Aldec Delivers Prototyping Solution for Actel RTAX-S Space FPGA Designs.HENDERSON, Nev. -- Aldec, Inc., a pioneer in mixed-language simulation and advanced design tools for ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) A type of gate array that is programmed in the field rather than in a semiconductor fab. Containing up to hundreds of thousands of gates, there are a variety of FPGA architectures on the market. devices, today announced the availability of the RTAX-S Prototyping Board for radiation-tolerant RTAX-S FPGAs from Actel Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :ACTL ACTL American College of Trial Lawyers (Irvine, California) ACTL Access Carrier Terminal Location ACTL Activation Library ACTL Automated Compatibility Test Laboratory ACTL Association Cultural Turkey-Luxembourg ). Easing the prototyping process of space-flight systems, the new RTAX-S Prototyping Board provides the flexibility Actel's flash-based ProASIC3 FPGAs offer, allowing designers to utilize a design across multiple aerospace projects, shorten design cycles and lower project costs. Together with automatic primitive's conversion and reusability of the board, Aldec's early prototyping solution addresses challenges aerospace engineers may face during the verification process of a complex antifuse-based design. "Designers have asked for a quick, straightforward way to prototype radiation-tolerant designs in Actel's antifuse-based RTAX-S FPGAs," stated Dr. Stanley Hyduke, president of Aldec, Inc. "Aldec responded with a complete and reliable solution based on Actel's ProASIC3 flash-based FPGAs that will simplify the prototyping path of such designs." Rich Brossart, vice president, product marketing at Actel, said, "For easy and rapid early prototyping of Actel's space-optimized RTAX-S FPGAs, Aldec's solution uses ProASIC3 FPGAs, allowing customers to tap the flexibility and reprogrammability of flash-based prototypes for multiple applications. As a result, Aldec's solution can accelerate design and validation cycles, which translates into faster time to market and lower development costs." Automatic Library Primitives Conversion Substituting reprogrammable parts for the fuse-based ones requires appropriate library conversions. The primitives' library conversion utility is provided with Active-HDL, a mixed-language simulator that is included with the RTAX-S Prototyping Board. The utility allows automatic conversion of primitives from one library (e.g., RTAX-S) to another (e.g., ProASIC3). RTAX-S designs not using library specific primitives or memories can be implemented to different architecture without any modifications. Otherwise, primitives and memories should be replaced manually or supplied as a customer service. Hardware Adaptor Board The prototyping adaptor board allows easy and inexpensive RTAX-S designs prototyping with flash devices. The reprogrammable ProASIC3 chip on the top of the adaptor allows implementing design changes easily, eliminating the need to solder/unsolder the adaptor from the prototyping board each time the design is being changed. The JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) An IEEE standard for boundary scan technology. See scan technology. JTAG - Joint Test Action Group connector next to the ProASIC3 device allows reprogramming Reprogramming refers to erasure and remodeling of epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation, during mammalian development[1]. After fertilization some cells of the newly formed embryo migrate to the germinal ridge and will eventually become the germ cells of the adaptor on the fly. The power connector A power connector is an electrical connector designed to carry a significant amount of electrical power, usually as DC or low-frequency AC. Some types of RF connector may also carry large amounts of power, but are considered as a separate category. provided on the top of the adaptor board allows programming of the adaptor without soldering soldering Process that uses metal alloys with low melting points to join metallic surfaces without melting them. Tin-lead solders, once widely used in the electrical and plumbing industries, are now replaced by lead-free alloys. it to the PCB PCB: see polychlorinated biphenyl. PCB in full polychlorinated biphenyl Any of a class of highly stable organic compounds prepared by the reaction of chlorine with biphenyl, a two-ring compound. . Bottom part of the adaptor is footprint-compatible with RTAX-S device allowing soldering the adaptor board to the PCB as a regular RTAX-S device. The adaptor board can be soldered/unsoldered several times, thus can be utilized for different projects. Components The Prototyping solution provides engineers with a complete prototyping and verification toolset: * Aldec Active-HDL (Designer Edition) mixed-language simulator * Aldec library primitives conversion utility (built-in Active-HDL) * Actel Libero Libero can refer to:
Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. Environment (IDE) - Gold edition * Reusable FPGA-based prototyping adaptor board with Actel's ProASIC3 FPGA * FlashPro3 programmer Availability Prototyping adaptor is available today in two packages: 1. Prototyping bundle for $4,995. Includes Active-HDL (Design Edition) mixed VHDL and Verilog, built-in library primitives' conversion utility, Actel Libero integrated design environment, prototyping adaptor, and FlashPro3 programmer. 2. Prototyping adaptor only for $3,495. Includes Prototyping adaptor and FlashPro3 programmer. All licenses are for one year and can be purchased from Aldec directly or from an authorized distributor sales@aldec.com. The adaptor board is a buy-out product. About Aldec Aldec, Inc., established in 1984, is committed to delivering high-performance, HDL-based design verification software for UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). , Linux, Solaris and Windows platforms. Additional information on Aldec and all its products can be found at www.aldec.com. Active-HDL is a trademark of Aldec, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. |
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