RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO - 250k-Gate Rad-Tolerant FPGA | Microchip
MPN: RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0 | $0.00 |
| 10 | $0 | $0.00 |
| 100 | $0 | $0.00 |
| 500 | $0 | $0.00 |
| 1,000 | $0 | $0.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO β same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
RTAX250S-1CQ208PROTO
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
RTAX250SL-CQ208E
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
5962-0421901VYC
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | RTAX-S/SL Radiation-Tolerant FPGAs |
| Equivalent System Gates | 250,000 |
| Logic Cells | 4224 |
| Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) | 2816 |
| Combinatorial CLB Delay | 0.93 ns maximum (minimum -1 speed grade per source data) |
| Speed Grade | -1 |
| Technology | CMOS antifuse (one-time programmable) |
| Total Ionizing Dose Tolerance | Enhanced (SL variant) |
| Configuration | Live at power-up (antifuse, no boot device) |
| Embedded Memory | Embedded SRAM with built-in FIFO control logic |
| Clock Features | Segmentable chip-wide clocks |
| Package | CQFP-208 (CQ208) ceramic quad flat pack |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Application Grade | Space-flight (radiation-tolerant), PROTO screening |
RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO cqfp-208 (cq208) ceramic quad flat pack Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO (cqfp-208 (cq208) ceramic quad flat pack package). This digital IC includes GPIO, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), and power pins. Refer to the manufacturer datasheet for alternate pin functions and configuration options. Essential for embedded system design and PCB layout.
No detailed pinout data available for RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Safe Operating Area (SOA) & Thermal Characteristics
No official SOA curve available for this digital IC. Always operate within absolute maximum ratings specified in the datasheet. Ensure adequate cooling and derate as needed.
Typical Applications
RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO is suitable for 6 applications: Satellite Payload Data Processing, Spacecraft Telemetry and Command (TM/TC) Interfaces, Radiation Environment Sensor Interfaces, Launch Vehicle Avionics Control, Space-Flight Prototyping and Design Validation, Deep-Space Instrumentation and CubeSat Buses.
Satellite Payload Data Processing
The RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO fits satellite payload processing because its 250,000 equivalent gates and 4,224 logic cells provide enough capacity for front-end data formatting, packetization, and compression pre-processing, while the 0.93 ns CLB combinatorial delay supports high-throughput pipelines. The SL variant's enhanced total ionizing dose tolerance addresses the cumulative radiation dose accumulated over multi-year LEO or MEO missions. Its antifuse fabric powers up live with no configuration device, simplifying payload bring-up after launch. In the payload chain, the FPGA typically sits between the sensor front end and the downlink formatter, implemented as a deterministic FSM/data-path design. Because the fabric is one-time programmable, configuration upsets cannot corrupt the bitstream, though designers must still apply triple-module redundancy in sequential logic for SEU robustness in user registers.
Recommended
Spacecraft Telemetry and Command (TM/TC) Interfaces
Spacecraft TM/TC interfaces benefit from the RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO's deterministic, low-latency logic: the -1 speed grade's 0.93 ns CLB delay easily meets CCSDS-style frame handling and timing-marker generation requirements. The 208-pin CQFP offers ample I/O for MIL-STD-1553, UART, and discrete command interfaces, and the embedded SRAM with built-in FIFO control logic buffers telemetry streams without consuming CLB resources. Live-at-power-up antifuse configuration guarantees the TM/TC chain is functional immediately after reset events, a critical property for spacecraft recoverability. The PROTO grade is appropriate for engineering-model and qualification-unit builds; flight units should migrate to the flight-screened CQ208E orderable on the identical footprint. Designers should route the segmentable chip-wide clock resources to generate the mission time-code distribution with minimal skew.
Recommended
Radiation Environment Sensor Interfaces
Radiation monitoring instruments on scientific and weather satellites use the RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO to time-stamp, histogram, and format detector events. The 2,816 CLBs implement multi-channel coincidence counters and pulse-height accumulation logic, while embedded SRAM FIFOs decouple bursty detector output from the telemetry downlink. The SL variant's enhanced total ionizing dose tolerance is directly relevant because these instruments are often mounted outside heavily shielded areas where accumulated dose is highest. The antifuse configuration cannot suffer configuration-memory upsets, which is essential for an instrument whose purpose is to measure the very environment that would corrupt an SRAM FPGA. With 208 CQFP pins, multi-channel detector head boards interface directly without external fan-out logic, and the PROTO grade supports instrument breadboard and calibration campaigns before flight screening.
Recommended
Launch Vehicle Avionics Control
Launch-vehicle avionics favor the RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO for its microseconds-fast live-at-power-up behavior and upset-immune OTP configuration: both properties matter in a mission profile measured in minutes, where there is no time or opportunity for a configuration reload. The 0.93 ns CLB combinatorial delay supports closed-loop guidance and sequencing logic with microsecond-class latency, and segmentable chip-wide clocks allow independent clock domains for propulsion control and telemetry sections on one die. The ceramic CQFP package suits the high-reliability soldering and inspection flows used in avionics builds. PROTO-grade units are used in hardware-in-the-loop testbeds; production flight sets use the flight-screened equivalent on the same footprint, enabling seamless board reuse between test and flight configurations with no PCB respin.
Recommended
Space-Flight Prototyping and Design Validation
The PROTO grade of the RTAX250SL exists specifically for space-flight design validation: engineers implement the final RTL in Libero SoC, program the antifuse fabric, and validate timing, I/O, and system behavior on flight-representative silicon before committing expensive flight-screened units. Because the die and CQ208 footprint are identical to the flight orderable, test results transfer directly to the flight build. For faster iteration without consuming one-time-programmable parts, Microchip and Aldec offer the RTAX prototyping adaptor, which maps the RTAX design onto a reprogrammable flash-based ProASIC3E device; designs are then finalized on the actual antifuse RTAX250SL for true timing correlation. Typical practice is: RTL development in simulation, logic emulation on the Aldec adaptor, then antifuse programming of PROTO units for system-level validation.
Recommended
Deep-Space Instrumentation and CubeSat Buses
Deep-space probes and increasingly capable smallsat/CubeSat buses use the RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO where a mid-density, rad-tolerant, single-chip FPGA is needed without the power budget of larger devices. The antifuse fabric's low static power is a decisive advantage for power-limited deep-space missions far from the Sun, and the absence of a configuration flash removes a common failure point during long cruise phases. The 250k-gate fabric implements bus controllers, science-data aggregation, and safe-mode sequencing in one device, with 4,224 logic cells leaving margin for post-review design growth. The SL enhanced TID tolerance covers multi-year missions through Jupiter-class radiation environments when combined with appropriate shielding. Choose the flight-screened orderable for the actual mission; the PROTO unit validates the design on identical silicon beforehand.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for RTAX250SL-1CQ208PROTO β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | RTAX250S-1CQ208PROTO | RTAX250SL-CQ208E | 5962-0421901VYC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | CQFP-208 (CQ208) | CQFP-208 (CQ208) - same | CQFP-208 (CQ208) - same | CQFP-208 (CQ208) - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Equivalent System Gates | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 |
| Logic Cells | 4224 | 4224 | 4224 | 4224 |
| CLBs | 2816 | 2816 | 2816 | 2816 |
| TID Tolerance | Enhanced (SL) | Standard (S) | Enhanced (SL) | Standard (S, SMD-certified) |
| Screening Flow | PROTO (prototyping) | PROTO (prototyping) | Flight grade (E) | Military SMD drawing |
| Configuration Technology | CMOS antifuse (OTP), live at power-up | CMOS antifuse (OTP) | CMOS antifuse (OTP) | CMOS antifuse (OTP) |
| Price (Qty 1) | Quote-based | Quote-based | Quote-based | Quote-based |
Key Differentiators
- Enhanced total ionizing dose tolerance (vs RTAX250S-1CQ208PROTO)
- Prototyping-grade economics (vs RTAX250SL-CQ208E)
- Upset-immune OTP configuration with live-at-power-up (vs 5962-0421901VYC)
Design Notes
Remember that RTAX250SL antifuse devices are one-time programmable: once programmed, the design cannot be changed or erased. Reserve this step for the final validated netlist. Use simulation and the Aldec RTAX prototyping adaptor (flash-based ProASIC3E emulation of the RTAX fabric) for all iterative debug, then program the PROTO part only when timing and functional closure is confirmed in Libero SoC. Ordering extra PROTO units for programming iterations is cheaper than re-spinning a flight board.
The ceramic CQFP-208 package requires careful land-pattern design per the package drawing in the Microchip RTAX-S/SL datasheet; the large ceramic body has different dimensional tolerances than plastic QFPs, so do not copy a commercial PQ208 footprint. Since the die is flight-grade silicon, use IPC-Class-3-class solder joint inspection practices where your program requires them. Keep the JTAG programming access header on flight boards if post-assembly programming of PROTO units is planned, or program before final assembly.
Use the segmentable chip-wide clocking resources rather than routing clocks through general fabric routing, to minimize skew and jitter across the 208-pin package. Apply SEU mitigation (triple-module redundancy on state registers, CRC-protected memory if applicable) in your RTL even though the antifuse configuration itself is upset-immune, because user flip-flops remain susceptible to single-event upsets in the space environment. Reference the Microchip reliability and SEU application documentation for reported cross-sections when budgeting error rates.
Compliance Information
Ceramic hermetic CQFP packages used in space-flight FPGAs are typically exempt or outside standard commercial RoHS declarations; consult Microchip product compliance documentation for the exact orderable. AEC-Q100 is not applicable to space-grade product lines.
