Actel Announces Fastest MX Family Device; 9,000 Gate A42MX09 offers 5.6ns clock-to-out performance.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 1998--Actel Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTL) today announced the immediate availability of the 9,000 gate A42MX09, the fastest device in Actel's new MX family of FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays).

The MX family is the industry's first line of low-cost, single-chip ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) alternatives. The new device is the third available member in the MX family.

The A42MX09 is designed for high-speed applications, such as those found in the telecommunications and networking markets. It provides not only the performance and low cost associated with standard ASIC devices, but also the flexibility of an FPGA. The new device features a clock-to-out speed of 5.6ns, mixed 5.0-3.3-voltage operation, and the benefits of Actel's non-volatile antifuse technology.

"I had to meet 50 MHz system performance for an OC-3 telecom switch in a high speed networking application," said Alex Hamilton, Senior Hardware Design Engineer, Sentient Networks, Inc. "I evaluated all of the major programmable logic suppliers. No other CPLD or FPGA could meet my speed and package requirements. The new MX device from Actel not only met the required 50 MHz system speed, but cost much less than the alternatives."

In a series of example applications run prior to its release, the A42MX09 demonstrated a commanding performance of 250 MHz for a shift register and 230Mhz for a 16-Bit Counter. In real-world networking applications, the A42MX09 ran a 32-Bit 802.3 Ethernet Controller CRC Function at 100Mhz, a 5B4B Symbol Decoder for 100Mbit Ethernet at 100Mhz, and a16x16 Banyan Network Switching Fabric for ATM at 155Mhz.

Additional A42MX09 Features

The A42MX09, like all MX family devices, is based on Actel's MultiPlex I/O Architecture, which is designed to provide designers with maximum flexibility. The device can operate at either pure 5.0-volt, pure 3.3-volt, or 5/3.3 mixed voltage operation. The A42MX09 supports true 5-volt output swings, resulting in better noise margin on the board.

In addition, the A42MX09 and other MX family devices provide a low power mode when the I/Os are tri-stated. The low power mode offers the industry's lowest power consumption -- five times better than any other FPGAs currently available. With some MX devices, designers have the ability to combine the fast dual port SRAM, fast wide decode, and hardwired JTAG with predictable timing. Like all devices in the MX family, the A42MX09 also offers up to 100 percent resource utilization with 100 percent pin-fixing.

Design Tools

Actel's Designer Lite full-function development tool supports the A42MX09 family and is available free on the Actel web site, www.actel.com .

Actel's Silicon Explorer, a computer-based debugging and diagnostic tool suite, can be used with the new MX family for real-time in-system design debug and verification activities.

Packaging and Pricing

The A42MX09 is available in a wide selection of popular packages including PL84, PLCC84, PQFP100, PQFP160 and TQFP176. Pricing for high volume quantities begins at $5.90.

About Actel

Actel is dedicated to providing logic designers with the capability and confidence to successfully move up to higher complexity designs. The company is the world's leading supplier of antifuse-based field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and associated software development tools. FPGAs are used by designers of communications, computer, medical, military/aerospace, industrial control, and other electronic systems to differentiate their products and get them to market faster. Actel is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol ACTL and is located at 955 East Arques Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94086-4533. Telephone: [phone]. Internet: http://www.actel.com . -0-

Note to Editors: The Actel name and logo are registered trademarks of the Actel Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective businesses.

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