March 25, 2004

PCN 0402

This advisory is to inform the users of the Designer software version 5.1 and prior versions that when creating designs containing both QCLK Buf and QCLK Int macros for the A54SX72A and RT54SX72S devices, functional time zero failures may result. These failures are immediate; any designs that have passed initial functional test do not have these problems.

Symptoms and Effects:

When the design contains the QCLK Buf and QCLK Int macros (including QCLKBIBUF, QCLKBIBUFI, QCLKBUF, QCLKBUFI, QCLKINT, and QCLKINTI) from Designer v5.1 and prior versions, it is possible to observe time zero functional failures on the device.

The possible failure modes, as a result of incorrectly configured silicon macros by the Designer software v5.1 and prior versions, include:

1. No clock signal on the clock network, or,
2. An incorrect (clock signal expected to drive another quadrant) clock signal on the network. These failures are immediate; any designs that have passed initial functional test do not have these problems.

Description of Problem:

Within the A54SX72A and RT54SX72S devices, there are four muxes that determine if the QCLK network within a quadrant is driven by an external signal (using the QCLK Buf macro) or by an internal signal (using the QCLK Int macro). Investigation has shown that under certain conditions, these muxs are not configured correctly by the Designer software v5.1 and prior versions, resulting in the wrong clock being used to drive the QCLK network.

Solutions:

This issue has been resolved in Designer version 5.2. Any AFM file generated from Designer v5.2 or newer versions will not have this issue. However, the Designer v5.2 (and newer versions) software will not automatically inform the users if an existing design has this issue. If the user has an existing design and suspects a problem, please regenerate the AFM programming file with Designer v5.2 or newer versions. It is not necessary to re-run place-and-route. The Designer version 5.2 software is now available for download on Actel website (http://www.actel.com/). If any user suspects his design has this issue and/or is unable to upgrade to Designer v5.2, please contact Actel technical support at 1-800-262-1060 or tech@actel.com.

Part Numbers of Relevant Devices:

The device part numbers that are affected by the Designer software version 5.1 and prior versions include all combinations of packages (PQ208, FG256, FG484, CQ208, CQ256, CG624), speed grades (-F, Std, -1, -2, -3), temperature ranges (Commercial, Industrial, Mil-Temp), and screening levels (Commercial, Industrial, Mil-Temp, class B and E-flow) for the A54SX72A an RT54SX72S devices. The following list includes only the SMD devices part numbers and their equivalent Actel part numbers that are affected by the Designer software version 5.1 and prior versions.

Device Family	Device Name	DSCC SMD
A54SX72A	A54SX72A-CQ256B	5962-0054301QXC
	A54SX72A-1CQ256B	5962-0054302QXC
	A54SX72A-CQ208B	5962-0054301QYC
	A54SX72A-1CQ208B	5962-0054302QYC
RT54SX72S	RT54SX72S-CQ256B	5962-0151501QXC
	RT54SX72S-1CQ256B	5962-0151502QXC
	RT54SX72S-CQ208B	5962-0151501QYC
	RT54SX72S-1CQ208B	5962-0151502QYC
	RT54SX72S-CQ256E	5962-0151503QXC
	RT54SX72S-1CQ256E	5962-0151504QXC
	RT54SX72S-CQ208E	5962-0151503QYC
	RT54SX72S-1CQ208E	5962-0151504QYC

Contacts for Additional Questions:

For users with additional questions, please contact the Actel hotline (1-800-262-1060) or your regional FAE for assistance.

Regards,

Actel Corporation