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Industry Solution
Test & Measurement
Explore FPGA test and measurement for ATE, RF instruments and protocol analyzers, with flexible I/O and design resources for high-speed acquisition.
Accelerate precision and performance with Altera FPGAs
From high-speed data acquisition to complex signal processing, Altera FPGAs power innovation in the most demanding Test & Measurement applications. Our devices offer ultra-low latency, flexible I/O, and scalable performance to help engineers build faster, smarter instruments. Whether you're designing ATE systems, RF testers, or protocol analyzers, Altera enables the precision and adaptability you need. Explore how our FPGA portfolio can meet the evolving demands of your T&M solutions.
Test and measurement systems are evolving as semiconductor integration increases and interfaces move to higher bandwidths. Instruments must handle faster acquisition, larger memory, real-time signal processing, and changing standards such as 800GE, PCIe Gen6/CXL, and 5G/6G. Altera® FPGAs help engineers adapt one platform across ATE, protocol testing, and signal analysis.
The Challenges, and Why FPGA
The Challenge
Precision under tight timing
High-speed tests require accurate measurements and rapid stimulus-response.
Why FPGA
Ultra-low latency
Parallel processing and precision timing support responsive, reliable test cycles.
The Challenge
Growing data rates
Instruments must capture and process large signal volumes without bottlenecks.
Why FPGA
High-throughput processing
Provide high-speed transceivers and GPIOs to deliver the latest connectivities.
The Challenge
Changing interfaces
Test platforms must support diverse protocols, standards, and legacy connections.
Why FPGA
Standards agility
Flexible I/O and transceivers adapt across interfaces on one reconfigurable platform.>
The Challenge
Complexity and scaling
Adding channels and capabilities can increase cost, footprint, and design effort.
Why FPGA
Integrated architecture
DSP, embedded memory, and custom IP consolidate functions and scale efficiently.
Why Altera
Precision, real-time performance
High fabric performance, with up to 2x performance per watt where validated, helps users meet timing while achieving high utilization.
Flexible, standards-ready I/O
Configurable I/O and transceivers adapt across voltage levels, protocols, custom buses, and legacy interfaces on a reconfigurable platform.
Integrated signal-processing capability
A high DSP-to-logic ratio, strong DSP performance, embedded memory, and custom IP accelerate acquisition and analysis while reducing system complexity and BOM cost.
Broad, scalable test-platform support
Altera FPGAs support ATE, RF testers, and protocol analyzers, with scalable performance and adaptable functions for evolving test requirements.
Test and Measurement Applications
Automated Test Equipment (ATE)
High-performance, low-latency FPGAs for semiconductor, display, image sensor, SoC and memory ATE
Digital & RF Testers
Real-time signal processing FPGAs for oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and RF testers.
Communication Testers
FPGAs for 800GE, PCIe, and 5G/6G test platforms with real-time signal processing.
Automotive Testers
Flexible FPGAs for in-vehicle network, ADAS, and ECU testing platforms.
At Viavi, we've experienced firsthand the superior performance of Altera's Agilex® 7 FPGA M-Series. The Agilex 7 transceiver capability to implement both PAM4 and NRZ modulation within the same transceiver and achieve data rates up to 64G has been a game-changer. Agilex 7 FPGA M-Series is also capable of supporting DDR5 and HBM2E memories that addresses the memory bandwidth in our design. These versatilities have enabled us to develop PCIe testers more efficiently. With the Agilex 7 FPGA, we've significantly reduced our time to market to deliver lead-edge PCIe protocol tester equipment. The technical support from the Altera team has allowed us to stay ahead in the fast-paced world of technology testing.
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Common Questions
Acquisition rate describes how quickly samples enter the processing path. Accuracy depends on the analog front end, clocks, calibration, numerical processing and measurement method; a fast FPGA alone does not establish instrument accuracy.
Use FPGA emulation when custom traffic, evolving behavior or controllable error conditions justify programmability. A fixed controller can suit standard transactions; compare supported rates, observability and validation effort for the test objective.
Calculate sample rate times sample width times channel count times capture duration, then include metadata and buffering overhead. Verify sustained memory-write throughput and downstream readout behavior separately from total storage capacity.
A transceiver demo can demonstrate signaling behavior without providing the full native endpoint protocol implementation. Check hard IP, soft IP, controller and compliance support separately before selecting a platform from a demo headline.
Monitor converter/interface errors, sample counters, clock alignment and capture-buffer occupancy under full-rate traffic. Correlate missing samples with memory or host-transfer stalls before blaming the FFT or signal-analysis stage.