Targeting infotainment, networking, and driver-assistance applications. Altera said it will begin shipping automotive-grade devices for selected members of its CPLD, FPGA and structured ASIC device families. The firm said its programmable logic solutions allow automakers to accommodate changing feature needs faster than ASSP products can and also support differentiation across various vehicle classes.
Automotive-grade products include the MAX 7000AE and MAX II CPLDs, Cyclone, Cyclone II and Cyclone III FPGAs, and HardCopy II structured ASICs. Danny Biran, senior vice president of product and corporate marketing, said Altera’s Cyclone III FPGAs are among the only automotive-grade FPGAs available at the 65 nm node, and its HardCopy II structured ASICs are among the industry’s only automotive-grade structured ASICs.
The devices are ISO/TS16949 compliant, meeting ISO 9001:2000, automotive and customer-specific requirements. Altera’s manufacturing partners are TS16949 certified and registered. Partners include TSMC, ASE Test Ltd., and AMKOR Technology. The products are tested according to AEC-Q100 specifications, support the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) and have an operating junction temperature range from -40 °C to +125 °C.
Altera’s automotive strategy is based on the PARIS development platform, which it developed with TRS-STAR. The platform allows OEMs to port their designs to a production-qualified FPGA or migrate to a HardCopy II structured ASIC. Available IP cores include Altera’s Nios II and ARM’s M1 Cortex embedded processors, as well as DSP and video and imaging IP suites, and support for automotive networking standards such as CAN, MOST, LIN, and FlexRay.