Altera Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of programmable logic devices (PLDs), HardCopy structured ASIC devices, pre-defined design building blocks known as intellectual property (IP), cores, and associated development tools.
The company’s PLDs, which consist of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), are semiconductor integrated circuits that are manufactured as standard chips that its customers program to perform desired logic functions within their electronic systems. The company sells its products to distributors and OEMs throughout the world.
Products
The company’s products consist primarily of devices, IP cores, and proprietary development tools.
Devices
The company's devices fall into the following four categories: FPGAs, CPLDs, HardCopy structured ASIC devices, and configuration devices that store the programming code for its FPGAs.
Stratix II and Stratix III High-End, System-Level FPGAs: The company's Stratix product families are built using CMOS process technology and address a range of applications in communications, computing and storage, consumer, and industrial markets. Additionally, the company's Stratix II GX FPGA devices offer transceiver capabilities for applications that require reliable, multi-gigabit data transfer rates. The company's Stratix III family offers the lowest power consumption amongst high performance FPGAs.
Cyclone II Low-Cost, High-Volume FPGAs: The company's Cyclone product families are built using CMOS process technology and bring programmable flexibility to cost-sensitive applications across different end markets within the communications, computing and storage, consumer, and industrial markets.
MAX II CPLDs: The company's MAX CPLD product families are instant-on, non-volatile devices that address a range of glue logic functions found in a range of electronics equipment in the communications, computing and storage, consumer, and industrial markets.
HardCopy and HardCopy II Structured ASIC Devices
The company's HardCopy and HardCopy II (HardCopy) products offer customers a migration path from the highest density FPGA families to a low-cost structured ASIC device for high-volume production applications.
Intellectual Property Cores
IP cores are pre-verified building blocks that implement standard system-level functions that customers incorporate in their PLD design by using the company's development software. Soft IP cores available for use in the company's devices consist of Nios and Nios II soft core embedded processors and its portfolio of MegaCore functions, which it licenses to its customers, and its Altera Megafunction Partners Program.
Development Tools
The company's development tools, consisting primarily of the Quartus II software, enable customers to complete all necessary PLD design steps. The company's development tools can be used on various computing platforms and have built-in interfaces with other engineering design software, thus making it possible for customers to utilize their existing design environment. The company's Quartus II software development tools run under the Microsoft Windows, UNIX (including Solaris and HP-UX), and Linux operating environments. The company's development tools also provide interfaces to EDA tools, including those offered by Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Mentor Graphics Corporation, Synopsys, Inc., and Synplicity, Inc.
Markets
The company sells to customers in the automotive, military, aerospace, avionics and medical equipment industries. Throughout the United States, the company has domestic sales offices in various major metropolitan areas. In addition, it maintains international sales support offices in various metropolitan areas including Bangalore, Beijing, Cork, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Munich, Osaka, Ottawa, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Stockholm, Taipei, Tokyo, and Turin. The company’s international sales consist of all sales outside of North America, Japan, the United States, and in select European countries.
Suppliers
The company's suppliers for silicon wafers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Sharp Corporation. The company purchases its assembly services from Amkor Electronics, Inc., in Korea and the Philippines, and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc., or ASE, in Malaysia and Taiwan.
Competition
The company’s competitor in the programmable logic market is Xilinx, Inc. The company’s also competes in the PLD market with other smaller vendors, including Lattice Semiconductor Corporation and Actel Corporation.
History
Altera Corporation was founded in 1983.
