Actel Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTL) today announced that the largest SmartFusion device is now in production. SmartFusion intelligent mixed signal FPGAs are the only devices to integrate an
FPGA , an ARM Cortex-M3 processor and programmable analog, offering full customization, IP protection and ease-of-use. 500,000 system gates, a hard 100 MHz 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontroller subsystem with 512 Kbytes of embedded flash and 64 Kbytes of embedded SRAM, programmable analog including 3 ADCs and 3 DACs, 10 comparators and much more is offered by the largest device in the SmartFusion family. The feature set of the A2F500 device is well-suited for applications such as system management, motor control and industrial automation.
The following are the key Features of SmartFusion A2F500 Devices
Microcontroller Subsystem
- 100 MHz, 125 DMIPS throughput with 512 Kbytes flash and 64 Kbytes SRAM
- Dedicated Ethernet MAC, two of each: SPI, UART, 32-bit timers
Programmable Analog
- Three 12-bit SAR ADCs with 500 Ksps sampling speed including 8-/10-bit modes and sample & hold
- Three 12-bit sigma-delta DAC with 500 Ksps update rate
- Five Clock Conditioning Circuits (CCCs) and 2 integrated analog PLLs with phase shift, multiply/divide, and delay capabilities and input frequency range from 1.5 to 350 MHz
- Ten bipolar high-voltage monitors (with 4 input ranges from +/-2.5 V to -11.5/+14 V) with 1% accuracy
FPGA Fabric
- 350 MHz system performance; 500 K System gates and 108 Kbytes SRAM
- Create additional standard interfaces or proprietary interfaces using high speed FPGA I/Os and gates
Steven Yates, President, founder & CTO of ADI Engineering, said that Actel's SmartFusion intelligent
mixed signal FPGA technology provided ADI Engineering the ability to integrate multiple functions into a single device and offered a proven reliable software code set via the Pigeon Point BMR reference design. He also added that the flexibility, ease-of-use and cost effectiveness of the SmartFusion FPGA based Pigeon Point BMR makes it easier for customers to develop custom products based on ADI's ATCA and AMC/MicroTCA reference designs.
The SmartFusion family, since its introduction in March 2010, is seeing broad adoption in the marketplace with hundreds of customers in the evaluation phase and production shipment on several designs. Embedded system designers in industrial, medical, communications and military segments have embraced the innovative integration offered by SmartFusion devices.
Rich Kapusta, vice president of marketing and business development at Actel said that the rapid market adoption of SmartFusion FPGAs demonstrates that this type of integration was long overdue. By providing a true system-on-chip solution, they are able to address the design challenges faced by the industry. He also added that the Production availability of their largest SmartFusion device enables the customers to do even more with this platform and continue to break new ground.
Actel also announced the availability of the A2F500 Development Kit (A2F500-DEV-KIT). Read related announcement at http://www.actel.com/company/press/2010/9/16/1.
Based on Actel's proprietary flash process, SmartFusion
FPGAs are intended for hardware and embedded designers in need of a true system-on-chip (SoC) solution providing more flexibility than traditional fixed-function microcontrollerswithout the excessive cost of soft processor cores on traditional FPGAs.
Pricing and Availability
SmartFusion A2F500 devices are offered in FG256 and FG484 leaded and lead-free ROHS-compliant packages. These products are offered in commercial and industrial temperature grades and are now available in volume production. The A2F500-DEV-KIT is priced at $999 and is available now for ordering. Customers may contact their local Actel sales office or distributor for more information. For evaluating SmartFusion FPGAs, an Evaluation Kit based on the A2F200 device is also available for $99 (A2F-EVAL-KIT).
