Altera Semiconductors

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Altera Corporation was an American manufacturer of programmable logic devices (PLDs), reconfigurable complex digital circuits. The company released its first PLD in 1984. Altera’s main products are the Stratix, Arria and Cyclone series FPGAs, the MAX series CPLDs, Quartus II design software, and Enpirion PowerSoC DC-DC power solutions.

Altera and Intel announced on June 1, 2015 that they have agreed that Intel would acquire Altera in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16.7 billion. As of December 28, 2015, the acquisition had been completed.

Altera was founded in 1983 by Robert Hartmann, Michael Magranet, Paul Newhagen, and Jim Sansbury. Research into the semiconductor industry

Altera expanded its technology leadership in 1988 with the product-term-based MAX architecture and, in 1992, with the look-up table (LUT)-based FLEX® architecture. Altera pioneered the system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) era with the recent introduction of newer, more powerful and efficient architectures, the Quartus II development system, and an extensive IP offering.

Products:

Devices: CPLDs Low-Cost FPGAs High-Density FPGAs Structured ASICs
Applications:(CPLDs-MAX® II)
Lowest-cost, single-chip, easy-to-use CPLD family, Altera introduces the MAX® II device family, the lowest-cost CPLDs ever. MAX II devices are based on a groundbreaking new CPLD architecture that delivers the lowest cost per I/O pin and the lowest power of any CPLD family. Featuring a low-power process technology, MAX II devices deliver half the cost, one-tenth the power, four times the density, and twice the performance of previous MAX devices.
Characteristics: (CPLDs-MAX® II)

Lowest CPLD cost & power consumption Highest CPLD density & performance Instant-on, non-volatile User flash memory 1.8-V, 2.5-V & 3.3-V supply voltages
Specifications:(CPLDs-MAX® II)
MX II Backgrounder (PDF)

Applications:(CPLDs-MAX®)

Low-cost CPLD for lower-complexity, low-density designs Altera’s 3.3-V MAX® 3000A devices are based on the Altera® MAX architecture and are cost-optimized for high-volume applications. Manufactured on an advanced 0.30-µm CMOS process, the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)-based MAX 3000A family provides instant-on capability and offers densities from 32 to 512 macrocells. MAX 3000A devices support in-system programmability (ISP) and can be easily reconfigured in the field. Each MAX 3000A macrocell is individually configurable for either sequential or combinatorial logic operation.
Characteristics: (CPLDs-MAX®)
Low to moderate density Instant-on, non-volatile 5-V I/O support Deterministic timing 2.5-V, 3.3-V or 5.0-V supply voltages
Specifications:(CPLDs-MAX®)

Applications Automotive With Altera’s automotive products, you can reduce system costs, improve reliability, and simplify design complexity to accelerate time to Broadcast Altera’s broadcast portfolio of products includes programmable devices with optimized broadcast-related intellectual property (IP) cores, powerful design software, and development kits. Computer & Storage Intel® FPGAs (formerly Altera® FPGAs) can be used to accelerate the performance of large-scale data systems. Consumer Using Altera’s low-cost FPGAs in your systems enables a fast, risk-free path to high volume and helps you handle nearly continuous change while still maintaining project deadlines. Embedded Vision The ability to incorporate high-definition (HD) video, image processing, and analytic tools has become an essential feature of embedded systems. Industrial Learn how FPGAs, such as Altera’s low-cost, low-power Cyclone® series, can help you address some of your toughest industrial application design challenges. Medical Altera provides a comprehensive product and tool portfolio to accelerate medical application development. Military / Aerospace / Government Intel FPGAs enable designers to meet the requirements of the aerospace and military markets by supplying enhanced off-the-shelf FPGAs. Test and Measurement Regardless of the end market, all products have to be tested before being shipping to the end-customer. Learn how Altera’s FPGAs can help. Wireless Altera provides a complete portfolio of high-performance, low-cost FPGAs delivering the processing bandwidth and flexibility for wireless applications. Wireline With a complete portfolio of high-performance, low-cost FPGAs and Altera’s programmable logic devices (PLDs) deliver the processing bandwidth and flexibility required for wireline infrastructure designs.

Second-generation, lowest-cost family in the CycloneT FPGA series for designs where cost concerns outweigh the need for performance or extensive features Altera introduces the CycloneT II FPGA family, the latest in the Cyclone series of low-cost FPGAs. Altera forever changed the FPGA industry with the introduction of the Cyclone device family in 2002-bringing to market the first and only FPGA family designed from the ground up for the lowest cost. Altera took the same approach and built the Cyclone II family with each member individually optimized for minimum die size. The Cyclone II FPGA family offers the same benefits as its predecessor-a customer-defined feature set, industry-leading performance, and low power consumption-but with much more density and features-at dramatically lower costs. Cyclone II devices extend the low-cost FPGA density range up to 68,416 logic elements (LEs) and up to 1.1 Mbits of embedded memory.
Characteristics: (FPGA Conversion ULC Device/s-Cyclone II)

Nios® II embedded processor support Embedded 18×18 digital signal processing (DSP) multipliers Moderate on-chip memory Moderate-speed I/O & memory interfaces Broad intellectual property (IP) portfolio support
Specifications
Cyclone II Device Family Data Sheet Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Handbook Volume 1 Cyclone II Device Handbook Cyclone IV FPGA Device Family Overview V-Series Transceiver PHY IP Core User Guide Introduction to the Altera Nios II Soft Processor Introduction to the Quartus II Software

Applications:(FPGA Conversion ULC Device/s-Cyclone)

First-generation, lower-density, low-cost family in the Cyclone FPGA series Altera’s CycloneT series of FPGAs provides the benefits of programmable logic at price points competitive with ASICs and ASSPs. Built from the ground up based on extensive input from hundreds of customers, these low-cost devices provide high-volume, application-focused features such as embedded memory, external memory interfaces, and clock management circuitry. Cyclone series FPGAs are the optimal solution for high-volume, price-sensitive applications that previously required the use of fixed solutions such as gate arrays and standard cells.
Characteristics: (FPGA Conversion ULC Device/s-Cyclone)

Nios II embedded processor support Low to moderate on-chip memory Low to moderate-speed I/O & memory interfaces Broad IP portfolio support
Specifications: (FPGA Conversion ULC Device/s-Cyclone)	Cyclone Device Family Data Sheet

Altera and Intel announced on June 1, 2015 that they have agreed that Intel would acquire Altera in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16.7 billion. Altera operates as the Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) within Intel Corporation, following its acquisition. Altera’s programmable solutions enable designers of electronic systems to rapidly and cost effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Altera offers FPGAs, SoCs, CPLDs, and complementary technologies, such as power solutions, to provide high-value solutions to customers worldwide.