Programmable Array Logic - Successors

Successors

After MMI succeeded with the 20-pin PAL parts introduced circa 1978, AMD introduced the 24-pin 22V10 PAL with additional features. After buying out MMI (circa 1987), AMD spun off a consolidated operation as Vantis, and that business was acquired by Lattice Semiconductor in 1989.

Altera introduced the EP300 (first CMOS PAL) in 1983 and later moved into the FPGA business.

Lattice Semiconductor introduced the generic array logic (GAL) family in 1985, with functional equivalents of the "V" series PALs that used reprogrammable logic planes based on EEPROM (electrically eraseable programmable read-only memory) technology. National Semiconductor was a "second source" of GAL parts. AMD introduced a similar family called PALCE. In general one GAL part is able to function as any of the similar family PAL devices. For example the 16V8 GAL is able to replace the 16L8, 16H8, 16H6, 16H4, 16H2 and 16R8 PALs (and many others besides).

ICT (International CMOS Technology) introduced the PEEL 18CV8 in 1986. The 20-pin CMOS EEPROM part could be used in place of any of the registered-output bipolar PALs and used much less power.

Larger-scale programmable logic devices were introduced by Atmel, Lattice Semiconductor, and others. These devices extended the PAL architecture by including multiple logic planes and/or burying logic macrocells within the logic plane(s). The term "complex programmable logic device" (CPLD) was introduced to differentiate these devices from their PAL and GAL predecessors, which were then sometimes referred to as "simple programmable logic devices" or SPLDs.

Another large programmable logic device is the "field-programmable gate array" or FPGA. This term is often used to describe devices currently made by Altera and Xilinx.

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