
Nano versions of Actel's Igloo and ProASIC3 FPGAs have been announced. Power consumption has been reduced, and the commercial temperature range has been extended to sub-zero. The company is also offering support for known good die, enabling businesses to meet the lead times and volume demands of portable applications, such as smart phones, PDAs, personal medical monitoring devices, personal navigation devices, eBooks, and portable point-of-sale tools. With power consumption as low as 2µW, Igloo nano FPGAs range in densities from 10k to 250k system gates. These devices support 1.2 to 1.5V core and I/O operation, ultra-low-power Flash*Freeze mode with bus-hold capability, as well as I/O features, such as hot-swapping and Schmitt-trigger inputs. The FPGAs are in the smallest package for any programmable-logic device on the market, says the company, which also offers new ranges for Igloo nano FPGAs from -20 to +70°C, allowing many of these portable applications to be operated in sub-zero environments around the world. Support for Igloo and ProASIC3 nano FPGAs is available now in the Libero IDE (integrated design environment) v8.4. This power-optimised development environment enables power-driven layout, battery estimation and advanced power analysis. For immediate prototyping and programming, designers can leverage the Igloo Icicle Kit.