Actel’s ProASIC and ProASICPLUS devices contain FlashLock circuitry to lock the device by disabling the programming and readback capabilities after programming. Care has been taken to make the locking circuitry very difficult to defeat through electronic or direct physical attack.
FlashLock has three security options: No Lock, Permanent Lock, and Keyed Lock.
Creates a programming file which does not secure your device.
The permanent lock makes your device one time programmable. It cannot be unlocked by you or anyone else.
Within each ProASIC and ProASICPLUS device, there is a multi-bit security key user key. The number of bits depends on the size of the device. The tables below show the key size of different ProASIC and ProASICPLUS devices, respectively. Once secured, read permission and write permission can only be enabled by providing the correct user key to first unlock the device. The maximum security key for the device is shown in the dialog box.
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Key Size of ProASIC Devices
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Key Size of ProASICPLUS Devices
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Two device programmers, Silicon Sculptor and Flash Pro, are available for ProASIC and ProASICPLUS devices. If the programming file contains the security key, by default the Silicon Sculptor and Flash Pro programming software automatically enables the "secure" option and programs the security key. You can turn this off, should you decide not to program using the security key.
Please refer to the application note “Implementation of Security in Actel's ProASIC and ProASICPLUS Flash-Based FPGAs” for more details.