MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 15 Dec. The Silex BA511 ARINC 429 Internet Protocol (IP) core from Barco targeted for the ProASIC 3 field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) from Actel Corp. has been DO-254 certified through implementations in multiple safety-critical avionics applications.
Actel's ProASIC3 A3P1000 devices, featuring Barco's BA511 ARINC 429 IP core, were selected for a total of four DO-254 certified implementations in commercial aviation programs, including two at the highest Design Assurance Level (DAL-A), and two at the second highest level (DAL-B).
"In contrast to SRAM-based FPGAs, Actel's ProASIC3 FPGAs have inherent low power consumption and are immune to neutron-induced configuration upsets also known as firm errors," says Ken O'Neill, director of high reliability product marketing at Actel. "The selection of ProASIC3 FPGAs for use in safety-critical commercial avionics programs underscores their high reliability."
DO-254 is a design assurance guideline intended to ensure that commercial aircraft avionics systems are designed in a manner consistent with the safety-critical nature of the application, Actel officials say. The criticality of a design is assessed in terms of its Design Assurance Level. There are five DAL categories, with A being the most safety-critical. DO-254 certification is required on all major aircraft programs currently in development, for example Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and retrofits to B747 and B777 aircrafts.
ARINC-429 is an industry-standard communications interface used in the commercial avionics industry for handling command and control signals between electronic systems on board commercial aircraft.
"Actel's reliable platform, together with our DO-254 ARINC-429 design and documentation suite, offers our customers a time-to-market solution with required quality to support life-critical applications," said Didier Secnazi, Sales and Marketing Manager at Barco Silex. "Our BA511 design flow methodology fulfills the RTCA/ED-80 guidelines, which are required by the Airworthiness Certification Authority for developing hardware to be certified for use in commercial aircraft equipment."
In this risk-averse design environment, the availability of the Barco BA511 ARINC 429 IP design artifacts minimizes risk, time and effort, saving designers from either developing the design artifacts themselves or having to develop their own ARINC 429 interface designs for flight-critical or safety-critical applications requiring DO-254 certification.
