Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (LSCC) recently announced that it has started shipping the XO3-L 2200, 4300, and 6900 devices, the first in the ultra-low density MachXO3™ FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) family. Pricing of these devices start below $1.00 in higher volumes.
FPGAs are semiconductor devices that allow programming/reprogramming even after the device has been installed and hence referred to as “field-programmable.” This flexibility makes them more expensive compared to regular programmable logic devices (PLDs), often limiting their usage.
Demand for FPGAs are increasing since they allow increased flexibility in terms of designs and enable electronic device manufacturing companies to minimize their research and development (R&D) costs. The bright prospects in the FPGA space can prove to be a long-term growth driver for Lattice.
The MachXO family has been a key player, especially in the low end programmable market. It aims to connect multiple network segments and has a pretty low power dissipation rate. Moreover, the hot-swap I/O feature enables the swapping of components without the need to reboot the system. The MachXO has been built with an eye to cater to the needs of mobile devices and data-center switching platforms.
MachXO’s usage in mobile devices helps Lattice’s growth to become highly dependent on the prosperity of the mobile devices sector. As per the latest research report from Strategy Analytics, things seem to look up for Lattice with global mobile phone shipments rising 7.0% annually to 418 million units in the third quarter of 2013, driven by the growing demand for entry-level Android devices in Asia and Latin America.
Lattice Semiconductor designs, develops and markets high-performance PLDs and related development system software. The company’s third-quarter revenues were up 23.0% from the year-ago period to $87.2 million. Revenues from FPGAs were also up 0.4% year over year to $26.2 million.
Currently, Lattice has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better ranked stocks in the technology sector include Pericom Semiconductor Corp. (PSEM) with a Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy) and Advanced Photonix Inc. (API) and Amkor Technology Inc. (AMKR), both with a Zacks Rank # 2 (Buy).
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