Altera’s HardCopy® APEX™ 20KC and HardCopy APEX 20KE structured ASICs provide a fast, low-risk alternative to standard-cell ASICs. Engineers can prototype their designs with APEX FPGAs to prove their functionality before seamlessly migrating to a functionally equivalent and pin-compatible HardCopy structured ASIC with a significantly lower cost.
HardCopy APEX devices maintain the equivalent FPGA architecture and features as the APEX FPGAs. The seamless migration path to the structured ASIC minimizes development costs and enables customers to take their product to market quickly. Engineers can design and develop their system (including software) in parallel with the structured ASIC and have the total product ready for qualification and field trials in minimal time. HardCopy APEX samples are delivered for customer evaluation in as little as eight weeks once the design database is accepted by Altera.
Designers generate the HardCopy APEX design database using the Quartus® II software versions 3.0 at later with a single click. This feature not only saves considerable time and effort, but also ensures a smooth migration of the design to the HardCopy structured ASIC. Altera handles the migration process entirely with minimal customer interaction.