Feature
Reduced Cost of Ownership
Advantages to the designer extend beyond low unit cost, high performance, and ease of use. Flashbased SmartFusion cSoCs are Instant On and do not need to be loaded from an external boot PROM at each power-up. On-board security mechanisms prevent access to the programming information and enable secure remote updates of the FPGA logic. Designers can perform secure remote in-system programming (ISP) to support future design iterations and critical field upgrades, with confidence that valuable IP cannot be compromised or copied. Secure ISP can be performed using the industry standard AES algorithm with MAC data authentication on the device.
Low Power
Flash-based SmartFusion cSoCs exhibit power characteristics similar to those of an ASIC, making them an ideal choice for power-sensitive applications. With SmartFusion cSoCs, there is no power-on current and no high current transition, both of which are common with SRAM-based FPGAs. SmartFusion cSoCs also have low dynamic power consumption and support very low power timekeeping mode, offering further power savings.
Security
Advantages to the designer extend beyond low unit cost, high performance, and ease of use. Flashbased SmartFusion cSoCs are Instant On and do not need to be loaded from an external boot PROM at each power-up. On-board security mechanisms prevent access to the programming information and enable secure remote updates of the FPGA logic. Designers can perform secure remote in-system programming (ISP) to support future design iterations and critical field upgrades, with confidence that valuable IP cannot be compromised or copied. Secure ISP can be performed using the industry standard AES algorithm with MAC data authentication on the device.
Low Power
Flash-based SmartFusion cSoCs exhibit power characteristics similar to those of an ASIC, making them an ideal choice for power-sensitive applications. With SmartFusion cSoCs, there is no power-on current and no high current transition, both of which are common with SRAM-based FPGAs. SmartFusion cSoCs also have low dynamic power consumption and support very low power timekeeping mode, offering further power savings.
Security
As the nonvolatile, flash-based SmartFusion cSoC family requires no boot PROM, there is no vulnerable external bitstream. SmartFusion cSoCs incorporate FlashLock®, which provides a unique combination of reprogrammability and design security without external overhead, advantages that only a device with nonvolatile flash programming can offer.
SmartFusion cSoCs utilize a 128-bit flash-based key lock and a separate AES key to provide security for programmed IP and configuration data. The FlashROM data in Fusion devices can also be encrypted prior to loading. Additionally, the flash memory blocks can be programmed during runtime using the AES128 block cipher encryption standard (FIPS Publication 192).
SmartFusion cSoCs with AES-based security are designed to provide protection for remote field updates over public networks, such as the Internet, and help to ensure that valuable IP remains out of the hands of system overbuilders, system cloners, and IP thieves. As an additional security measure, the FPGA configuration data of a programmed Fusion device cannot be read back, although secure design verification is possible. During design, the user controls and defines both internal and external access to the flash memory blocks. Security, built into the FPGA fabric, is an inherent component of the SmartFusion cSoC family. The flash cells are located beneath seven metal layers, and many device design and layout techniques have been used to make invasive attacks extremely difficult. SmartFusion cSoCs, with FlashLock and AES security, are unique in being highly resistant to both invasive and noninvasive attacks. Your valuable IP is protected with industry standard security measures, making remote ISP feasible. A SmartFusion cSoC provides the highest security available for programmable logic designs.Single Chip
Flash-based FPGAs store their configuration information in on-chip flash cells. Once programmed, the configuration data is an inherent part of the FPGA structure, and no external configuration data needs to be loaded at system power-up (unlike SRAM-based FPGAs). Therefore, flash-based SmartFusion cSoCs do not require system configuration components such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs) or microcontrollers to load device configuration data during power-up. This reduces bill-of-materials costs and PCB area, and increases system security and reliability.
