Industry's first fpgas with integrated 11.3Gbps transceivers

According to Altera, its Stratix IV GT fpgas are the only single chip devices available that meet the high speed bandwidth requirements for next generation communications, bridging and switching applications for 100Gigabit Ethernet and 100Gigabit optical transport networks. Altera's 100G solutions include production silicon, 100G IP, 100G reference designs and development boards supporting 100G applications. The fpgas have been designed to meet the emerging IEEE 802.3 standard for 100G systems used in advanced wireline and military communications systems and high end test equipment. The 36 transceiver channels featured in the EP4S100G2 operate from 2.488 to 11.3Gbps, which Altera claims provides the fpga industry's lowest jitter performance to meet 10, 40 and 100G protocol specifications. The 11.3Gbps integrated transceivers eliminate the need for an external PHY, allowing for a direct interface between the Stratix IV GT fpga and 10, 40 or 100G optical modules. Luanne Schirrmeister, senior director of component product marketing at Altera, said: "The increasing number of broadband subscribers worldwide is driving telecommunications equipment manufacturers to rapidly build out their 100G network infrastructure, and fpgas are playing a vital role in enabling this build out. As the first and only fpga vendor shipping devices today with integrated 11.3Gbps transceivers capable of meeting 100G system demands, Altera is leading the charge in enabling the deployment of 100G systems."