Altera Extends Leadership in Packaging for Product-Term Devices With Ultra FineLine BGA Technology.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 11, 2000

Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) today announced the shipment of 49-pin and 169-pin Ultra FineLine BGA(TM) packaging for its industry-leading MAX(R) 7000 programmable logic devices (PLDs), comprising the widest range of FineLine BGA packages. Altera's MAX 7000B device, the only 2.5-volt P-Term device available in an Ultra FineLine BGA package, features a 0.8mm pitch (distance between two balls), which allows more pins to be placed in a smaller footprint. The 169-pin Ultra FineLine BGA package requires only 11 square mm of board space, close to a 50 percent reduction compared to the popular 144-pin TQFP package. Altera's FineLine BGA packages are ideal for applications that require minimal board space and low-power consumption, such as DSL modems, next-generation cell phone infrastructure, radio handsets, and advanced storage systems.

"Among product-term devices, Altera's MAX device family is the clear technology leader," said Tim Colleran, Altera director of MAX product marketing. "Altera now extends this leadership within the packaging arena, by providing the widest, most advanced range of packaging options available for the MAX product-term devices."

"Minimizing board space is an important consideration when designing leading-edge optical encoder processing systems," said Michael Fitts, vice president of marketing at MicroE Systems Corporation. "Altera's MAX EPM7032B in a 49-pin advanced Ultra FineLine BGA package met our logic needs while providing us with the smallest footprint package."

Industry-Leading MAX 7000 Device Family

Altera's MAX 7000A family, the fourth generation of the MAX 7000 architecture, represents the fastest growing product-term architecture ever with currently 2,700 customers and cumulative sales of over $125 million. The MAX 7000A family, the 3.3-volt industry leader, is widely used in DSL, VOIP, 3G wireless, high-speed routers, and mass storage applications. Altera recently introduced the fifth generation of the MAX 7000 architecture, the 2.5V MAX 7000B family. This high-performance 0.22 micron family is shipping, winning designs and gaining industry-wide acceptance with innovative features such as GTL+ and SSTL I/O capabilities.

About Altera

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company(R), was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Altera's CMOS-based PLDs are user-programmable semiconductor chips that enhance flexibility and reduce time-to-market for companies in the communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. By using high performance devices, software development tools, and sophisticated intellectual property cores, system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions can be created with embedded processors, memory, and other complex logic together on a single PLD. Altera common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera is available on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.

Note to Editors: Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, MAX, FineLine BGA, and specific device designations are trademarks and/or service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.