Actel has supplied field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and intellectual property (IP) core modules for a number of applications onboard Airbus' new A380 commercial airliner.
More than 700 devices from the company's ProASIC Plus and SX-A FPGA families have been designed into the following applications: flight computers; engine control and monitoring; braking systems; safety warning systems; cabin airconditioning and pressurisation; and cockpit displays.
In addition, Actel's Core10/100 IP module, an Ethernet MAC, and a ProASIC Plus FPGA were selected for use in an Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) communications link for the A380, which is being billed as the largest, most advanced and most efficient commercial airliner ever.
Actel's flash-based ProASIC Plus devices are single-chip, live at power up solutions that combine high performance and low power with nonvolatility and in-system reprogrammability. The SX-A family of antifuse-based FPGAs provides a combination of high speed and low power in highly secure single-chip solutions.
Unlike SRAM-based FPGAs, the company's ProASIC Plus and SX-A devices are immune to neutron-induced, single-event functional interrupts ('firm errors') and require no radiation-mitigation techniques. When high-energy neutrons penetrate the SRAM memory cells used for configuration of an SRAM FPGA, it is highly probable that functional failure will cause the device to operate in an unpredictable manner. This can be particularly detrimental in aerospace applications.
The Core10/100 IP module supports 10/100 Mbps full and half duplex operations. For the Airbus A380, the IP core was selected for an AFDX communications link in a down-wing application for engine-control monitoring. This challenging application required severe temperature capabilities and firm-error resistance. The ProASIC Plus FPGAs and the Core10/100 IP module provided a reliable, high-performance solution with guaranteed service, said Actel.
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