Altera公司是美国可编程逻辑器件（PLD）制造商，可重构复杂数字电路。 Altera于1984年发布了第一款PLD.Altera的主要产品是Stratix，Arria和Cyclone系列FPGA，MAX系列CPLD，Quartus II设计软件和Enpirion PowerSoC DC-DC电源解决方案。

Altera和英特尔于2015年6月1日宣布，他们已同意英特尔将以全部现金交易收购Altera，价值约为167亿美元。截至2015年12月28日，收购已完成。

制品

FPGA的

Stratix系列FPGA是该公司最大，带宽最高的器件，具有高达110万个逻辑单元，高达28 Gbit / s的集成收发器，高达1.6 Tbit / s的串行开关能力，高达1,840 GMAC的信号处理能力性能，以及800 MHz的高达7 x72 DDR3内存接口。 Cyclone系列FPGA和SoC FPGA是该公司成本最低，功耗最低的FPGA，其变体提供高达5 Gbit / s的集成收发器。在这两个器件系列之间是Arria系列FPGA，可为中端应用（如远程无线电头，视频会议设备和有线接入设备）提供性能，功耗和成本之间的平衡。 Arria FPGA集成了高达10 Gbit / s的收发器。

SoC FPGA

自2012年12月以来，该公司一直在发售SoC FPGA器件。据Altera称，完全耗尽的绝缘体上硅（FDSOI）芯片制造工艺对FPGA有益。这些器件将FPGA与基于ARM处理器的全硬处理器系统集成到一个器件上。

PowerSoC

2013年5月，Altera以1.34亿美元现金收购了嵌入式功率芯片制造商Enpirion（包括承担债务的1.41亿美元）。从那时起，Enpirion通过成为Altera产品组合中的自有产品而被纳入Altera。 Enpirion产品是片上电源DC-DC转换器，与其分立的等效产品相比，可实现更高的功率密度和更低的噪声性能。与分立元件制成的转换器不同，Enpirion DC-DC转换器在交付时经过模拟，表征，验证和生产合格。

ASIC的

此前，Altera提供了一种基于HardCopy ASIC的公开ASIC设计流程，该设计流程一旦最终确定，将FPGA设计转换为不可更改的形式。这种设计流程降低了设计安全风险以及更高产量的成本。设计工程师可以在Stratix系列FPGA中对其设计进行原型设计，然后在准备批量生产时将这些设计迁移到HardCopy ASIC。

独特的设计流程使硬件/软件协同设计和协同验证成为可能。该流程已经过基准测试，平均比标准单元解决方案更快地将系统推向市场9到12个月。设计工程师可以使用单个RTL，一组知识产权（IP）内核，以及用于FPGA和ASIC实现的Quartus II设计软件。 Altera的HardCopy设计中心管理测试插入。

IP核

Altera及其合作伙伴提供一系列知​​识产权（IP）内核，作为构建模块，设计工程师可以将其纳入系统设计以执行特定功能。 IP内核消除了从头开始创建设计中每个块的一些耗时任务。

Altera提供嵌入式产品组合，提供多种软核处理器内核：

Nios II嵌入式处理器

飞思卡尔ColdFire v1内核（适用于Cyclone III FPGA）。

ARM Cortex-M1处理器

一个硬IP处理器核心：

ARM Cortex-A9处理器

设计软件

主要文章：Altera Quartus

Altera的所有器件都支持通用设计环境Quartus II设计软件。 Quartus II软件提供基于订阅的版本和免费的基于Web的版本。它包括许多促进生产力的工具。

技术

40纳米技术

2008年5月，Altera推出业界首款40-nm可编程逻辑器件：Stratix IV FPGA和HardCopy IV ASIC。两款器件均提供集成收发器选项。从那时起，该公司还推出了Stratix IV GT FPGA，它具有用于40G / 100G应用的11.3 Gbit / s收发器，以及Arria II GX FPGA，它们具有3.75 Gbit / s收发器，适用于功耗和成本敏感型应用。

采用40-nm工艺节点制造的半导体解决了许多业界的主要挑战，包括功耗，器件性能和成本。 Altera的器件采用193纳米浸没式光刻技术和极低k电介质和应变硅等技术制造。这些技术和技术可提高器件性能和功效。

28纳米技术

2010年4月，Altera推出了FPGA业界第二款28-nm器件Stratix V FPGA（采用Xilinx的Kintex-7 FPGA），可提供速度更快的收发器。

Altera Corporation is an American manufacturer of programmable logic devices (PLDs), reconfigurable complex digital circuits. Altera released its first PLD in 1984. Altera's main products are the Stratix, Arria and Cyclone series FPGAs, the MAX series CPLDs, Quartus II design software, and Enpirion PowerSoC DC-DC power solutions.

Altera and Intel announced on June 1, 2015 that they have agreed that Intel would acquire Altera in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16.7 billion. As of December 28, 2015, the acquisition had been completed.

Products

FPGAs

The Stratix series FPGAs are the company's largest, highest bandwidth devices, with up to 1.1 million logic elements, integrated transceivers at up to 28 Gbit/s, up to 1.6 Tbit/s of serial switching capability, up to 1,840 GMACs of signal-processing performance, and up to 7 x72 DDR3 memory interfaces at 800 MHz. Cyclone series FPGAs and SoC FPGAs are the company's lowest cost, lowest power FPGAs, with variants offering integrated transceivers up to 5 Gbit/s. In between these two device families are Arria series FPGAs, which provide a balance of performance, power, and cost for mid-range applications such as remote radio heads, video conferencing equipment, and wireline access equipment. Arria FPGAs have integrated transceivers up to 10 Gbit/s.

SoC FPGAs

Since December 2012, the company has been shipping SoC FPGA devices. According to Altera, fully depleted silicon on insulator (FDSOI) chip manufacturing process is beneficial for FPGAs. These devices integrate FPGAs with full hard processor systems based around ARM processors onto a single device.

PowerSoC

In May 2013, Altera acquired embedded power chipmaker Enpirion for $134m in cash ($141m including the assumption of debt). Since that time, Enpirion has been incorporated into Altera by becoming its own product offering within the Altera portfolio of products. The Enpirion products are power system-on-a-chip DC-DC converters that enable greater power densities and lower noise performance compared with their discrete equivalent. Unlike converters made from discrete components Enpirion dc-dc converters are simulated, characterized, validated and production qualified at delivery.

ASICs

Previously Altera offered a publicly available ASIC design flow based on HardCopy ASICs, which transitioned an FPGA design, once finalized, to a form which is not alterable. This design flow reduced design security risks as well as costs for higher volume production. Design engineers could prototype their designs in Stratix series FPGAs, and then migrate these designs to HardCopy ASICs when they were ready for volume production.

The unique design flow makes hardware/software co-design and co-verification possible. The flow has been benchmarked to deliver systems to market 9 to 12 months faster, on average, than with standard-cell solutions. Design engineers can employ a single RTL, set of intellectual property (IP) cores, and Quartus II design software for both FPGA and ASIC implementations. Altera's HardCopy Design Center manages test insertion.

IP cores

Altera and its partners offer an array of intellectual property (IP) cores that serve as building blocks that design engineers can drop into their system designs to perform specific functions. IP cores eliminate some of the time-consuming tasks of creating every block in a design from scratch.

Altera offers an embedded portfolio with a broad selection of soft processor cores:

Nios II embedded processor

Freescale ColdFire v1 core (free for Cyclone III FPGA).

ARM Cortex-M1 processor

And one hard IP processor core:

ARM Cortex-A9 processor

Design software

Main article: Altera Quartus

All of Altera's devices are supported by a common design environment, Quartus II design software. Quartus II software is available in a subscription-based edition and a free Web-based edition. It includes a number of tools to foster productivity.

Technology

40-nm technology

In May 2008, Altera introduced the industry's first 40-nm programmable logic devices: the Stratix IV FPGAs and HardCopy IV ASICs. Both devices are available with integrated transceiver options. Since then, the company has also introduced Stratix IV GT FPGAs, which have 11.3 Gbit/s transceivers for 40G/100G applications, and Arria II GX FPGAs, which have 3.75 Gbit/s transceivers for power- and cost-sensitive applications.

Semiconductors manufactured on a 40-nm process node address many of the industry's key challenges, including power consumption, device performance, and cost. Altera's devices are manufactured using techniques such as 193-nm immersion lithography and technologies such as extreme low-k dielectrics and strained silicon. These techniques and technologies bring enhancements to device performance and power efficiency.

28-nm technology

In April 2010, Altera introduced the FPGA industry's second 28-nm device, the Stratix V FPGA (to Xilinx's Kintex-7 FPGA), available with transceivers at speeds up to 28 Gbit/s. This device family has more than 1 million logic elements, up to 53 Mb of embedded memory, up to 7 x72 DDR3 DIMMs at 800 MHz, 1.6 Gbit/s LVDS performance, and up to 3,680 variable-precision DSP blocks. In August 2011, Altera began shipping 28-nm Stratix V GT devices featuring 28-gigabits-per-second transceivers.

The devices also feature some unique features. Embedded HardCopy blocks harden standard or logic-intensive applications, increasing integration and delivering twice the density without a cost or power penalty. Altera has developed a user friendly method for partial reconfiguration, so core functionality can be changed easily and on the fly. And there is a path to HardCopy V ASICs, when designs are ready for volume production. Also, Altera’s 28 nm FPGAs aim to reduce power requirements to 200 mW per channel.

In December 2012, the company announced the shipment of its first 28 nm Cyclone V SoC devices, which have a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor system with FPGA logic on a single chip. The new SoCs are targeted for wireless communications, industrial, video surveillance, automotive and medical equipment markets. With these SoCs devices, users are able to create custom field-programmable SoC variants for power, board space, performance and cost optimization.

14-nm technology

In February 2013, Altera announced an agreement with Intel to use Intel’s foundry services to produce its 14-nm node for the future manufacturing of its FPGAs, based on Intel’s 14 nm tri-gate transistor technology, in place of Altera’s ongoing agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC).

In October 2016, nearly one year after Intel's integration with Altera, STRATIX 10 was announced, which is based on Intel's 14 nm Tri-Gate process.

Competition

Altera's largest competitor is FPGA founder and market-share leader Xilinx.

The next closest competitors are Lattice Semiconductor and Actel (now Microsemi), each representing less than 10 percent of the market.

FPGA startup company Achronix is also a competitor but does not have any significant market share.

In broader terms, Altera competes with ASIC, structured ASIC, Metal Configurable Standard Cell (MCSC) like BaySand and Zero Mask-Charge ASIC companies like eASIC.

Specifically in ASIC, BaySand has introduced metal configurable FPGA (mcFPGA) products to fill the needs due to discontinued HardCopy from Altera.

Restatement

On June 21, 2006, Altera Corp. restated its 1996-2005 financial results to correct accounting errors related to stock-based compensation expense. Altera's CFO resigned after an SEC investigation revealed the decade of misstated earning reports resulted from the company's alleged culture of backdating stock options.

Acquisition by Intel

On June 1, 2015, Altera and Intel announced that Intel would acquire Altera in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately £15.73 billion ($16.7 billion). As of December 28, 2015, the acquisition has been completed.