ProASIC3L Device Family Overview
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Revision 13
Flash Advantages
Low Power
The ProASIC3L family of Microsemi flash-based FPGAs provide a low-power advantage, and when
coupled with high performance, enables designers to make power-smart choices using a single-chip,
reprogrammable, and Instant On device.
ProASIC3L devices offer 40% dynamic power and 50% static power savings compared to the equivalent
ProASIC3 device by reducing the core operating voltage to 1.2 V. In addition, the Power Driven Layout
(PDL) feature in Libero System-on-Chip (SoC) offers up to 30% additional power reduction over the
standard timing-driven place-and-route (TDPR). With Flash*Freeze technology, ProASIC3L devices are
able to retain device SRAM and logic while dynamic power is reduced to a minimum, without the need to
stop clock or power supplies. Combining these features provides a low-power, feature-rich and high-
performance solution.
Security
Nonvolatile, flash-based ProASIC3L devices do not require a boot PROM, so there is no vulnerable
external bitstream that can be easily copied. ProASIC3L devices incorporate FlashLock, which provides
a unique combination of reprogrammability and design security without external overhead, advantages
that only an FPGA with nonvolatile flash programming can offer.
ProASIC3L devices utilize a 128-bit flash-based lock and a separate AES key to provide the highest level
of protection in the FPGA industry for programmed intellectual property and configuration data. In
addition, all FlashROM data in ProASIC3L devices can be encrypted prior to loading, using the industry-
leading AES-128 (FIPS192) bit block cipher encryption standard. AES was adopted by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2000 and replaces the 1977 DES standard. ProASIC3L
devices have a built-in AES decryption engine and a flash-based AES key that make them the most
comprehensive programmable logic device security solution available today. ProASIC3L devices with
AES-based security provide a high level of protection for remote field updates over public networks such
as the Internet, and are designed to ensure that valuable IP remains out of the hands of system
overbuilders, system cloners, and IP thieves.
Security, built into the FPGA fabric, is an inherent component of the ProASIC3L 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. The ProASIC3L family, with FlashLock and AES security, is
unique in being highly resistant to both invasive and noninvasive attacks. Your valuable IP is protected
with industry-standard security, making remote ISP possible. A ProASIC3L device provides the best
available security 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 ProASIC3L FPGAs
do not require system configuration components such as EEPROMs or microcontrollers to load device
configuration data. This reduces bill-of-materials costs and PCB area, and increases security and system
reliability.
Instant On
Flash-based ProASIC3L devices support Level 0 of the Instant On classification standard. This feature
helps in system component initialization, execution of critical tasks before the processor wakes up, setup
and configuration of memory blocks, clock generation, and bus activity management. The Instant On
feature of flash-based ProASIC3L devices greatly simplifies total system design and reduces total
system cost, often eliminating the need for CPLDs and clock generation PLLs. In addition, glitches and
brownouts in system power will not corrupt the ProASIC3L device's flash configuration, and unlike
SRAM-based FPGAs, the device will not have to be reloaded when system power is restored. This
enables the reduction or complete removal of the configuration PROM, expensive voltage monitor,
brownout detection, and clock generator devices from the PCB design. Flash-based ProASIC3L devices
simplify total system design and reduce cost and design risk while increasing system reliability and
improving system initialization time.