Low-cost FPGA tackles big DSP applications

Available now from Altera Corp, the Cyclone II EP2C70 is billed as the industry's largest, low-cost FPGA.

Available now from Altera Corp, the Cyclone II EP2C70 is billed as the industry's largest, low-cost FPGA.

The EP2C70 device is a compelling alternative to ASICs and ASSPs, delivering high functionality at the lowest possible cost.

The availability and on-time delivery of the 90nm EP2C70 device continues Altera's track record of operational excellence.

"The EP2C70 device is the uncontested density leader in the low-cost FPGA market and it is now available from distributors around the world", said Steve Mensor, Altera's Senior Director of Product Marketing for Low-Cost FPGAs.

"When it comes to FPGAs in the low-cost market segment, delivering product in volume from the start is paramount for customer success".

"The on-time delivery of the EP2C70 device is another example of how Altera continues to separate itself from the competition".

Built from the ground up for low cost, Altera's Cyclone series of FPGAs set the standard for low-cost FPGAs.

Altera gathered customer input during the product definition phase to determine the benefits customers desired most.

Customer adoption of the Cyclone series of FPGAs has surpassed all industry records, proving the success of this strategy and resulting in nearly 15 million units shipped since their introduction in 2002.

The EP2C70 device has 68,416 logic elements (LEs), 1.1Mbit of embedded memory and 150 dedicated 18x18 multipliers, resulting in over 40% more dedicated digital signal processing (DSP) resources than the nearest competing FPGA.

This makes the EP2C70 device an excellent solution for cost-sensitive DSP applications.

Using the dedicated DSP resources, designers can implement video and image processing applications such as MPEG4 encoding and decoding, video filtering and wireless infrastructure applications.

System designers can also implement multiple Nios II embedded processors in a single Cyclone II FPGA to achieve high levels of system performance with the flexibility to adapt to a dynamic design environment.

The EP2C70 device is one of four members of the Cyclone II family available today.

The remaining two devices, EP2C5 and EP2C50, will be available this month.

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