Only programmable devices to combine ARM processors with a 20nm FPGA fabric

Altera has strengthened its leadership position in SoC FPGA products by shipping its second-generation SoC family. Arria 10 SoCs are the industry’s only programmable devices that combine ARM processors with a 20nm FPGA fabric. Arria 10 SoCs bring across-the-board improvements to enable higher performing, lower power, and more feature rich embedded systems compared to previous generation SoC FPGAs, says the company. “The extraordinary customer interest in our 28nm SoC family led Altera to commit to a comprehensive roadmap for SoC FPGA devices and we are now delivering on that promise with our 2nd generation 20nm SoC FPGAs,” said Chris Balough, senior director of marketing, SoC products, Altera. “We are delighted to put initial samples into the hands of early customers who are counting on Altera’s total commitment and leadership in this emerging device category.” Embedded developers who have already realized the value of SoC FPGAs have a clear migration path with Altera for enhancing their next-generation systems. Arria 10 SoCs are fully software compatible with Altera’s previous 28nm SoC product family for seamless software migration between generations. Arria 10 SoCs provide up to 50 percent higher performance and up to 40 percent lower power than the previous generation. Altera’s SoC portfolio also includes a 3rd-generation 14nm Stratix 10 SoC with a 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor for embedded developers that demand the highest performance and power efficiency. Altera SoC FPGAs enable smarter embedded systems by enabling single-chip product differentiation in both hardware and software. Combining ARM processors with FPGA fabric provides greater system value through reductions in power, costs and board space. Arria 10 SoCs are optimized to deliver the performance, power, security and cost requirements for next-generation embedded applications within wireless infrastructure, wireline communications, computer and storage, and broadcast equipment. Arria 10 SoC samples are currently shipping to select early-access customers. Designers can begin their Arria 10 SoC designs by using Quartus II software and the Altera SoC Embedded Design Suite featuring the ARM Development Studio (DS-5) Altera Edition toolkit, says the company.