FPGAs’s Silicon And Software Enhanced

Already touted as the industry’s fastest FPGAs, the Stratix six-speed devices have been overhauled with technological enhancements and additional software algorithm options to increase performance by up to 20%. Called five-speed versions, the performance increase is said to be the result of both silicon and software enhancements, each accounting for about half of the total improvement. Initial characterization data for the EP1S25 in the new five-speed grade exhibits a 10% performance improvement over the existing six-speed grade. The new netlist optimization (software) options in the Quartus II version 2.1 design software generate up to an additional 10% average boost in performance. Targeting intensive digital signal processing applications, the devices with 18 x 18 multipliers now operate at 255 MHz. In addition, the new Stratix devices are supported by the latest version of the Quartus II design software. ALTERA CORP., San Jose, CA. (408) 544-6397.