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PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC
Santa Cruz, Calif. - Going boldly where no programmable logic has gone before, Actel Corp. is slated this week to unwrap its Fusion Programmable System Chip (PSC), said to be the world's first mixed-signal FPGA family.
The Fusion PSC integrates configurable analog blocks, flash memory, clock generation and management, and digital logic into one monolithic device. Actel believes the device will open new applications for FPGAs, including power and temperature management, motor and motion control, system initialization and configuration, program and data storage, and "live at power-up" clock generation, conditioning and distribution.
"We see this as a game changer in the FPGA space," said Dennis Kish, vice president of marketing at Actel. "We've never had anything remotely like it in terms of customer reaction."
Actel offered a sneak preview of the Fusion architecture last summer (see July 18, page 30), and this week plans to announce the device's availability, along with far more details about its components. Actel will also roll out the Libero 7.0 integrated development environment (IDE), upgraded to support the Fusion PSC and allow the configuration of its analog blocks.
The Fusion PSC will include an A/D converter, analog inputs, integrated oscillators and embedded flash memory. As such, said Martin Mason,...