Microsemi announces Private Label Program for FPGAs and SmartFusion cSoCs

The folks at Microsemi Corporation have just unveiled a Private Labeling Program for their SmartFusion customizable system-on-chip (cSoC) devices and their flash and antifuse-based FPGA solutions. Key program features include:

Custom Marking: Devices are marked with the customer's logo and part number.

Factory Programming: Microsemi programs all devices, alleviating the need for customers to build in-house programming capabilities and infrastructure.

Licensing: Microsemi's SmartFusion cSoCs include a licensed, hard ARM Cortex-M3 processor, eliminating the need to obtain a separate ARM license.

Fabless Model: Private labeling eliminates the time and costs associated with establishing and managing a chip manufacturing infrastructure.

No Tooling Charges: No costly non-recurring engineering charges associated with Microsemi's off-the-shelf SmartFusion cSoCs and FPGAs.
 
"Our new private label program enables companies to rapidly deliver economical and differentiated system-on-chip solutions, which is a key competitive advantage," said Esam Elashmawi, vice president and general manager at Microsemi. "We believe these benefits, coupled with cost, time-to-market and security advantages, are among the reasons customers are turning to our award-winning SmartFusion, ProASIC3 and IGLOO platforms. We will continue to enhance our cSoC portfolio with new tools and ecosystem partnerships that provide our customers with an additional level of value."

About SmartFusion cSoCs
Microsemi's SmartFusion cSoCs are the only devices that integrate an FPGA, a complete microcontroller built around a hard ARM Cortex-M3 processor, and programmable analog fabric, enabling full customization, IP protection, and ease-of-use.

Based on Microsemi's proprietary flash process, SmartFusion devices are ideal for hardware and embedded designers who need a highly integrated SoC that provides more flexibility than traditional fixed-function microcontrollers, and significantly reduces the cost of soft processor cores on traditional FPGAs. This inherent flexibility of solutions enables users to implement proprietary or standards-based system management solutions that simplify design implementation, enabling all system management functions to be configured in a single design environment with increased reliability.

SmartFusion cSoCs are immune to firm errors caused by charged particle or neutron single-event upsets, unlike competing SRAM-based programmable logic solutions. Technical security features that protect against reverse engineering include:

• Configuration data stored on the cSoC, with no need for an external EEPROM
• FlashLock, preventing unauthorized users from reading content stored on the cSoC
• Embedded security keys to prevent internal probing
• Encrypted in-systems programming with 128-bit AES

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