FPGAs, Actel

Actel Delivers Industry’s First 4x4 mm Package For Programmable Logic Devices

News Release from: Actel Europe Ltd
13/11/2007

Achieving a significant milestone for the industry, Actel today announced it is offering its low-power 5µW (microwatt) IGLOO field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in a 4-millimeter (mm) package with a 0.4-mm ball pitch, the smallest package for any programmable logic device on the market.

Complementing its existing portfolio of small 8x8 mm and 5x5 mm packages , the Actel device in the new package offers designers four times the density, three times the I/O and a 36 percent reduction in size compared to competitive programmable logic devices. Smaller than a kernel of corn, the new IGLOO FPGAs are an ideal solution for power-sensitive, space-constrained handheld devices such as smart phones, portable media players, secure mobile communications devices, remote sensors, security cameras and portable medical devices.

“Today, designers require ultra low-power devices in small packaging, power-optimized design tools, and complementary IP solutions to create a successful portable application. Actel continues to break new ground and set new standards for the PLD industry as it addresses these areas,” said John East, president and CEO at Actel Corporation. “As we move forward, Actel will continue to address the unique challenges facing portable designers, particularly relating to power efficiency and the complementary technologies required to manage power. We intend that when power matters, designers think Actel.”

The first device to be offered in the 4x4 package will be the 30,000-gate IGLOO AGL030 device. The IGLOO FPGA delivers a staggering 200x less static power and more than 10x the battery life than competitive offerings. Actel also offers the feature-rich IGLOO family in pin-compatible 8x8 mm and 5x5 mm packages, enabling migration between packages. The 4x4mm devices feature on-board flash memory, 66 user I/Os and over 192 equivalent macrocells. IGLOO supports unique low-power states, such as Actel’s innovative Flash*Freeze mode, which stops the clocks, puts the I/Os into a know state and reduces power dramatically while preserving the state of SRAM and registers. IGLOO devices enter and exit Flash*Freeze mode within 1µs under the control of a single pin, allowing for dramatic system power savings to be quickly and easily achieved.