With the dramatic increase in development costs for state-of-the-art process technologies, such as next-generation automotive electronic systems, specialization of traditional microcontrollers no longer makes business sense. Now you can develop an exact microcontroller for a specific application by implementing it into an Altera Cyclone IV FPGA for prototyping and volume production. Verification, software development, and field testing can be done immediately after design or even in parallel.

Author:  Tom Schulte, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Low Cost Products Group, Altera Corporation

Tom Schulte joined Altera in 1994 and currently works in Altera’s low-cost products group as a senior marketing manager. In this capacity, Schulte is responsible for developing marketing strategies around Altera’s Cyclone FPGA and MAX CPLD product families. Prior to Altera, he served as a product marketing engineer in IDT’s Subsystems Division. Schulte holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University.