Programmable Notes

You Better Plan for Programmable Logic Obsolescence For the young programmable biz, obsolete products are not a big problem yet. But companies are looking to be ready for it. by Larry Waller

It's not a front-burner kind of semiconductor topic but still one that has to concern customers who have depended on a certain IC device for years: what type of support, if any, can be expected when a supplier pulls the plug on a venerable product line?

This obsoleting process is common in a business that thrives on new product developments. Often however, an unintended downside causes customers to consider themselves abandoned.

This topic doesn't get discussed much because most eyes are focused on the next big development in the fast-moving chip business. This is especially true of the comparatively young programmable business, that has been around only since the mid-80's. But in the last year, the topic has gained the attention of top managers at companies such as Altera Corp. (Santa Clara, CA), which is accelerating the phase-out of simple PLDs for higher density offerings. The complex-PLD leader believes it is the first programmable company to devise an extensive program to keep any customer from unduly suffering when a part disappears from the catalog.

After getting predictable shocked reactions from customers that were threatened by the initial Altera moves to drop early PLDs, the company faced up to their obligation, according to Cliff Tong, director of product marketing. "We evaluated who our customers are, what products they use, and how to maintain continuity for them," he recalls. Altera's motives were simple enough, "in this business the customer is king, and our biggest fear (in obsoleting products) is the customer gets angry and doesn't buy Altera products."

The overriding intention of the Altera program is communicating any availability changes to the device users well in advance. Key medium for broadcasting the information is the company's own Product Design Notes, sent out quarterly to some 25,000 locations. "Anybody can get on the list," says Tong, "all it takes is to send us Altera product cards," available from sales and distributor personnel. Altera also issues news releases on discontinued devices, but coverage can sometimes be spotty, depending on publication space.

A recent typical example is the February announcement about dropping 12 low-density PLDs, which are declining and represent less than 5 percent of sales. These are "rapidly falling out of favor with the engineering community, as design engineers are replacing them with higher density alternatives," Altera stated. Five are industry-standard PAL/GAL or 22V10 equivalent devices that customers can either replace easily or integrate into Altera's higher density EPM7032 part. But one device, the EPS448, is available from only second source WSI Inc. (Fremont, CA). Five other Altera parts on the chop list have no direct replacement: the EP312 and EP324, EPM5016, EPS464, and EPX740. To maintain continuity of device function, users must integrate into bigger programmable devices.

Because replacing these six parts can present a sticky problem for users, Altera offers some added benefits. For example, they have a longer phase-out schedule that stretches more than a year and a half from the announcement, allowing customers time to set up a smooth transition. Orders for these parts can be placed through March of 1997, and shipments will be made through September of that year.

Finally, after Altera ceases production and delivery, it transfers a substantial inventory of discontinued parts to its franchised distributor that for years has specialized in this type of component. As the "trailing-edge supplier" of phased-out chips from some 11 semiconductor firms, including Intel Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc., to what amounts to a sizable customer base, Rochester Electronics (Newburyport, MA) conducts a thriving business. Moreover, Rochester is more than a distributor, states President Curt Gerrish. When supplies run low, as often happens, Rochester sometimes manufactures additional products to meet customer demands. This could likely occur with Altera, he predicts.

But the possibility of needed programmable parts still not being available despite the ambitious Altera program is something that troubles Altera EPS448 user Bill Lenihan, staff engineer at Hughes Aircraft Co.'s Radar Systems Division (El Segundo, CA). Outspoken on the semiconductor obsolescence issue (including a letter to this publication), the military radar equipment designer points out military gear is most at risk. "We build this equipment for as long as 15 years, and it's bad news when we hear about devices being obsoleted. We get caught with our parts down, " he says. The workhorse EPS448 itself, which Hughes uses as a microsequencer in some advanced radar systems that have been in production for years, is a classic example since it was also phased out of programmable production some years ago by AMD (Sunnyvale, CA). It's therefore not surprising that the once-burned Hughes engineer is somewhat skeptical about the reliability of second-sources for parts in decline being around for the longer term.

Lenihan reads the Altera company product material (and similar data from other programmable suppliers too) with a wary eye, looking for "subtle clues" that some of his long-term ICs might be discontinued. His opinion on this subject is one he often states: "Vendors do a great job of touting their latest and greatest chips and software but do a downright rotten job of telling customers when various products become obsolete or are in decline and should not be used in new designs."

He was worried enough last year that he bugged top Altera management for further data and has gotten some assurances. While he says the Altera obsolescence program sounds like the right way to handle the process, from a user's point of view, it can have some communication flaws. For example, he did not receive the recent product change notes from Altera.

The key is that companies deal with customers forthrightly, sharing obsolescence plans as early as possible. "That's all I ask," he says. "I can deal with these problems if only the semiconductor vendors would be up front about it and give us some clear warning," he says.

From the FPGA industry-leading perspective of Xilinx (San Jose, CA), the issue of part obsolescence is something that does not concern them. "We don't do any of it (discontinuing parts) yet," states Chuck Fox, vice-president of product marketing. The company continues to make and ship programmable devices such as the X2064 brought to market in the mid-80's, shortly after the founding of the firm. All the same, years ago the company initiated its program --called, what else, Product Change Notes--to keep users informed. Product Change Notes go "far beyond obsolescence notices," as Fox says.

The program is driven by the Xilinx customer-base, particularly major accounts who need to know all pertinent information about the improvements being continually made to the company's devices. While the newer versions of long-running programmable parts remain pin-compatible, the performance specs can change significantly when process geometry's shrink from 0.8 µm to 0.6 µm, for example. As a matter of routine, Xilinx tries to give its customers a year's advance notice about the product upgrades along with specific data on variations in process, packaging, assembly and quality. "We even provide the test data, and they evaluate that too," notes the Xilinx official.

As to the scope of programs such as this, and the value to customers, Xilinx regards its own version as "very important, especially since the rate of change is accelerating, even though it's a part of the business that most people never see," he notes. "We're very focused on what the customer wants--to be notified well in advance." While Xilinx takes pride in what it sees as a strength in never yet dropping a programmable part line, the company stops short of proclaiming it will never happen.

Overall, the extent to which programmable firms are going to ensure customers won't suddenly be left in the lurch doesn't surprise observers such as Andy Haines, founder of PageMill Marketing Inc. (Palo Alto, CA). Programmable outfits can be expected to put more emphasis on helping customers because of the nature of their business. "Programmables are different, " he observes, "because the customer himself actually finishes the part. So the need for an information flow is much greater than a standard part." Programs such as Altera's "reflect an attitude of concern and obligation to the customer" that is unusual in the semiconductor industry, in Haines' view.

Larry Waller is a contributing editor for Integrated System Design.

To voice an opinion on this or any Integrated System Design article, please e-mail your message to: michael@asic.com.

integrated system design  June 1996