Lattice Semiconductor

Lattice Semiconductor is a prominent American technology company specializing in the design and development of low-power, small-form-factor programmable logic devices. Founded in 1983, the company has established itself as a key supplier in the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and complex programmable logic device (CPLD) market, focusing on solutions for the consumer electronics, industrial automation, automotive electronics, and communications sectors. Its product portfolio is centered on delivering energy-efficient, flexible hardware for applications requiring rapid prototyping, system control, and hardware acceleration. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, Lattice operates globally with design, sales, and support facilities across North America, Asia, and Europe.

History

The company was founded in Portland, Oregon, by Cyrus Tsui and Rahul Sud, initially focusing on programmable array logic devices. A significant early milestone was its initial public offering on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 1989. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Lattice grew through strategic acquisitions, including purchasing the FPGA business of Philips in 1992 and the programmable logic division of Agere Systems in 2001, which expanded its technology portfolio. The company faced intense competition from larger rivals like Xilinx and Altera but carved a niche by emphasizing low-power and cost-sensitive markets. In 2012, Lattice acquired SiliconBlue Technologies, gaining critical ultra-low-power FPGA technology that became central to its future product strategy. A notable corporate event occurred in 2016-2017 when it was the subject of a high-profile, ultimately blocked acquisition attempt by a fund backed by the Chinese government, drawing scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Products

Lattice's core product families include the ECP and CrossLink series of FPGAs, the MachXO family of CPLDs and FPGAs for control functions, and the ultra-low-power iCE40 FPGAs originally from the SiliconBlue Technologies acquisition. The company also offers the CertusPro-NX general-purpose FPGAs and the Automotive-grade FPGA solutions. Complementing its hardware, Lattice provides the Lattice Radiant and Lattice Diamond software suites for design and implementation, alongside a library of pre-verified IP cores for functions like MIPI bridging, sensor aggregation, and embedded vision processing. These development tools and intellectual property blocks are designed to accelerate time-to-market for customers implementing designs on Lattice silicon.

Technology

The company's technological focus is on delivering FPGAs and CPLDs that optimize for low static and dynamic power consumption, small package sizes, and high reliability. Key architectural innovations include the use of FD-SOI manufacturing processes for certain product lines to reduce power leakage. Lattice devices often integrate hard IP blocks for common interfaces like PCI Express, DDR3 memory controllers, and MIPI D-PHY, reducing logic resource usage. For security, technologies like bitstream encryption and Physically Unclonable Function are implemented. The Lattice Propel design environment supports embedded RISC-V processor development on its platforms, enabling complete system-on-chip solutions. This technology roadmap is executed in partnership with major semiconductor foundries like Samsung Electronics and GlobalFoundries.

Applications

Lattice programmable logic solutions are deployed across a wide array of end markets. In consumer electronics, they are used for sensor fusion, power management, and display connectivity in devices like smartphones and wearable technology. The industrial automation sector utilizes them for motor control, Industrial Ethernet communications, and human-machine interface control. Within automotive electronics, applications include advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) sensor bridging, in-vehicle infotainment, and zone controllers. In communications infrastructure, Lattice devices provide functions for network security, load balancing, and hardware acceleration in data centers and 5G base stations. Additional applications include medical devices for imaging and diagnostics and avionics systems for flight control.

Corporate affairs

The company's global headquarters is located in Hillsboro, Oregon, within the Silicon Forest technology region. James R. Anderson has served as President and Chief executive officer since 2018, following leadership tenures at AMD and Integrated Device Technology. Lattice maintains major research and development centers in locations including Shanghai, San Jose, California, and Bangalore. It operates as a fabless semiconductor company, relying on manufacturing partners like Samsung Electronics for production. Financially, the company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "LSCC" and is a constituent of the Russell 2000 Index. Its corporate strategy emphasizes growth in edge computing, artificial intelligence, and secure, intelligent system control across its target markets.