Actel Achieves Rigorous ISO/TS16949 Automotive Quality Management System Certification
(Technology News, 29 Jul 2008 )
Giving automotive manufacturers the confidence they need to embed field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in system-critical automotive applications, Actel Corporation announced 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 customers can deploy the highest grade automotive low-power FPGA product on the market and confirms that the company’s design, development and production procedures meet the standard’s strict guidelines.
Actel’s 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 – to leverage the flexibility, performance and overall lower program costs of using FPGAs in high-reliability applications. To date, more than 70 percent 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 to +135°C). Ultra low static power of 40 mA 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 uniquely 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. Actel’s automotive-grade products therefore provide the first viable alternative to complex and costly application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) technology in under-the-hood applications.
