Test & Measurement
By using programmable logic, engineers can cost-effectively develop leading-edge equipment for many applications in the test space, including:
- Communication Test & Monitoring–Network/protocol analyzer, radio frequency (RF) tester, basestation tester, spectrum analyzer, etc.
- Automated Test Equipment (ATE)–Digital, analog/RF, mixed-signal, memory, and system-on-chip (SOC)
- General Purpose Instruments–Oscilloscopes, logic analyzers (LA), multimeters, signal generators, etc.
Test and measurement equipment is pervasive in the electronics industry. As shown in figure 1, test equipment can be found in a variety of industries such as wireline and wireless communications, semiconductor manufacturing, automotive, industrial, and military.
Figure 1. Test & Measurement Equipment – Omnipresent in the Electronics Industry
The test and measurement equipment market is heavily influenced by capital expenditures. The industry downturn over the last few years severely battered the test equipment market. The market is showing signs of improvement and is now projected to grow at 5% CAGR over the next five years from US$13.8B to US$17.7B.
Some of the design trends seen in the test market include:
- Modular-based designs that shorten design-cycle time and facilitate emerging standards
- Reconfigurable design platforms for derivative products that extend product life cycles
- Emergence of SOC tester equipment
Programmable Logic Advantage
The quantity of semiconductors inside the myriad of test and measurement products continues to increase. Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) within these products have an even higher rate of adoption than other semiconductor types. PLDs offer a viable and powerful alternative to both ASICs and ASSPs in test equipment development. The re-programmability of PLDs eliminates up-front, non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs, minimum order quantities, and the risks of costly silicon iterations associated with ASICs. PLDs provide CPU and board integration opportunities that differentiate equipment from the competition. During the production phase, PLDs reduce manufacturing costs by enabling the implementation of a common hardware platform for differentiated systems: one basic design supports a variety of feature sets. As standards evolve or requirements change during the product life phase, PLDs can be upgraded in the field. The designers ability to add or modify PLD functionality many years after the initial design, protects customers against product obsolescence and is critical for success in the test industry.
Programmable logic is a flexible, low-risk path to successful system design, whether designing a network protocol analyzer or automated test equipment. PLDs offer optimum cost efficiencies while providing value-added capabilities to differentiate products from other test and measurement equipment manufacturers.
The Altera Advantage
Altera gives test and measurement equipment manufacturers the competitive edge. Altera’s solutions are currently found in various test applications worldwide. Using Altera’s powerful Quartus® II design software, PLD designers combine optimized intellectual property (IP) cores, hard and soft microprocessors, and high performance digital signal processing (DSP) with a variety of development kits: it's a complete, easy-to-use design platform. Stratix® II, Stratix GX, Cyclone® II, and Cyclone III FPGA families are included among Altera's complete line of PLD offerings. These product families provide the richest set of logic, memory, dedicated digital signal processing (DSP) blocks, and high speed serial-parallel I/O standard support, giving test equipment designers all the tools they need to win in this highly competitive market.
Altera® PLDs offer test equipment manufacturers a flexible, cost-effective, obsolescence-free path to successful system design. Some of the opportunities that Altera offers manufacturers include:
- Reduced development cost by avoiding ASICs’ extensive NRE and minimum ordering costs
- Time-to-market advantage by avoiding the lengthy and risky ASIC development cycle
- Differentiation and optimization by integrating multiple ASSP, CPU, and hard macro functions into FPGAs
- Re-programmability during the design process and after equipment is in the field
- Reusability of one hardware platform for various systems with one basic design
- Adaptability to multiple industry standards and protocols
Intellectual Property
Off-the-shelf IP cores that have been optimized for Altera’s products can reduce engineering costs and shorten time-to-market. Standard interfaces and IP cores are available from Altera or approved Altera® Megafunction Partners Program (AMPPSM) partners. Many cores include the Avalon™ switch fabric, allowing rapid integration into the design using SOPC Builder. The OpenCore evaluation feature allows users to evaluate Altera MegaCore® functions and AMPP megafunctions at no cost prior to licensing.
Altera designs, supports, and sells Altera MegaCore functions. All MegaCore functions have been rigorously tested and optimized for the highest performance and lowest cost in Altera PLDs.
Development Kits
Altera and its partners offer a variety of development kits to support the development and verification of system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) designs.
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