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Actel

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Actel Corporation
Company typePublic
Nasdaq:ACTL
IndustryIntegrated Circuits
Founded1985;39 years ago(1985)
SuccessorMicrosemi
Headquarters
San Jose, California
,
United States
ProductsFPGAs,Embedded Processors
RevenueIncreaseUS$191 Million(FY 2009)[1]
DecreaseUS$-21.3 Million(FY 2009)[1]
DecreaseUS$-46.2 Million(FY 2009)[1]
Total assetsDecreaseUS$307 Million(FY 2009)[2]
Total equityDecreaseUS$233 Million(FY 2009)[2]
Number of employees
500+[3]
Websiteactel microsemi

Actel Corporationwas an American manufacturer of nonvolatile, low-power field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),[4]mixed-signal FPGAs,[5]and programmable logic solutions.[6][7][8]It had its headquarters inMountain View, California,with offices worldwide. In November 2010,Microsemiacquired Actel for $430 million.[9][10][11][12]

History and competition

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Actel was founded in 1985 and became known for its high-reliability andanti-fuse-based FPGAs, used in the military and aerospace markets.[13]

Actel acquired GateField in 2000, which expanded Actel's anti-fuse FPGA offering to include flash-based FPGAs. Actel announced in 2004 that it had shipped the one-millionth unit of its flash-based ProASICPLUSFPGA.[14]

In 2005, Actel introduced a new technology known as Fusion to bring FPGA programmability to mixed-signal solutions. Fusion was the first technology to integrate mixed-signal analogue capabilities with flash memory and FPGA fabric in a monolithic device.[15]

In 2006, to address the tight power budgets of the portable market, Actel introduced the IGLOO FPGA. The IGLOO family of FPGAs was based on Actel's nonvolatile flash technology and the ProASIC 3 FPGA architecture.[16]Two new IGLOO derivatives were added in 2008: IGLOO PLUS FPGAs with enhanced I/O capabilities, and IGLOO nano FPGAs, a low power solution at 2 μW. A nano version of ProASIC3 also became available in 2008.

In 2010, Actel introduced theSmartFusionline of FPGAs. SmartFusion includes both analogue components and a programmable flash-based logic fabric within the same chip. SmartFusion was the first FPGA product to additionally include a hard ARM processor core.[17]

AlteraandXilinxare the other key players in the market, however, their main focus is on SRAM FPGAs.Lattice Semiconductoris another competitor.[18][19]

Technologies

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Actel's portfolio of FPGAs is based on two types of technologies: anti-fuse-based FPGAs (Axcelerator, SX-A, eX, and MX families) and flash-based FPGAs (Fusion, PolarFire, IGLOO, and ProASIC3 families).

Actel's anti-fuse FPGAs have been known for their nonvolatility, live-at power-up operation,[20]single-chip form factor[clarification needed][citation needed],and security[citation needed].Actel's flash-based FPGA families include these same characteristics[citation needed]and are also reprogrammable and low power.[citation needed]

Actel also develops system-critical FPGAs (RTAX and ProASIC3 families), including extended temperature automotive, military, and aerospace FPGAs, plus a wide variety of space-class radiation-tolerant devices. These flash and anti-fuse FPGAs have high levels of reliability[citation needed]and firm-error immunity.[clarification needed][citation needed]

Controversy

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In March 2012, researchers from theUniversity of Cambridgediscovered abackdoorin theJTAGinterface of the ProASIC3 family of low-powered FPGAs.[21]They defended their theory at acryptographyworkshop held in Belgium in September 2012.[22]

References

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  1. ^abcActel (ACTL) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest
  2. ^abActel (ACTL) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest
  3. ^"Corporate Factsheet"(PDF).Actel Corporation. August 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2007-09-28.Retrieved2010-01-11.
  4. ^Dylan McGrath, EETimes. "Actel FPGAs cut power drain to target mobile marketArchived2015-05-10 at theWayback Machine."Aug 30, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  5. ^Paul Buckley, EETimes. "Micrium supports Actel SmartFusion FPGAsArchived2013-07-03 at theWayback Machine."March 8, 2010. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  6. ^EETimes India. "Actel designs IP core for nonvalatile FPGAsArchived2015-05-10 at theWayback Machine."Mar 23, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  7. ^EETimes Asia. "Seiko Epson goes with Actel FPGAs for multimedia viewersArchived2013-05-28 at theWayback Machine."Dec 10, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  8. ^EETimes Asia. "Free controller cores roll for Actel FPGAsArchived2013-05-28 at theWayback Machine."Feb 8, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  9. ^Microsemi press release "Microsemi Completes Tender Offer for Actel CorporationArchivedMarch 5, 2011, at theWayback Machine"
  10. ^Mark Lapedus, EE Times. "Microsemi buys Actel for $430 million."Oct 4, 2010. Retrieved Jan 10, 2013.
  11. ^MELISSA KORN, Wall Street Journal. "Microsemi to Buy Rival Actel for $430 Million."Oct 4, 2010. Retrieved Jan 10, 2013.
  12. ^"Microsemi buys Actel for $430 million".eetimes.
  13. ^Andrew Hamm, SJ Business Journal. "The sky's the limit for Actel chips in planned European satellites."August 1, 2003. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  14. ^Company Release. "Actel Achieves Key Milestone with its Cost-Effective, Flash-Based FPGAs; Company Ships More Than 1 Million UnitsArchivedAugust 29, 2008, at theWayback Machine."March 29, 2004. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  15. ^EETimes. "Actel Claims To Usher In Era Of 'Programmable System Chip'."July 18, 2005. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  16. ^Company Release. "Actel Brings Portable Market In from the Cold With Industry's Lowest Power FPGA FamilyArchivedJuly 7, 2011, at theWayback Machine."August 28, 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  17. ^EETimes. "Actel rolls mixed-signal FPGA with hard ARM core."March 2, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  18. ^Electronics Weekly. "FPGA / PLD."Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  19. ^John Edwards, EDN. "No room for Second Place."Jun 1, 2006. Retrieved Jan 10, 2013.
  20. ^"Introduction To Actel FPGA Architecture PDF | PDF | Logic Gate | Field Programmable Gate Array".Scribd.Retrieved2023-08-30.
  21. ^Sergei Skorobogatov. "Breakthrough silicon scanning discovers backdoor in military chip"
  22. ^CHES 2012 "Workshop on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems"
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