RTAX250SL-1LG624B - 250K Rad-Tolerant FPGA, 649MHz | Microchip
MPN: RTAX250SL-1LG624B ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
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RTAX250SL-1LG624B Overview
A radiation-tolerant FPGA is a field-programmable gate array designed to survive the radiation environment of space and high-altitude flight, where single-event effects (SEE) and total ionizing dose (TID) would upset standard commercial devices. The RTAX-SL family sits within Microchip's (formerly Actel/Microsemi) space flight portfolio, forming the programmable logic tier of a satellite avionics hierarchy that includes antifuse RTAX-S devices, flash-based ProASIC3L parts, and radiation-hardened RTG4-generation FPGAs.
Key features of this device include the SL low-power variant of the RTAX architecture, embedded SRAM blocks with built-in FIFO control logic, segmentable clock conditioning circuitry, chip-wide highway routing for low-skew global signaling, and dedicated carry logic for arithmetic functions. These system-level features originate from Microsemi's commercial AXCELERATOR-style fabric, repackaged for space-grade reliability.
Architecturally, the RTAX-SL fabric consists of clustered logic modules (C-cells and R-cells) interconnected through a rich hierarchical routing network, with VersaTiles supporting both combinational and sequential implementations. The -1 speed grade denotes the fastest commercial speed bin available for this die, and the B suffix denotes the radiation-tolerant flow with data derived from the same 0.15 um metallization used across the family.
Typical applications include satellite payload data processing, spacecraft telemetry and command (TM/TC) interfaces, orbit-control and attitude-control electronics, and space-based sensor interfacing, where single-chip form factor, live-at-power-up operation, and low power consumption matter more than raw gate density.
A key design consideration is prototyping: the ceramic LGA-624 footprint cannot be reflowed on standard FR-4 prototypes easily, so Microchip provides footprint-compatible adaptor boards and an EDIF netlist/pinout conversion methodology for prototyping with RTAX-S/SL devices.
This page synthesizes distributor data, drop-in family alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for RTAX250SL-1LG624B — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with RTAX250SL-1LG624B (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Family, Equivalent System Gates, Radiation Tolerance, Core Supply Voltage.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
RTAX250S-1LG624B
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$2020 / Unit
View Datasheet →RTAX250S-LG624B
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$2350 / Unit
View Datasheet →RTAX250SL-LG624B
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$2380 / Unit
View Datasheet →RTAX250SL-1LG624E
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$2350 / Unit
View Datasheet →RTAX250SL-1LG624V
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$950 / Unit
View Datasheet →RTAX250SL-1LG624B Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | RTAX-SL (Radiation-Tolerant FPGA) |
| Equivalent System Gates | 250,000 |
| Logic Cells (CLBs) | 2816 |
| Logic Cells | 4224 |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 649 MHz |
| Process Technology | 0.15 um CMOS |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.5 V |
| Speed Grade | -1 |
| Package | 624-Pin LGA (ceramic) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Embedded SRAM | Yes, with built-in FIFO control logic |
| Clock Conditioning | Segmentable clocks |
| Routing Resources | Chip-wide highway routing, carry logic |
| Application Domain | Space flight systems |
| Radiation Character | Radiation-tolerant (RadTolerant) |
| Packaging | Box |
RTAX250SL-1LG624B 624-pin lga (ceramic) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for RTAX250SL-1LG624B (624-pin lga (ceramic) 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-1LG624B.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
RTAX250SL-1LG624B is suitable for 6 applications: Satellite Payload Data Processing, Spacecraft Telemetry and Command (TM/TC) Interface, Attitude and Orbit Control Electronics, Space-Based Sensor and Image Interface, Launch Vehicle Avionics, Prototyping and Flight-Model Development.
Satellite Payload Data Processing
The RTAX250SL-1LG624B fits payload data-path designs because its 250K gates, 2816 logic cells, embedded SRAM with built-in FIFO control logic, and 649 MHz timing capability handle high-rate sensor formatting, packetization, and compression pre-processing without a companion memory controller FPGA. In a typical payload chain, the FPGA sits between the instrument interface and the downlink encoder, using the fabric carry logic for CRC/checksum acceleration and the segmentable clocks to isolate instrument timing from the spacecraft bus timing domain. Because it is radiation-tolerant rather than merely commercial-grade, it tolerates the single-event environment of LEO and GEO orbits where a commercial FPGA would experience configuration upsets. The trade-off versus a larger RTAX2000SL is lower cost and lower static power, at the expense of 250K versus 2M gates of logic capacity.
Recommended
Spacecraft Telemetry and Command (TM/TC) Interface
For TM/TC interfaces, the RTAX250SL-1LG624B's live-at-power-up operation and true single-chip form factor are decisive: the spacecraft can rely on deterministic configuration at boot without external configuration flash, a recognized reliability advantage for command-chain electronics that must never be blind. The 4224 logic cells are ample for CCSDS-style frame synchronization, decoders, and housekeeping registers, while chip-wide highway routing keeps low-skew clocking across the 624-pin LGA I/O assignment. Designers typically clock the command decoder from a redundant oscillator and use the fabric's segmentable clocks to switch to a cold-spared oscillator after a latch-up or oscillator failure event. Power drawn from the 1.5V core remains low enough for the spacecraft's always-on power domain.
Recommended
Attitude and Orbit Control Electronics
Attitude control units benefit from the RTAX250SL-1LG624B's combination of deterministic low-latency logic and 649 MHz maximum clocking: star-tracker and gyro interfaces demand hard real-time processing that microcontrollers struggle to guarantee under scheduler jitter. The device's carry logic accelerates coordinate-transform arithmetic (quaternion and DCM math pipelines), while embedded SRAM blocks implement ping-pong line buffers for star centroid extraction. With 0.15 um CMOS on a 1.5V core, total power stays compatible with eclipse-mode power budgets. Designers should budget for SEU-sensitive state by applying triple-modular redundancy in the fabric and using Microchip's RTAX-S/SL SEU mitigation guidance from the family datasheet rather than relying on the silicon's tolerance alone.
Recommended
Space-Based Sensor and Image Interface
Imaging payloads such as earth-observation cameras and star trackers use the RTAX250SL-1LG624B to deserialize high-speed CCD/CMOS sensor outputs, apply defect correction, and buffer frames in the embedded SRAM with its built-in FIFO control logic - removing the need for external FIFO chips on a radiation-constrained board. The -1 speed grade timing supports the serial link speeds typical of space-qualified LVDS imagers, and the 624-pin LGA offers enough I/O for multi-lane sensor interfaces plus redundant spacecraft bus connections. Power at the 1.5V core suits thermally constrained optical benches where FPGA dissipation would otherwise defocus optics. Trade-off: at 250K gates, very wide on-chip processing (e.g., full image compression) usually moves to a denser RTAX2000SL.
Recommended
Launch Vehicle Avionics
Launch-vehicle flight computers and separation-timing units employ the RTAX250SL-1LG624B for deterministic, glitch-free sequencing logic that must work on the first and only flight. Live-at-power-up configuration eliminates configuration-read latency and configuration-memory failure modes during the ascent phase, a genuine system-level advantage over SRAM-configured commercial FPGAs. The -1 speed grade's 649 MHz capability is far above the timing requirements of sequencing logic, giving large timing closure margins under radiation-induced delay shifts and temperature extremes. Designers map the safety-critical state machines into triplicated fabric regions and exploit chip-wide highway routing to distribute low-skill-skew clocks to redundant output channels. The ceramic 624-pin LGA withstands launch vibration better than plastic packaged alternatives.
Recommended
Prototyping and Flight-Model Development
Microchip's documented methodology uses a footprint-compatible adaptor board plus an EDIF netlist and pinout converter so that RTAX250SL-1LG624B flight designs can be prototyped cheaply before committing to expensive ceramic space-grade hardware, as described in the application note Prototyping for RTAX-S and RTAX-SL Devices and in the RTAX-S/SL datasheet. Development teams place a commercial Microchip FPGA on the adaptor board to validate RTL, then flow the same netlist to the RTAX target once timing is verified. Using the same 624-pin LGA footprint from the first PCB revision avoids layout respins between the engineering-model and flight-model boards. Recommended practice is to reserve the E-suffix engineering parts (e.g., RTAX250SL-1LG624E) for bring-up and keep B-suffix lots segregated for flight build.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for RTAX250SL-1LG624B — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | RTAX250S-1LG624B | RTAX250SL-LG624B | RTAX250SL-1LG624E | RTAX250SL-1LG624V |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 624-Pin LGA (ceramic) | 624-Pin LGA (ceramic) - same | 624-Pin LGA (ceramic) - same | 624-Pin LGA (ceramic) - same | 624-Pin LGA (ceramic) - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology (Actel/Microsemi lineage) | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Equivalent Gates | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 |
| Logic Cells | 4224 (2816 CLBs) | 4224 (2816 CLBs) | 4224 (2816 CLBs) | 4224 (2816 CLBs) | 4224 (2816 CLBs) |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V |
| Power Character | SL low-power die | Standard-power S die (higher core power) | SL low-power die | SL low-power die | SL low-power die |
| Qualification Suffix | B (radiation-tolerant flight flow) | B (radiation-tolerant flight flow) | B (radiation-tolerant flight flow) | E (engineering/evaluation flow) | V (alternate qualification flow) |
Key Differentiators
- Low-power SL die in the same footprint (vs RTAX250S-1LG624B)
- Fastest -1 speed grade available for this die (vs RTAX250SL-LG624B)
- Flight qualification flow (vs RTAX250SL-1LG624E)
Design Notes
The 624-pin ceramic LGA requires a tightly controlled PCB land pattern and cannot be reflowed like a plastic BGA; follow the Microchip RTAX-S/SL datasheet land-pattern recommendations and specify the solder attachment process with your assembly house early. For prototyping, use Microchip's footprint-compatible adaptor board and the EDIF netlist/pinout converter described in the application note Prototyping for RTAX-S and RTAX-SL Devices, so the flight PCB layout never changes between prototype and flight hardware.
Power the 1.5V core from a low-noise space-grade point-of-load regulator and sequence I/O rails per the RTAX-SL datasheet power-supply requirements. The SL (low-power) die reduces static core current versus the RTAX250S standard die, but total dynamic power depends on design toggle rates - run Microchip's power estimator with your actual netlist rather than using the sibling die's figures. Budget margin for radiation-induced leakage increase over mission life when sizing the spacecraft power bus.
Do not substitute qualification suffixes without program-office approval: the B suffix denotes the radiation-tolerant flight flow, while E and V suffix parts share the same silicon and 624-pin LGA footprint but carry different qualification data. Also remember that although the fabric is radiation-tolerant, single-event upsets in user flip-flops and embedded SRAM still require architectural mitigation (triple modular redundancy, scrubbing-aware design) - tolerance at the process level is not a substitute for SEU-hardened design practice.
Compliance Information
Ceramic hermetic space-grade packaging; compliance declarations (RoHS/REACH exemptions for aerospace) must be obtained from Microchip directly; provided web data does not state environmental compliance status.
