Altera Ships 0.22-Micron Product-Term Device with Industry-First Features.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2000

Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) today announced availability of the EPM7128B, the industry's first shipping 0.22-micron, 2.5-V product-term device. The EPM7128B is the first member of the MAX(R) 7000B family of high performance programmable logic devices (PLDs), which broadens Altera's widely used MAX product-term offerings. With sophisticated features not offered by competing products, the MAX 7000B device family is the industry's most advanced product-term family.

MAX 7000B devices offer up to 3.5-nanosecond pin-to-pin performance, with peak on-chip speeds of up to 285-MHz, and are the first to offer 2.5-V in-system programmability (ISP). The MAX 7000B family is also the first product-term-based family that features high performance, low-voltage I/O standards such as Gunning transceiver logic plus (GTL+), stub series terminated logic for 2.5-V (SSTL-2), and stub series terminated logic for 3.3-V (SSTL-3). The standards are required to keep pace with increasing system speeds, higher data rates and new low-voltage equipment, and are used to interface with high-speed memory, microprocessors, backplanes and peripheral devices.

"For nearly 10 years, the MAX 7000 architecture maintained its wide popularity through ongoing innovation and feature enhancement that benefits our customers in their most advanced designs," said Craig Leclair, Altera director of component marketing. "With the addition of high performance ISP capabilities and leading-edge I/O standards all on a 0.22-micron, 2.5-V process, the MAX 7000B extends the capabilities of prior MAX 7000 families and is ideal for applications where high performance and fast ISP are required, in production and in the field."

The EPM7128B features 128 macrocells with 2,500 usable gates. The EPM7128B operates at a core voltage of 2.5-V and features Altera's patented MultiVolt(TM) interface that allows designers to seamlessly interface between 3.3-V, 2.5-V and 1.8-V devices in a mixed-voltage environment. In-system programming of the EPM7128B is supported through the IEEE standard 1149.1 JTAG interface using the JEDEC standard (JESD-71) Jam(TM) Standard Test and Programming Language (STAPL).

Design Support

The EPM7128B device, like all MAX 7000, MAX 7000S, and MAX 7000A family devices, is supported by Altera's MAX+PLUS(R) II development system for PC and workstation platforms. Altera's MAX+PLUS II software provides seamless integration with tools from Cadence, Mentor Graphics, Synopsys, Viewlogic and other leading EDA vendors.

Availability, Packaging, and Pricing

The Altera EPM7128B programmable logic device is shipping now in volume. Pricing for the EPM7128B is projected to be $4.20 in high-volume production quantities. Packaging options will include Altera's 100- and 144-pin TQFP, 100- and 256-pin FineLine BGA(TM), and the 0.8-millimeter ball pitch 169- and 49-pin Ultra FineLine BGA packages. The 169-pin Ultra FineLine BGA requires only 50 percent of the board space of a 100-pin TQFP while providing 70 percent more I/Os.

About Altera

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company(TM), was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices and associated logic development software tools. Programmable logic devices are semiconductor chips that can be programmed on-site, using software tools that run on personal computers or engineering workstations. User benefits include ease of use, lower risk, and fast time-to-market. Altera's CMOS-based programmable logic devices address high-speed, high-density and low-power applications in the telecommunications, data communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. Altera common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera can be obtained on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.

Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, MAX, MultiVolt, Jam, MAX+PLUS, 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.