Xilinx, in programmable logic solutions, announced the Spartan-3AN FPGA platform, an expansion of its multi-platform strategy, and non-volatile Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) solution. Built on its proven 90nm Spartan-3 Generation low-cost FPGA fabric, the new platform combines the performance and functionality advantages of SRAM-based technology with reliable non-volatile flash technology in a single-chip solution.
This new platform is optimized for non-volatile applications where higher system integration or security is critical. With up to 1,000X more on-chip user flash as compared to its nearest competitor, the Spartan-3AN platform offers unprecedented system flexibility, significantly outperforming competing non-volatile FPGAs.
The Spartan-3AN platform offers a range of device security features that safeguard against reverse engineering, cloning, and unauthorized overbuilding. It builds on Xilinx Device DNA technology to provide a low-cost and effective mechanism for authenticating a valid design and ensuring a flexible design level security. Designers have full flexibility in customizing algorithms for both authentication as well as responses to authentication failures. With its embedded flash, the Spartan-3AN platform further optimizes security by hiding any configuration communication from the outside, making it extremely difficult to understand the design contained within the FPGA. The Spartan-3AN platform provides a flexible, cost-effective approach to address the non-volatile needs of rapidly changing industries. Designers can build a single device while managing a variety of different feature sets with multiple configurations.
Christophe Chene, senior director of marketing for the general products division at Xilinx, said, "Our newest addition to the Spartan-3 Generation serves space-sensitive applications requiring non-volatile single-chip solutions, including such key areas as multimedia encoding and decoding. The combination of our programmable platform and embedded flash technology provide the most flexible, reliable and cost-effective solution for these types of dynamic applications."
Jordan Selburn, principal analyst from iSuppli, stated, "Embedded non-volatile memory is becoming a key requirement in an increasing range of systems across the entire spectrum of applications. In addition to the programmable and system-level integration benefits, products such as the Spartan-3AN also address significant issues for chip designers in the areas of design security and authentication."
Xilinx
