Altera and White Electronic Designs Partner on Specialized Mil/Aero FPGA Packaging

—Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) and White Electronic Designs Corporation (NASDAQ: WEDC) today announced a partnership that will enable military and aerospace customers access to a broad variety of packaging options for FPGAs that meet the rigorous requirements of defense applications. This is the first cooperative packaging agreement of its kind in the programmable logic industry.

White Electronic Designs Corporation will package Altera® FPGA die in packaging types that will include small form-factor monolithic plastic and ceramic, chip-on-board, multichip modules, stack and system-in-a-package (SiP). The packaging options will support Altera’s 90-nm Stratix® II and Cyclone® II FPGA families. Support for Altera’s next-generation, 65-nm FPGAs is also planned. WEDC’s secure facilities and technologies for defense-related programs will ensure the security of customers’ designs when they send their die for packaging.

“This relationship further demonstrates Altera’s commitment to defense electronics OEMs,” said Jack Bogdanski, director of marketing for defense microelectronics products at White Electronic Designs Corporation. “It brings FPGA capabilities to military systems designers in smaller form-factor packaging for applications requiring greater density and design flexibility than standard packaging allows.”
Altera Enhanced COTS Strategy

The relationship with WEDC is an important component of Altera’s commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) strategy. Altera goes beyond normal COTS requirements when addressing the unique needs of the military and aerospace market. This approach to the military/aerospace market includes providing devices that support a wide range of temperature gradients, bare die business support, long-term obsolescence protection and a consistent supply chain.

“Altera’s relationship with White Electronic Designs expands our range of packaging options well beyond the competition’s and is a further demonstration of our enhanced COTS initiative,” said Don Faria, senior vice president of Altera’s business groups. “Offering small form-factor monolithic packaging more effectively aligns us with the needs of our military and aerospace customers.”

About White Electronic Designs Corporation

White Electronic Designs Corporation designs and manufactures innovative high-technology components, systems and branded products for military, industrial, medical and commercial markets. These microelectronic products include high-density memory packages and advanced self-contained multichip and system-in-a-chip modules that are used in a growing range of applications across the company’s markets. White Electronic Designs also produces anti-tamper security coatings for mission-critical semiconductor components in defense applications. The display segment designs and manufactures enhanced and reinforced high-legibility flat-panel displays for commercial, medical, defense and aerospace systems. The segment also designs and manufactures digital keyboard and touch-screen operator-interface systems, and electromechanical assemblies for commercial, industrial and military systems. White is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona and has design and manufacturing centers in Arizona, Indiana, Ohio and Oregon, as well as in China. To learn more about White Electronic Designs Corporation's business and employment opportunities, visit our website at www.wedc.com.

About Altera

Altera’s programmable solutions enable system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost-effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Find out more at www.altera.com.