1 – Automotive ProASIC3 Device Family Overview
General Description
Automotive ProASIC3 nonvolatile flash technology gives automotive system designers the
advantage of a secure, low-power, single-chip solution that is live at power-up (LAPU). Automotive
ProASIC3 is reprogrammable and offers time-to-market benefits at an ASIC-level unit cost. These
features enable designers to create high-density systems using existing ASIC or FPGA design flows
and tools.
Automotive ProASIC3 devices offer 1 kbit of on-chip, reprogrammable, nonvolatile FlashROM
storage as well as clock conditioning circuitry based on an integrated phase-locked loop (PLL).
Automotive ProASIC3 devices have up to 1 million system gates, supported with up to 144 kbits of
SRAM and up to 300 user I/Os.
Automotive ProASIC3 devices are the only firm-error-immune automotive grade FPGAs. Firm-error
immunity makes them ideally suited for demanding applications in powertrain, safety, and
telematics-based subsystems, where firm-error failure is not an option.
Firm errors in SRAM-based FPGAs can result in high defect levels in field-deployed systems. These
unavoidable defects must be considered separately from standard defects and failure mechanisms
when looking at overall system quality and reliability.
Flash Advantages
Reduced Cost of Ownership
Advantages to the designer extend beyond low unit cost, performance, and ease of use. Unlike
SRAM-based FPGAs, flash-based Automotive ProASIC3 devices allow all functionality to be live at
power-up; no external boot PROM is required. On-board security mechanisms prevent access to all
the programming information and enable secure remote updates of the FPGA logic. Flash-based
FPGAs are LAPU Class 0 devices, offering the lowest available power in a single-chip device and
providing firm-error immunity. The Automotive ProASIC3 family device architecture mitigates the
need for ASIC migration at high user volumes. This makes the Automotive ProASIC3 family a cost-
effective ASIC replacement solution, especially for automotive applications.
Security
The nonvolatile, flash-based Automotive ProASIC3 devices do not require a boot PROM, so there is
no vulnerable external bitstream that can be easily copied. Automotive ProASIC3 devices
incorporate FlashLock, which provides a unique combination of reprogrammability and design
security without external overhead, advantages that only an FPGA with nonvolatile flash
programming can offer.
Automotive ProASIC3 devices utilize a 128-bit flash-based lock and a separate AES key to secure
programmed intellectual property and configuration data. In addition, all FlashROM data in
Automotive ProASIC3 devices can be encrypted prior to loading, using the industry-leading AES-
128 (FIPS192) bit block cipher encryption standard. The AES was adopted by the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2000 and replaces the 1977 DES standard. Automotive
ProASIC3 devices have a built-in AES decryption engine and a flash-based AES key that make them
the most comprehensive programmable logic device security solution available today. Automotive
ProASIC3 devices with AES-based security allow for secure, remote field updates over public
networks such as the Internet, and ensure that valuable IP remains out of the hands of system
overbuilders, system cloners, and IP thieves. The contents of a programmed Automotive ProASIC3
device cannot be read back, although secure design verification is possible. Additionally, security
features of Automotive ProASIC3 devices provide anti-tampering protection.
Security, built into the FPGA fabric, is an inherent component of the Automotive ProASIC3 family.
The flash cells are located beneath seven metal layers, and many device design and layout
v1.0
1-1
ACTEL [ Actel Corporation ]
