MICROELECTRONIC SYSTEMS NEWS



FILENUMBER: 408
BEGIN_KEYWORDS
university program actel cadence fpga activator
END_KEYWORDS
DATE: october 1993
TITLE: Actel University Program

Actel University Program

(Contributed by Kalon Goodrich of Proto Tools)

Actel is now offering a special  teaching  package  for  all  ac-
credited EE/CS university programs in the United States. They are
providing PC and workstation development software free of  charge
that  can  be used to design Actel ACT 1, ACT 2, and ACT 3 family
designs.  Additionally, Actel is making available A1010B  devices
(1200 gates) free of charge.

It is Actel's intent to encourage the use of Actel  FPGA  devices
and  Actel development systems within a VLSI design curriculum at
universities throughout the country. Actel FPGAs  allow  students
to  experience  the complete custom circuit design flow from con-
cept to working silicon, all within the scope of a single quarter
or semester.

Actel is offering the Designer Series development systems free of
charge.  This  package provides the Actel ACT 1, ACT 2, and ACT 3
macro libraries, place and route software, timing analyzer,  pro-
gramming and diagnostic software. This package comes in five ver-
sions. The DA-PC-VL runs on 386/486 PC's  and  is  supplied  with
Viewlogic  libraries.   The  DA-PC-OR is similar and contains the
OrCAD libraries.  For users on Sun workstations there are similar
packages.  The  DA-SN-CD  includes the Cadence libraries, the DA-
SN-MG includes the Mentor Graphics libraries,  and  the  DA-SN-VL
includes  the  Viewlogic  libraries.  Lastly,  for users on HP700
platforms, the DA-HP7-MG supplies the Mentor Graphics  libraries.
Please contact Actel for the complete university price guide.

Schematic capture and simulator packages are available from  each
of  the suppliers mentioned above. As part of the special univer-
sity program, Actel is able to provide  Viewlogic  software,  in-
cluding  the  Viewdraw  schematic capture package and the Viewsim
simulator. This package for 386/486 PC's is called  the  ALS-016-
UNIV and is offered to universities for $500.


In order to provide the full  design  experience,  students  will
want  to  be  able to program a device and prove that it works as
they designed it. The Activator 2S programmer (DS-P2S-PC)  inter-
faces  with  386/486 PC's and is available for the price of $750.
This programmer attaches to the AT-bus card provided and  is  in-
serted  in  the host PC. The DS-P2S-PC programs all ACT 1, ACT 2,
and ACT 3 devices.  Programming adaptors allow different  package
types  to be programmed on the Activator 2S.  These are available
at university  discounted  prices  ranging  from  $220  to  $370.
Workstation  versions  of the Activator 2S using a SCSI interface
are also available.  Other programmers which  can  program  Actel
devices are Data I/O's Unisite and 3900 series.

Included with the purchase of an Activator  2S  programmer  is  a
free Actionprobe Diagnostic tool (ALS-218).  This is a unique di-
agnostic tool which allows your students to view signals within a
programmed Actel device while it is running in the target system.
It is a very useful tool for troubleshooting designs.

Helpful documentation is provided with each system,  including  a
user's  guide,  a  macro  library  manual, and a system reference
manual.  User's  guides  are  also  provided  for  the  Viewlogic
schematic capture and simulator packages. In addition, Actel will
provide our classroom training manual.  This manual describes  in
detail  the  use  of  both Designer Series and Viewlogic software
packages on the PC.

In addition, Actel is now offering two free  ACT  1  devices  per
student  per class. They will provide the 1200 gate device in 68-
pin PLCC packages (Part Number A1010B-PL68C). ACT  2  and  ACT  3
devices  are  available  for  purchase at the university discount
1000 piece price.  Please call for pricing information should you
desire to use the ACT 2 and ACT 3 devices.

This free offer is limited to a maximum of any three systems  for
each university with an accredited EE/CS program. Additional sys-
tems can be purchased for only $250. A sample list of the popular
systems  that  are  offered  with  university  discounts is shown
below.


Platform/   Actel Part Number   List Price  University Price
Software


PC		DA-PC-VL		$    995	3 Free, Add'l $250
Viewlogic	ALS-016-UNIV$  4995			$  500
		DS-P2S-PC		$  1500			$  750
		ALS-282*		$    295		$  220
		ALS-218			$  1995			$    0

PC		DA-PC-OR		$    995	3 Free, Add'l $250
OrCAD		DS-P2S-PC	$  1500			$  750
		ALS-282*		$    295		$  220
		ALS-218			$  1995			$    0

Sun		DA-SN-CD		$  4995		3 Free, Add'l $250
Cadence		DS-P2S-SN	$  1500			$  750
		ALS-282*		$    295		$  220
		ALS-218			$  1995			$    0

Sun		DA-SN-MG		$  4995		3 Free, Add'l $250
Mentor GraphicsDS-P2S-SN$  1500			$  750
		ALS-282*		$    295		$  220
		ALS-218			$  1995			$    0

*  ACT 1 68PLCC programming adaptor.  Request Actel University Price 
Guide for additional versions

Sun		DA-SN-VL		$  4995		3 Free, Add'l $250
Viewlogic	DS-P2S-SN	$  1500			$  750
		ALS-282*		$    295		$  220
		ALS-218			$  1995			$    0

HP700		DA-HP7-MG	$  4995		3 Free, Add'l $250
Mentor GraphicsDS-P2S-SN$  1500			$  750
		ALS-282*		$    295		$  220
		ALS-218			$  1995			$    0

It is Actel's hope that the  availability  of  this  software  to
university  personnel will promote the development of VLSI design
courses that include Actel FPGAs as a useful learning tool to aid
students in the design and implementation of custom circuitry.

If you are interested in participating in this offer from  Actel,
please  contact  Gervais  Fong at gervais@actel.com or (408) 739-
1010, Extension 385. If you are ready to place an order, his  fax
number for purchase orders is (408) 739- 1540.

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