Microsemi Announces High Performance SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA Dual-Axis Motor Control Kit

IP Suite and Reference Design Simplifies Motor Control Designs, and Provides 30,000 RPM Performance

Aliso Viejo, CA /PRNewswire/ - Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by reliability, low power, performance and security, today announced availability of its SmartFusion2™ SoC FPGA dual-axis motor control kit with a modular motor control IP suite and reference design. The kit, which simplifies motor control designs using a single SoC FPGA, accelerates time to market and is scalable across multiple industries such as industrial, aerospace and defense. Typical applications include factory and process automation, robotics, transportation, avionics and defense motor control platforms. The SoC integration of system functions helps to lower total cost of ownership.

The SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA dual-axis motor control kit comes ready to use out of the box with a compact evaluation board (hardware), access to Microsemi's encrypted motor control IP, and a Libero Gold Edition (software) license to jumpstart motor control designs. The kit uses a modular SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA daughter card that enables customers to easily partition their motor control solutions for hardware only or hardware/software implementation using the modular motor control IP suite and the ARM® Cortex™ M3 MCU in SmartFusion2.

Microsemi's new starter kit is ideal for customers who need scalable multi-axis motor control, and more performance than an MCU/DSP-based kit, with the ability to integrate additional system function on the FPGA to realize lower cost of ownership. The kit provides a flexible design platform for customers to scale motor/motion control solutions across compact, standard and premium AC drives and custom stepper/servo motor applications.

"The modular approach to the SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA dual-axis motor control kit helps to customize the solution for the customer," said Shakeel Peera, senior director of FPGA/SoC marketing for Microsemi. "Scalability also allows for a different combination of motors. With this design kit, customers can spend less time on qualifying new devices and more time on growing their business."

SmartFusion2 with Microsemi's motor control IP enables customers to offload CPU/DSP processing to the FPGA for faster parallel processing. The modular IP suite running on the FPGA is able to drive two BLDC/stepper motor channels with the motor controller kit (while the IP can scale to six-axis) or drive motor performance beyond 30,000 RPM. Furthermore, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimating that electric motors represent more than 45 percent of all electrical energy consumption, SmartFusion2 SoC FPGAs can lower total device power consumption by more than 50 percent and lowers static power by 10 times over competing SRAM-based FPGAs. The best-in-class security features available in SmartFusion2 also safeguard connected motors against malevolent hackers and intellectual property theft.

According to a market research report from The Freedonia Group, the U.S. market for electric motors is forecast to expand 5.4 percent per year through 2018 to $16.2 billion, accelerating from the 2008-2013 period. Electric motors are key components in many durable goods, and as a result, suppliers will benefit from solid gains in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment; machinery and motor vehicle output.

Availability
For a limited time, the kit will be priced at a promotional value of $599 and will be available through distribution partners. Order kit part # SF2-MC-STARTER-KIT. To learn more about the new SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA dual-axis motor control kit, visit http://www.microsemi.com/products/fpga-soc/design-resources/system-solutions/motor-control or contact Microsemi's sales team at sales.support@microsemi.com.

About Microsemi
Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for communications, defense & security, aerospace and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world's standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and Midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and has approximately 3,400 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com. 

Microsemi and the Microsemi logo are registered trademarks or service marks of Microsemi Corporation and/or its affiliates. Third-party trademarks and service marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set forth in this news release that are not entirely historical and factual in nature, including without limitation statements related its SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA dual-axis motor control kit, and its potential effects on future business, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as rapidly changing technology and product obsolescence, potential cost increases, variations in customer order preferences, weakness or competitive pricing environment of the marketplace, uncertain demand for and acceptance of the company's products, adverse circumstances in any of our end markets, results of in-process or planned development or marketing and promotional campaigns, difficulties foreseeing future demand, potential non-realization of expected orders or non-realization of backlog, product returns, product liability, and other potential unexpected business and economic conditions or adverse changes in current or expected industry conditions, difficulties and costs of protecting patents and other proprietary rights, inventory obsolescence and difficulties regarding customer qualification of products. In addition to these factors and any other factors mentioned elsewhere in this news release, the reader should refer as well to the factors, uncertainties or risks identified in the company's most recent Form 10-K and all subsequent Form 10-Q reports filed by Microsemi with the SEC. Additional risk factors may be identified from time to time in Microsemi's future filings. The forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and Microsemi does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.