TSMC 0.13-Micron Copper Process Delivers Altera's Stratix Devices In Record Time

Stratix Devices Are Now in Customers Hands Earlier than Expected

San Jose, Calif., June 17, 2002 -- Altera Corporation's (NASDAQ: ALTR) earlier than planned release of its first Stratix^™ device family is proof positive that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) 0.13-micron copper process is now operating in high gear. Analysis of early production runs of the Stratix EP1S25 devices indicate that all process parameters are on target and that performance has exceeded expectations. This achievement was made possible by the advanced technology collaboration between the two companies, beginning in December 2001 with the first shipments of Altera's 0.13-micron APEX^™ II EP2A70 devices.

"Altera is among our largest consumers of 0.13-micron wafers and was instrumental in fine-tuning this process," said Genda Hu, vice president of marketing at TSMC. "Our technology development partnership and our shared goal of aggressive innovation benefit our customers who depend on us to deliver cost effective, high-performance products so they can then pass these advantages on to their customers."

The Stratix architecture simplifies the design process for customers building more complex system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. The Stratix architecture is the first in the industry to allow for a true timing locked block-based methodology for team-based SOPC design. All Stratix devices also include redundancy circuitry. Altera pioneered the concept of redundancy in their programmable logic devices (PLDs) to ensure the performance and reliability of the device.

"Clearly, TSMC's investment and experience with this technology is going to pay off for Altera with high yields and a rapid production ramp for the Stratix device family. This translates to reduced cost and faster time-to-market benefits for our customers," said Francois Gregoire, Altera's vice president of technology. "The TSMC 0.13-micron process, which is the foundation of the Stratix device family, is further along the defect density curve than any previous TSMC process at a similar time in its ramp. We currently have a high volume of wafers in the pipeline because we have extreme confidence in this process."

After successful, intense testing and analysis of the EP1S25 devices, Altera will have taped out two additional members of the Stratix family by the end of the month. These products are expected to ship to customers in the third quarter of this year. For more information on Stratix device shipping, please visit today's related press release at http://www.altera.com/corporate/nr-stx_shipping.html.

About Stratix Devices
Stratix devices are based on a 1.5-V, 0.13-micron, all-layer copper SRAM process, with densities ranging from 10,570 to 114,140 logic elements (LEs) and up to 10 Mbits of RAM. Stratix devices offer up to 28 DSP blocks with up to 224 embedded multipliers, optimized for DSP applications that require high data processing. Stratix devices support various differential I/O electrical standards such as the LVDS, LVPECL, PCML and HyperTransport^™ standards, as well as high-speed interfaces, including the UTOPIA IV, SPI-4 Phase 2, SFI-4, 10G Ethernet XSBI, RapidIO^™, HyperTransport and other interfaces. Stratix devices also offer a complete clock management solution with its hierarchical clock structure and up to 12 phase-locked loops (PLLs). More technical information about the Stratix device family is available at http://www.altera.com/stratix.

About TSMC
TSMC is the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, providing the industry's leading process technology and the foundry industry's largest portfolio of process-proven library, IP, design tools and reference flows. The company operates two advanced 300mm wafer fabs, six eight-inch fabs and one six-inch wafer fab. TSMC also has substantial capacity commitments at two joint ventures fabs (Vanguard and SSMC) and at its wholly-owned subsidiary, WaferTech. In early 2001, TSMC became the first IC manufacturer to announce a 90 nanometer technology alignment program with its customers. TSMC's corporate headquarters are in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. For more information about TSMC go to http://www.tsmc.com.

About Altera
Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) is the world's pioneer of system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. Combining programmable logic technology with software tools, intellectual property, and technical services, Altera provides high-value programmable solutions to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. More information is available at http://www.altera.com.

Safe Harbor
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally preceded by words that imply a future state such as "expected" or that imply that a particular future event or events will occur such as "will". Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainty, including without limitation the risk that future performance is dependent on product development schedules, the design performance of software and other tools, as well as the company's and third parties' development technology and manufacture capabilities. Please refer to the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, copies of which are available from the company without charge.

Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations, and all other words that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. HyperTransport is a trademark of the HyperTransport Consortium. RapidIO is a trademark of the RapidIO Trade Association. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holder.

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