03-12-2020 | Microchip Technology | Semiconductors
Microchip Technology is shipping engineering silicon for its RT PolarFire FPGA while the device is being qualified to spaceflight component reliability standards. Designers can now produce hardware prototypes with all the same electrical and mechanical performance that the space-qualified RT PolarFire FPGAs will offer for high-bandwidth on-orbit processing systems with industry-low power consumption and the capability to withstand radiation effects in space.
“This is a major milestone as we release RT PolarFire FPGA engineering silicon to our customers and begin the spaceflight qualification process through full QML Class V standards,” said Bruce Weyer, vice president of Microchip’s FPGA business unit. “Many of our customers have already jump-started satellite system payload development using our commercial PolarFire MPF500T FPGAs, and now all prototyping can be done with silicon that will be identical in form, fit and function to our eventual flight-qualified RT PolarFire FPGAs.”
The company is qualifying its RT PolarFire RTPF500T FPGAs to Mil-Std 883 Class B, QML Class Q and QML Class V – the highest qualification and screening standard for monolithic integrated circuits in space. Developed to survive a rocket launch and satisfy demanding performance requirements in space, the FPGAs are excellent for applications including high-resolution passive and active imaging, precision remote scientific measurement, multi-spectral and hyper-spectral imaging, and object detection and recognition using neural networks. These applications need high levels of operating performance and density, low heat dissipation, low power consumption and low system-level costs.