

The results were the
same when Actel compared
datasheets of both the smaller
devices (30 k system gates) and
larger devices (600 k system gates).
Actel's flash-based IGLOO family of

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reprogrammable, full-featured FPGAs consumed the least amount of power in all modes and configurations by as much as 1700 times. Taking the comparison a step further, the examination continued with a power comparison board, which measured the devices.

FPGA Static Power



          In the lower 30 k densities, the
          Xilinx CoolRunner™-II and Altera MAX® IIZ
          devices had more than 10X higher static
          power than Actel's IGLOO FPGA.

          At the larger 600 k system gate densities,
          the Altera Cyclone® III and Xilinx
          Spartan™-3AN had from 1,000 to 1,700X
          higher static power than the comparable
          Actel IGLOO FPGA.





Large devices; Small devices

Not only do true nonvolatile flash FPGAs enable significantly reduced power consumption, but they also improve response times and deliver unparalleled reliability and uncompromising security. The many variations of flash-based, low-cost FPGAs include devices that have been optimized for power, speed, and I/O, some of the fundamental design requirements for power- and cost-sensitive design across the globe.

  • IGLOO: The ultra-low-power, programmable solution
  • IGLOO nano: The industry's lowest power, smallest size solution
  • IGLOO PLUS: The low-power FPGA with enhanced I/O capabilities
  • ProASIC3: The low-power, low-cost, FPGA solution
  • ProASIC3 nano: Lowest cost solution with enhanced I/O capabilities (as low as 49 cents!)
  • ProASIC3L: The FPGA that balances low power, performance, and low cost
Power Matters

At Actel, we are continually pushing the technological edge, adding to and supporting our diverse product portfolio to meet our customers' broad spectrum of specifications. We are working hard to optimize power consumption at all levels of process technology, silicon architecture, software, and design, maximizing our customers' ability to reduce power—from start to finish.

Spartan and CoolRunner are registered trademarks of Xilinx, Inc. Cyclone and MAX are registered trademarks of Altera Corporation.