Hong Kong – February 22, 2012 – Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced that it has successfully demonstrated interoperability with a 100-Gbps optical module using its 28nm Stratix® V GT FPGA, enabling next-generation 100-Gbps networks. This is the first time that FPGAs have demonstrated interoperability with 100-Gbps optical modules and further demonstrates Altera’s commitment to enabling system engineers and manufacturers to develop higher-density, lower-power optical networks. Today’s news follows Altera’s announcement in September 2011: Genum and Altera Demonstrate 4x25-Gbps IC for Next-Generation 100-Gbps Networks.
The demo will be on display in the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) multi-vendor booth 713 at the Optical Fiber Conference (OFC), March 6-8, 2012, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The demo tests 28 Gbps transmission technology over 2 km of single-mode (SM) fiber using Molex's zQSFP+ interconnect system. The demo includes four channels of PRBS31 data generated within Altera's Stratix V FPGA, which is optimized to support the most bandwidth-intensive communication systems. Next, data is transmitted through a Genum VSR host channel with 12dB insertion loss and passed to a Genum CDR (clock and data recovery) IC via a Molex zQSFP+ connector.
The re-timed output of the CDR is transmitted to a Molex 1490nm optical module, which loops the optical data back to the receiver via 2km of SM fiber. At the receiver, the data flows in reverse order through an extended block, terminating in the FPGA. An error checker provided by the Altera FPGA verifies that the entire transmit and receive data path in the system operates error-free.
With global Internet traffic expected to increase dramatically in the coming years, the demand for ever-increasing bandwidth is driving the need for large-scale network upgrades. Altera's Stratix V GT devices are designed to support data streams from 25 Gbps to 28 Gbps for next-generation 100 Gbps connectivity-capable optical modules, line cards, and direct-attach copper cables in 25G-QSFP+ and CFP2 form factors. They offer exceptional jitter performance along with low power consumption.
Featuring integrated 28-Gbps transceivers, Stratix V FPGAs deliver the highest system bandwidth with the lowest power consumption of 200 mW per channel at 28 Gbps. Stratix V FPGAs support backplane, optical module, and chip-to-chip applications with their 28-Gbps transceivers, and support up to 66 full-duplex 14.1 Gbps transceivers. Stratix V GT FPGAs' transceivers deliver industry-leading system reliability with the industry's lowest jitter characteristics.
Altera will showcase its latest innovations in Optical Transport Network (OTN) IP and 28nm FPGA technology at OIF in booth 2825. Altera will share information on key building blocks to help system and equipment manufacturers develop higher-density, lower-power optical networks for future communications systems.

Supply period
Altera's Stratix V FPGAs are currently shipping. Additional information about the devices is available at www.altera.com/stratix5 or by contacting your local Altera® sales representative.
A video titled “Sneak Peek: Industry's First 28-Gbps FPGA” is also available at: www.altera.com/education/webcasts/videos/videos-industry-first-28gbps-fpga.html .