Application Examples

Protect your Design: is the CS49, which occupies less Actel FPGAs for e-Appliances
Secure your Set-top box than 50mm 2 of board space while
Set-top box designers need to com- offering up to 128 dedicated registers
Low Power, Small Form-Factor Logic
bine low manufacturing cost at very and 36 I/Os. Our programmable
high volumes with reliability and logic has been used to build inter-
security in order to create a successful faces between the CPU, the flash In the rapidly evolving e-Appliance market segment, designers who
product. With their leading high memory and the keypad, while also
e-Appliance FPGA Selector Guide
volume pricing and the protection providing error correction algorithms produce high volume consumer electronics such as digital cameras, personal
they provide against design theft and and power control circuits. Part Number eX64 eX128 eX256 SX08A SX16A SX32A
pirating, Actel FPGAs are the natural digital players, and set top boxes are in the difficult position of trying to find
System Gates 3,000 6,000 12,000 12,000 24,000 48,000
choice to use in set-top box designs. Master the Market with a
You can use them to interface func- Low Powered Digital Camera Dedicated Registers 64 128 256 256 528 1.080 products that enable them to reduce board space, power consumption, and cost
tions between NTSC and PAL Like many other portable appliances, • Low power consumption for
encoders and decoders, system digital camera designs require low Maximum Flip-Flops 128 256 512 512 990 1,980 while maintaining maximum performance. Actel has the winning solution:
extended battery life
processors, and various external power consumption. Since digital
interfaces such as USB2.0 and cameras often sit unused on a shelf Combinatorial Cells 128 256 512 512 924 1,800 Actel’s e-Appliance FPGAs offer significant reductions in design costs, board
IEEE1394. Our FPGAs are non- for weeks or months, it is important • Small footprint for
Maximum User I/Os 81 100 132 130 180 249
volatile, needing to be programmed to keep the drain on the camera system portability area, and power consumption while speeding time-to-market for performance-
only one time. Other FPGAs are batteries to a minimum. Owners of
Low Power Mode Y Y Y N N N
SRAM-based, requiring that the digital cameras who find themselves intensive applications… all this in a single chip.
binary files containing the design constantly changing the camera’s Packages TQ64, TQ100, TQ64,TQ100, TQ100, CS128, PQ208, TQ100 PQ208, TQ100 PQ208, TQ100
• Fast time-to-market
information be loaded into the batteries will soon take their busi- CS49, CS128 CS49, CS128 CS180 TQ144, FG144 TQ144, FG144 TQ144, TQ176
FPGA every time the system is ness elsewhere. To satisfy the need FG256 PG329, FG144 Actel FPGA in a Digital Camera Application
FG256, FG484
• Low cost at high volume
powered-up. It is very easy to inter- for low power consumption, Actel
Cypress Flash
cept, copy, or reverse engineer these has designed a family of FPGAs Key Pad
Clock Memory
• High performance 20 MHz Booster
binary files. The construction of with a standby low power mode of Flash-light
Actel FPGAs effectively prevents <250µA. In this static 50 MHz
SDRAM
Switches
reverse engineering of a design, mode, as the camera would be most
Motorola Motor Driver
offering the most secure solution of the time, Actel FPGAs consume
DSP-CPU
available for you to use in your set less than a fourth of the power of ACTEL Sharp
top box design. an average CPLD. In dynamic FPGA CCD Sensor
DMA
operating mode, Actel FPGAs con- Req LENS
Contrast/brightness
The MP3 Player: Appearance sume a sixth of the power of the Compact Epson
Flash Slot LCD Controller LCD Display
is Everything average CPLD, and less than half
Size, weight, and appearance are the power of the closest competing
*Actel’s e-Appliance FPGAs combine low power consumption with high
important factors for consumers of “low power” CPLD. Where conser-
performance and capacity, enabling kernel hardware functions.
MP3 players. Consequently, designers vation of battery power is critical
of these products need to minimize for systems needing very high levels
component count and form factor. of reliability, Actel FPGAs far sur-
Our small footprint packages give pass other programmable logic.
enclosure designers more freedom to Actel FPGAs have been used to For more information about Actel’s products, call 1-888-99-ACTEL or
choose a compact and eye-catching interface from the CPU to the LCD visit our Web site at http://www.actel.com
product packaging style, which in controller, to the keypad, and finally
turn will attract more customers. To to the image sensor, offering the Actel Corporation • 955 East Arques Avenue • Sunnyvale, California USA 94086
Tel: (408) 739-1010 • Fax: (408) 739-1540
meet market demands, Actel’s eX designer the freedom to create the
Actel Europe, Ltd. • Maxfli Court, Riverside Way • Camberley, Surrey GU15 3YL • United Kingdom
FPGA package choices include chip- highest quality digital camera to Tel: +44 (0)1276 401450 • Fax: +44 (0)1276 401490
scale packages. The smallest of these meet market demands. Actel Japan • EXOS Ebisu Building 4F • 1-24-14 Ebisu Shibuya-ku • Tokyo 150 • Japan
Tel: +81 (0) 3-3445-7671 • Fax: +81 (0) 3-3445-7668

©2001 Actel Corporation. All rights reserved. Actel and the Actel logo are trademarks of Actel Corporation.
All other brand or product names are the property of their owners.

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 D e s i g n To o l s a n d S e r v i c e s

Actel FPGA in an MP3 Application choose components with low power design and verification phases, chip, Actel’s e-Appliance FPGAs are Design Services Designer Series is Actel’s suite of
consumption, such as Actel FPGAs. enabling you to beat your competi- the total solution to meet all the The One Stop Design Solution FPGA development point tools for
USB Flash
CPU ECC Flash To further increase reliability, our tion to the market. Actel’s automatic requirements of the consumer elec- With a ten-year history of providing PCs and Workstations that includes
Port CPU Interface
Memory the ACTgen MacroBuilder, Designer
Interface e-Appliance FPGAs reduce high ther- place-and-route tools enable up to tronics market--at an affordable price. hardware and software services,
Actel FPGA in a Set Top Box Application
Smart Smart mal dissipation in the equipment, 100% logic utilization resulting in Actel’s Protocol Design Services group place-and-route software with
ACTEL Memory Media offers its customers design support Timer timing driven place-and route
reducing the need for special cooling faster design time. The unique gen- The Secure,
FPGA Interface Memory
apparatus such as fans or heatsinks, eral and local routing structures of Single Chip Solution IEEE USB at all stages of project development. and analysis tools, and the Silicon
1394 2.0 Sculptor and APS device program-
which limit system miniaturization Actel’s e-Appliance FPGAs enable Protection against pirating and With extensive knowledge of FPGA
MP3 Clock Power Key
Headphone Processor Generator Control Detect and also introduce electrical and 100% pin-locking, even at full logic reverse engineering in today’s highly design and prototyping, services are ming software.
audible noise. utilization, so your PCB can be competitive technological industry is delivered on time, within budget,
developed concurrently with the essential to creating a successful prod- and to the customers’ specifications. Real-Time
uP
48MHz
Key Pad The Smaller, the Better FPGA. Even verification time is uct. Actel’s e-Appliance FPGAs offer Device Verification
Crystal Actel Development Software Actel’s antifuse FPGAs contain
In today’s competitive consumer reduced because Actel’s e-Appliance that security. Their nonvolatility means FPGA
FPGAs can be internally probed in there is no need for a startup bitstream, The DeskTOP series brings togeth- internal probe circuitry that provides
electronics market, it seems that new
DSP er the best in silicon, synthesis, and built-in access to every node in a
devices like MP3 players and digital the target system and in real time by eliminating the possibility of configu-
*Actel’s e-Appliance FPGAs combine fast time- simulation to create a complete and design, enabling 100% real-time
cameras have barely made it to the using the Silicon Explorer II diag- ration data being intercepted. This
to-market, low power and small form factor for Lower Power = integrated design environment for observation and analysis of a device’s
MP3 market leaders. market before smaller and more nostic tool. To make things even also prevents in-system errors and
Longer Battery Life designing Actel FPGAs. The basic internal logic nodes without design
function-laden versions are available. easier, Actel FPGAs offer a push accidental data erasures that can oth- MPEG II
Today’s market is filled with complex DeskTOP is an integrated develop- iteration. The probe circuitry is
We understand that to keep up with button HDL design flow, providing erwise occur during download. Video/Audio
portable devices that use batteries. Decoder ment environment, including accessed by Silicon Explorer, an
this trend of rapidly shrinking prod- a comfortable alternative for those easy to use 18-channel logic analysis
Designers of consumer electronics simulation, synthesis, and place-and-
ucts with increased capabilities, you of you who are familiar with CPLDs Add to that the inherent security of route tools, for designs less than system. Silicon Explorer enables
know that customers who have to have to use higher density devices and ASICs, but can do without the the antifuse technology itself. The 50k gates. designers to complete real time in-
frequently replace batteries in their with smaller form factors to build long production times and the high antifuses that form the interconnec- system verification at system rates
products will start buying products your products. Actel’s antifuse FPGAs NRE charges associated with ASICs. tions within Actel’s e-Appliance DeskTOP Pro increases the design up to 100 MHz, without leaving
with low power consumption from already have the advantage of being a FPGAs are extremely small, are simulation limit to 400k gates their desks.
other manufacturers. We know power single-chip solution. Since they are But the savings don’t stop there. densely distributed throughout the with unlimited synthesis, allowing
consumption plays an important role nonvolatile, they retain their config- Unlike SRAM FPGAs, Actel’s device, and do not leave an observ- designers to move up as their Programming
in determining the device you will uration data indefinitely, eliminating antifuse FPGAs retain their con- able signature that can be electrically skills and density requirements Actel offers many programming
choose for your product. To help you the need for an external storage figuration data, so the cost of an probed or visually inspected. These to increase. options, including Silicon Sculptor
meet the needs of your power sensi- device. This reduces board space external PROM is also eliminated. safeguards render the e-Appliance single-site and multisite device
tive designs, we offer Actel FPGAs, requirements. Using advanced pack- Combining functionality and FPGAs virtually immune to copying DeskTOP Open, which includes programmers that support all Actel
eX256 vs. Low Power CPLD
the products that will minimize aging technology for these devices performance in a single, low cost and reverse engineering. simulation up to 400k gates, and device families. For high-volume
350
demands on battery life while also conserves board space. Actel place-and-route tools, is ideal for production programming needs, we
300
maximizing system reliability. Our offers a range of chip scale packages ASIC designers who are starting to offer volume programming services,
250 e-Appliance FPGAs combine low (CSPs) as small as 7mm x 7mm, and use FPGAs in their designs, but have through our distribution partners.
LD
Power (mW)

P
200
we
rC power benefits intrinsic to Actel’s thin quad flat packs (TQFPs) that already invested in synthesis tools.
Po
Low antifuse technology with a low power 33/66 MHz,
150 have all the logic necessary to meet
6
“sleep” mode of less than 250µA performance requirements. With our Actel FPGA in a HDTV Application 32/64-Bit PCI Cores
100 eX25
standby current to further extend e-Appliance FPGA single chip solution, Actel offers the most flexible and
50 Analog Devices

16 Channel
battery life. 10 R cost-effective PCI solution in the
0 we prove that less really is more. 1.485Gb/s ADV7123
1 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Serial HDTV 10-bit DAC FPGA market. Actel’s CorePCI is
Frequency (MHz)
All designers know that high power Data 20 ACTEL available as a portable, soft RTL
Save Time and Money AMCC S8501 Analog Devices
consumption raises the overall sys- HDTV Serial FPGA 10 ADV7123 TDI Actel FPGA macro. Designed to be fully compliant
The consumer electronics market Data Receiver
G
Silicon TCK
tem temperature, which, in turn, 10-bit DAC TMS
to PCI Specification 2.2, the macro
operates in an extremely narrow win- Serial Connection
Explorer
adversely affects system reliability. 75.25MHz is capable of 33/66 MHz, 32/64-bit
dow, making it crucial to minimize Clock TDO
implementations with fully compliant
System failure rates can double with *Actel’s low cost e-Appliance FPGAs meet Descramble and Demux Analog Devices
the development cycle and speed to RGB components
10 ADV7123 B
zero-wait-state PCI transfer.
every 10º C increase in system tem- time-to-market. Actel’s e-Appliance
performance requirements more easily and
10-bit DAC
PRA
cheaply than other FPGAs, enabling PRB
perature. So, what do you do when FPGAs were created to simplify the
Video Sync
designers to get to market faster.
you need high system reliability? You