Xilinx Expands Secure Mobility and Ruggedized Performance Offering with Next Generation of Defense-Grade Families

28 Oct 2010 11:00 GMT

Xilinx, Inc., (Nasdaq: XLNX) today announced the Spartan®-6Q family and Virtex®-6Q family, its newest generation of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) qualified for meeting the rigorous requirements of the aerospace and defense market. The new families include the industry's first defense-grade FPGA based on the successful low-cost, low-power Spartan series, providing designers with a highly-flexible device that delivers industry-leading secure SWaP-C (size, weight, power and cost) benefits to applications requiring high levels of security and reliability.

"The introduction of the first defense-grade Spartan family into the Xilinx Aerospace and Defense product portfolio builds on the Virtex series' long success supporting systems that drive mission-critical defense and aerospace electronics," said Harvey Steele, Vice President, Segment Marketing at Xilinx. "The secure, low-power Spartan-6Q devices, as well as our recently-announced rad-hard Virtex-5QV device, further demonstrate Xilinx's commitment and capabilities toward meeting the stringent requirements of aerospace and defense applications."

Xilinx defense grade FPGAs are one-hundred-percent pin compatible to their commercial equivalent for seamless migration between prototyping and low rate initial production. They are fully tested and qualified to operate in extreme temperatures, while the Virtex-6Q device's ruggedized plastic packaging using standard lead content eliminates tin-whiskering concerns and protects against caustic processes. The introduction of the first defense-grade Spartan family extends Xilinx Targeted Design Platforms for Aerospace and Defense-grade applications to include secure mobility and similar applications with the same high reliability and long-term support offered by the Virtex series.

Spartan-6Q Family

Xilinx's Spartan-6Q family meets the needs of military communications (MILCOM) customers who require a low power, low cost, secure communications platform, while offering missiles and munitions customers a small form factor in a low power secure platform for targeting and data processing in extended temperature ranges. The Spartan-6Q FPGAs are the first in their class to offer a low power, low cost Information Assurance (IA) and Anti Tamper (AT) platform providing increased secure SWaP-C, and high reliability. These devices deliver:  

  • Third generation IA (Single Chip Crypto Type-1)
  • Third generation AT capabilities (DoD 5000 series)
  • I and Q fully tested temperature range operation
  • Reduced power consumption for extended mission life  
  • Reduced form factor for lighter/smaller mobile devices
  • Long term support with mask set control

The sixth generation in the Spartan FPGA Series, the Spartan-6Q FPGAs are fabricated on a proven, low-power 45nm, dual-oxide process technology with full support in the Xilinx ISE® Design Suite.

Virtex-6Q Family

Xilinx's Virtex-6Q family offers secure SWaP-C benefits while being the only FPGA on the market to provide AT in a ruggedized solution for applications that need high levels of performance and logic density up to the full military temperature range. The 40nm Virtex-6Q FPGAs Virtex-6Q devices deliver:

  • High performance, DO-254 enabled solutions with high reliability and low power for avionics
  • High performance DSP solutions with high reliability and low power for Electronic Warfare (EW) and Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) applications
  • 3rd generation AT capabilities (DoD 5000 Series)
  • I and M fully tested temperature range operation
  • Ruggedized packaging
  • Long term support with mask set control

Built using third-generation Xilinx ASMBL™ architecture, the Virtex-6 FPGA family delivers 50% lower power and 20% lower cost than the previous generation. The devices operate on a 1.0v core voltage with an available 0.9v low-power option and are supported by a new generation of development tools delivered by ISE® Design Suite and a vast library of IP already available for the market leading 65nm Virtex 5 FPGA family to ensure productive development and design migration.

Targeted Design Platforms for A&D

Spartan-6Q and Virtex-6Q FPGAs make up the silicon base of the Xilinx Targeted Design Platforms for the Aerospace and Defense market that significantly shorten the time it takes to integrate all the hardware and software elements needed to quickly build systems that reach optimal levels of system performance, while ensuring low levels of power consumption. In addition to domain-optimized silicon devices, these platforms include IP blocks, design environments and reference designs, along with third-party synthesis, simulation and signal integrity tools, reference designs, and IP. Xilinx off-the-shelf defense grade FPGAs are prequalified and ready to order. The Spartan-6Q Family and Virtex-6Q Family will be available in I-temperature (industrial-temp minus 40 to 100 C) as well as Q and M-temperature devices (Q: minus 40 to 125 C (Spartan-6Q only), M: minus 55 to 125 C (Virtex-6Q only)) in Q2 2011.

About Xilinx in Aerospace and Defense

Xilinx serves the aerospace and defense industry with commercial, industrial, military, and space grade products. For more than two decades, Xilinx FPGAs have traveled the outer reaches of space and protected military forces around the world. Xilinx understands the unique needs of this segment and includes a full range of off-the-shelf, reprogrammable devices, along with application-specific tools, IP, and boards as part of Xilinx Targeted Design Platforms that give developers the ability to productize new capabilities or upgrade existing hardware. The net result is reduction of mission risk and system cost. These capabilities are delivered as part of Xilinx Targeted Design Platforms that enable developers to accelerate time to market and achieve greater innovation and differentiation of sophisticated broadcast systems. For more information, visit www.xilinx.com/esp/aerospace-defense

About Xilinx

Xilinx is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic solutions. For more information, visit http://www.xilinx.com/.

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