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Xilinx in Aerospace & Defense Backgrounder May 11, 2009 The need to use sophisticated semiconductor technology in aerospace and defense (A&D) applications presents demanding and unique challenges for chip providers. Often, A&D semiconductor products must be able to operate in extreme environments of heat, radiation and other rugged factors; be packaged in small, lightweight form factors with unique materials; and meet highly stringent security and quality measures. Product life cycles of the A&D industry put further demands on suppliers for extended product availability and support as failure is not an option for systems involved in mission critical applications. These demands are not addressed well by traditional ASIC solutions because of their inherently long development cycle, re-spin risks, and high NRE costs. Xilinx is the leading programmable logic supplier of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), defensegrade, and space-grade devices to the A&D market. Programmable platforms such as those from Xilinx are increasingly well positioned to address the requirements of current and next generation A&D applications. These include large logic fabric for high integration, increased performance for data processing, and hard-coded intellectual property components for embedded processing, digital signal processing (DSP), and on-chip Ethernet MACs and SERDES for highspeed connectivity. Xilinx understands the ‘language’ of the A&D industry, which helps suppliers to work more efficiently and deliver mission critical solutions faster. The company’s experience in working with government agencies and their contractors is essential to supplying solutions to this market, for which extensive certification and security clearance requirements dictate different engagement and operational models than in the commercial markets. Xilinx: A proven track record in A&D Xilinx has more than 20 years of continuous service to the A&D industry, dating back to the 1989 introduction of the first MIL-STD-883 qualified FPGA. Since then Xilinx has optimized its programmable solutions for the unique needs of A&D applications, growing it to be one of the largest vertical markets served by Xilinx. Today, it offers the broadest portfolio of FPGA solutions for the A&D industry, powering products in avionics/aircraft/UAV, electronic warfare, high performance computing, milcom, mil-sat com, missiles and munitions, radar, secure communications, signal intelligence, and space. Xilinx is the world’s leading programmable logic device (PLD) supplier to the A&D industry with over 50 percent market share. The company currently delivers programmable logic solutions to major defense contractors worldwide and has technology development partnerships with key government agencies. As part of its support of A&D developers, Xilinx offers extended obsolescence policies for defense-grade devices and a deep understanding of contractual issues. The company’s legacy of leadership, dedication, and commitment to this segment has led to several important milestones, including the first FPGAs approved to handle Type 1 single-chip crypto (SCC) implementation, delivery of the industry’s first radiation-tolerant FPGAs for space applications, and a key role in the formation the SEE Consortium. Xilinx devices have even landed on Mars in the Mars Rover, where its FPGAs are still thriving four years later. The A&D Programmable Imperative Xilinx A&D products are based on the company’s Spartan® and Virtex® FPGA families, with COTS as well as defense- and space-grade qualified devices. These devices reduce system complexity and size with integrated features such as embedded PowerPC® processor cores, Ethernet MACs and PCI Express® endpoint blocks, DSP acceleration engines, and digital clock management capabilities. They allow A&D developers to replace multiple devices with a single programmable platform in order to shrink PCB size and system weight while controlling power consumption (SWAP-C). With the ability to implement hardware modifications right up to deployment, and even in the field to extend system life, developers can reduce development costs in a way that eliminates the NRE costs and lengthy development cycles of traditional ASIC approaches. In addition, Xilinx’s partial reconfiguration capabilities enable a shared resource model for even greater SWAP-C benefits. Xilinx FPGAs also provide the silicon foundation for its growing portfolio of base-level, domain-specific, and market-specific targeted design platforms tailored for the unique requirements of A&D applications. Xilinx targeted design platforms provide all the functional elements required to build complete systems or subsystems with an integrated ecosystem of silicon devices, FPGA and application-specific IP, Xilinx and third party design tools, development boards and kits, and comprehensive application support with government guidelines and Xilinx reference designs. This platform-based approach makes FPGAs more application ready, so A&D developers can more rapidly and easily deploy Xilinx programmable platforms into their systems. By keeping the focus of A&D developers on the mission rather than becoming an FPGA expert, they can spend more time creating value-add capabilities and application services for their products. Highest Performance, Largest Capacity FPGAs in Space For space applications, Xilinx is the first and only PLD vendor to offer reprogrammable spacegrade devices of radiation-tolerant FPGAs. Xilinx space-grade FPGAs provide unprecedented levels of integration with the logic capacity, performance, and advanced silicon features previously available only to commercial product developers. Designers of high-altitude, in-orbit, space-based or extra-terrestrial digital electronics systems targeted for hostile radiation environments can reduce system size, weight and power consumption, while accelerating development and eliminating the risk and NREs associated with ASICs. Xilinx space-grade products are truly unique in the industry. They are the only FPGAs to meet QML class-V flows with support for specified total ionizing dose (TID) and characterized singleevent effects (SEE). Also, they are the only space-grade FPGAs to offer multiple device families -2- optimized with embedded MPUs, embedded DSP elements, and built-in Ethernet MAC blocks in a single device. Xilinx’s triple modular redundancy (TMR) methodology and support for advanced scrubbing techniques provides full SEU (single event upset) and SEL (single event latch-up) immunity on space-grade products. All of the company’s radiation-tolerant devices are supported with the full range of standard Xilinx development tools for logic, embedded processing, and DSP design, as well as the specialized Xilinx TMRTool™ software that works with any HDL and synthesis tool to automate TMR design techniques. Most Comprehensive FPGA Offering for Defense Applications Xilinx entered the military A&D market in the late 1980s with its first defense-qualified qualified Virtex FPGAs – the PLD industry’s first qualified Mil-temp grade solution (including MIL-PRF-38535 QML offerings). Xilinx has significantly expanded its silicon offering with multiple product generations, and most recently with the addition of the Virtex-5Q FPGA product line – the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of defense-grade devices with four domain-optimized FPGA families Virtex-5Q FPGAs address the elevated performance and security demands on modern defense systems, making them ideal for secure communications applications, as well as for electronic warfare, aircraft and transport vehicles, C4ISR systems (Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), and missiles and munitions. The Virtex-5Q FPGA family delivers 30 percent higher speeds, 65 percent more capacity, and 35 percent lower dynamic power consumption on average over previous generations. It is also the first defense-grade FPGA family to be offered with ruggedized packaging across the board for protection against ‘tin-whiskering’ and robust support for military assembly processes to ensure the highest quality possible for mission-critical applications. Xilinx also provides bare die products including the Virtex-5Q family for specialized form factors or customized packaging through industry collaborations. Existing systems can support SWAP-C without redesign by converting to a multi-chip module utilizing bare die instead of packaged products. New designs can start with bare die to enable a host of new possibilities through exotic form factors. Secure Communication Platform Xilinx developed the first SCC methodology in collaboration with government agencies to enable reductions in the size, weight, power and cost of secure A&D systems through higher levels of integration. SCC allows functionality implemented in multiple FPGAs to address security and reliability requirements to be implemented on a single FPGA. The first generation SCC implementation was based on Xilinx Virtex-4 devices. Building on this SCC technology leadership, Xilinx has developed a comprehensive targeted design platform for secure communications. At the heart of the innovations introduced with this platform are the Virtex-5Q devices with embedded PowerPC 440 processors, tamper-proofing -3- capabilities and intellectual property (IP), and Xilinx’s isolation verification tool. Leveraging the partial reconfiguration capability and design tools available with Virtex-5Q FPGAs, the Xilinx SCC platform enables redundancy and red/black isolation within a single device. Backed by A&D Proven Services and Standards Xilinx A&D solutions are backed by a complete range of experienced design and implementation services, including on-site Titanium Dedicated Engineering services for ITARsensitive products. Services ranging from design feasibility to full turnkey system design (including warranties, maintenance and support contracts) are available as fixed-price and timeand-material engagements, allowing customers to pick the right model for based on project requirements. In addition to being ISO 9001 certified, Xilinx brings a strong background in A&D contracting and is well versed in contractual issues. In response to the need for safety-critical design practices, Xilinx has also mobilized a global ecosystem of technology and service providers to aid the development of avionics systems certified to U.S. RTCA/DO-254 and its European equivalent EUROCAE/ED-80 standards. By expanding collaboration with other technology leaders, industry experts, and the user community, Xilinx can more effectively and rapidly deliver practical guidance and DO-254 implementation support for reducing the cost, risk, and time to market of next-generation avionics with FPGAbased platforms, industry-proven tool flows, and expert design services. Commitment to Leadership and Innovation The new frontier in space and mission-critical defense applications place unprecedented demands on technology suppliers to the A&D industry. Xilinx is committed to meeting the evolving needs of A&D developers with flexible, high performance solutions backed by an indepth knowledge of the market, proven track record of technology leadership, and focus on innovation for the next generation. For more information on Xilinx A&D solutions, please visit us on the web at www.xilinx.com/esp/aerospace.htm. -4-