AMD, Altera, Actel stir programmable logic

Electronic News, May 29, 1995

SAN JOSE, CALIF.--A variety of developments in the programmable logic market point to continued strong growth and increasing competition as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) introduced a large, in-circuit-programmable complex programmable logic device (CPLD), Altera said it will begin shipment of 0.5-micron CPLDs by year-end, and Actel revealed a programmable logic design software partnership with Viewlogic.

AMD unveiled what it claims is the industry's largest in-circuit programmable CPLD--the 256 macrocell MACH465 said to offer 10,000-gate density in addition to in-circuit programmability and JTAG testing capability. This feature set makes it suitable, AMD said, for a range of systems applications including workstations, graphics subsystems, central office switches, and PCI bus computer systems.

The AMD CPLD features 384 flip-flops and can operate at speeds up to 12 nanoseconds. It includes 146 inputs, 128 of which have dedicated input registers, and operates at a maximum system frequency of 83.3MHz. Its 128 I/Os allow for high bus-width or high gate count designs to be integrated into a single device. In addition, each of the 256 macrocells is said to provide the capacity of up to 20 product terms and includes XOR logic.

Commenting on the introduction, AMD director of marketing Chris Henry said "This introduction marks the first time that a high-density device incorporates so many important features into one product. The MACH465 contains high-macrocell, register, and I/O count, along with multiple switch matrices, 5-volt in-circuit programming and JTAG. This combination allows customers to use a single device when designing rather than multiple PALs, CPLDs or other logic devices while maintaining speed and predictable timing." The AMD MACH465 is currently available for shipment, priced starting at $144.81 each for the 12ns version in quantities of 1,000. It also runs at speeds of 15- and 20ns, comes in a 208-pin PQFP package and is made on AMD's proprietary 0.7-micron, triple-layer metal (TLM) EECMOS six-inch wafer process.

Altera said it has completed migrating its FLEX 8000 family of CPLDs, targeted at cost-sensitive applications, to a 0.6-micron TLM process. Shipment of the final model of the family, the 16,000-gate EPF81500A completes the rollout of the five-member line.

According to Cliff Tong, Altera director of product marketing, the process shrinks will allow it to keep reducing die size and prices as more of the smaller die fit onto a wafer. "Optimized interconnect architecture is the key to reducing die size and cost. The FLEX architecture was designed to take full advantage of the state-of-the-art triple-layer metal process technologies. Price has traditionally been the major obstacle preventing programmable logic from replacing gate arrays for high volume applications. Our prices are now competitive in high volumes, especially when engineers consider the hidden costs of gate arrays including non-recurring engineering charges, extra development effort and lost opportunity cost with being late to market."

In addition, Altera said it is on track to ship 0.5-micron versions of the FLEX 8000A family by year-end--a move it said would reduce die size by an additional 15 percent over 0.6-micron versions. The company said the two process shrinks will allow a reduction of the price of its high-end 16,000-gate EPF81500A to $59 each in quantities of 10-to 25,000 by year-end, and of its entry-level 8000A device--the 2,500-gate EPF8282A to $6.50 each in same quantities.

Actel said it will offer a version of Viewlogic's new Optium for Windows VHDL simulation software as part of Actel's high level design environment which includes ACTgen, ACTmap, VHDL Synthesis and Designer Series 3.0 tools. Although the agreement extends a previous relationship between the companies, Actel looked at other vendors' tools before deciding to add Optium, according to Tom Todd, Actel's product marketing director.

Optium for Windows from Actel is scheduled to be available in 3Q95, priced at $2,995 and will support PCs running under Windows 3.11, Windows/NT and the Windows 95 operating system, which Microsoft now says will be available in August.