Actel Libero IDE 8.4 Stresses Power Reduction
Portable Design News, Thursday August 07, 2008
Actel Corporation has announced new power reduction and design creation enhancements to its Libero Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Giving designers additional power supply options and enabling even lower power consumption, the new Libero IDE 8.4 offers an FPGA core operating voltage range from 1.14 to 1.575 volts for its flash-based IGLOO, IGLOO PLUS and ProASIC3L field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).
Enhancements to the SmartPower analysis tools within the Libero IDE also allow easy comparisons of multiple design scenarios and their resulting power consumption and battery life implications. For rapid and efficient design creation, the Libero IDE 8.4 also allows Actel-created or third-party intellectual property (IP) blocks, user-developed HDL modules, and glue logic functions to be easily combined in an accessible project area. 
The new Libero IDE 8.4 extends the FPGA core operating voltage range from 1.14 to 1.575 volts for its flash-based 1.2V IGLOO, IGLOO PLUS and ProASIC3L FPGAs, giving designers additional power supply options and enabling even lower power consumption. The Libero IDE 8.4 also includes enhanced SmartPower analysis capabilities. In the new tool suite, users can create and compare multiple user-defined power profile “scenarios”, enabling the user to test operating options to better determine the best design approach for their power-sensitive application. Offering users improved ease of use as well as a comprehensive understanding of power usage in all functional modes of the design, SmartPower also offers new graphical power consumption displays.
The Actel Libero IDE Gold edition is available on Windows free of charge. The Actel Libero IDE 8.4 Platinum edition is available now on Windows and Linux platforms for $2495. All editions are one-year renewable licenses.
Actel Corporation, Mountain View, CA (650) 318-4200 [www.actel.com]
