FULL LASER MARKING - Altera Corporation

Altera Corporation 11/11/02 ADV0217

CUSTOMER ADVISORY ADV0217

FULL LASER MARKING INTRODUCTION

Change Description:

Beginning January 2003, Altera will introduce a full topside laser mark on all

Altera® plastic body packages. Currently, the Altera device logo, part number,

and date code are ink marked, while the Altera lot number and traceability code

are laser marked.

Reason for Change:

Laser marking provides manufacturing advantages to Altera by increasing mark

permanency and quality, productivity gains through process simplification, and

enables continuity of format. The use of a laser-marking process is also

environmentally friendly when compared to current ink-marking processes.

Products Affected:

The following plastic body packages will be affected: Plastic Lead Chip Carrier

(PLCC), Quad Flat Package (QFP), Thin Quad Flat Package (TQFP), Plastic

Ball Grid Array (PBGA), FineLine® BGA (FBGA), Ultra FineLine® Ball Grid

Array (UFBGA), Plastic Dual in Line Package (PDIP), and Small Outline IC

(SOIC) packages.

Product Traceability and Transition Dates:

Altera plans to introduce this full laser marking in January 2003. After this date,

customers may receive either laser marked or ink marked devices.

Contact:

For more information, please contact your local Altera sales representative.