July 16, 2008 -- Actel Corp. today announced tha it has received ISO/TS 16949:2002 certification. When combined with AEC-Q100 Grade 1 and Grade 2 qualification of its ProASIC3 devices and the company's Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) documentation, the new certification ensures that users can deploy Actel's high-grade automotive low-power FPGAs and confirms that the company's design, development and production procedures meet the standard's strict guidelines.
"Certification is a mandatory requirement for doing business with the majority of automotive manufacturers," said Terry Pence, Senior Manager, High-Reliability Product Marketing, for Actel. "This important ISO certification ensures that our quality management system follows best practices for the automotive industry and provides a process for continual improvement. By satisfying the automotive industry's stringent requirements, we ensure that our products are well-suited for the extreme conditions presented by under- the-hood, safety and body electronics applications."
According to Actel, its flash-based FPGA devices offer the industry's lowest power and critical firm error immunity levels not achieved by SRAM-based solutions. This allows a wide variety of transportation vehicles — from standard automobiles to trucks and locomotives &mdash to leverage the flexibility, performance and overall lower program costs of using FPGAs in high-reliability applications. To date, more than 70% of the company's automotive-grade, flash-based devices are used in "under-the-hood" applications such as powertrain, safety and transmission control modules.
Last year, Actel announced that the ProASIC3 family was the first to achieve AEC-Q100 Grade 1 and Grade 2 qualification, making them the first FPGAs to achieve this quality level. Qualification verifies that ProASIC3 devices can operate in extended junction temperature ranges (-40°C to +135°C). Low static power of 40mA at 135°C enables the devices to endure extreme temperatures for longer periods of time without thermal reliability or runaway concerns.
The ProASIC3 family also features on-chip flash memory for FPGA switch control, making them immune to neutron-induced firm errors which can cause configuration upsets; a mandatory requirement in an industry driving toward zero defects. As a result, Actel's automotive-grade products provide a viable alternative to complex and costly ASIC technology in under-the-hood applications.
Go to the Actel Corp. website to find additional information.
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