San Jose, California – May 27, 2014 – Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR) announced today that it is providing Quartus® II beta software and early access documentation for the MAX® 10 FPGA, the latest addition to its Generation 10 FPGA and SoC portfolio. Based on TSMC's 55nm embedded flash process technology, the MAX 10 FPGA revolutionizes non-volatile FPGA integration by delivering advanced processing performance to small form factors, low-cost, instant-on programmable logic devices. With the availability of software support and product documentation, customers can begin designing with the MAX 10 FPGA immediately.

Altera recently completed the tape-out of the first batch of MAX 10 FPGAs and, in partnership with TSMC, will begin supplying the non-volatile FPGA family in the third quarter of 2014. Further details regarding the MAX 10 FPGA will be made public following the release of the silicon and development kits. Customers participating in Altera's MAX 10 FPGA Early Access Program can access the Early Access documentation starting today.

"At last year's announcement, we focused on FPGAs with embedded flash technology, which is the core of the Generation 10 product portfolio," said Patrick Dorsey, Altera's General Manager of Product Marketing. "With early access to the MAX 10 FPGA, customers can now access strongly coupled FPGA processing performance and non-volatile capabilities enabled by embedded flash technology."

Qualified customers who have enrolled in the MAX 10 FPGA Early Access Program can use Quartus II software to run design compilation and timing analysis to start designing immediately. Using early access software can accelerate market entry for high-volume applications requiring advanced processing performance, along with low system costs and power.

"TSMC North America Head Chen-Chung Chao said, 'TSMC is the first foundry to offer embedded flash based on 5nm process technology, and we are pleased to be able to commercialize this technology in MAX 10 FPGAs in collaboration with long-term partners like Altera.' He added, 'Our 55nm embedded flash process was developed to support applications requiring a high level of non-volatile integration across a wide range of end markets.'"

The MAX 10 FPGA is designed to lower overall system costs and minimize board complexity. This low-cost device family combines non-volatile, instant-on capabilities with various advanced features, including digital signal processing, analog functions, Nios® II embedded processing, and external memory interfaces. The MAX 10 FPGA's small form factor and single-chip integration prove even more powerful to board designers when used with Enpirion power management solutions. These capabilities make the MAX 10 FPGA suitable for many end markets, including automotive, industrial, and telecommunications.

Quality, reliability, and integration are the most critical factors in automotive applications. The 55nm embedded flash-based MAX 10 FPGA is built to meet the stringent safety and quality standards required by the automotive industry. By eliminating the need for external configuration devices, the MAX 10 FPGA provides faster boot times for instant-on applications, such as rear cameras used in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The wide parallel processing performance of the MAX 10 FPGA combined with embedded flash is very suitable for inside-the-hood applications such as electric vehicles (EVs), motor control, battery management, and power conversion, and enables the use of low-cost motors with fast control loops and high switching frequencies, and reduces the number of external components, resulting in substantial system cost savings.

In industrial control applications, the MAX 10 FPGA accurately senses environmental conditions and responds using real-time control processing. The small form factor, single-chip FPGA significantly improves system efficiency in a wide range of applications, from motor control and I/O modules to Internet of Things (IoT) sensor processing and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication.

The MAX 10 FPGA supports various board components in communication systems and is suitable for use in power sequencing management and I/O expansion.