Synopsys and Theseus Logic Establish Strategic Alliance to Promote NULL Convention Logic
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.----Sept. 27, 2000--Synopsys,
Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), the technology leader for complex integrated
circuit (IC) design, today announced a strategic alliance agreement to
promote Theseus' patented NULL Convention Logic(TM) (NCL) technology.
NCL provides a practical, commercially viable design approach for
clockless, delay-insensitive circuits and systems. The benefits of NCL
over traditional clocked-Boolean logic include lower
power-consumption, less noise and electromagnetic interference (EMI),
and ease of design reuse.
The agreement provides for the training, certification and
licensing of Synopsys Design Centers to enable Synopsys to provide NCL
design services to Theseus' licensees. In addition, the parties will
engage in a joint marketing effort to promote NCL technology and
encourage its adoption.
``We believe the Theseus NCL technology provides many benefits for
our customers designing clockless delay-insensitive ICs and SoCs,''
said John Koeter, north american design services manager at Synopsys.
``In many applications, NCL's lower power-requirements and clockless
circuits will give our customers an advantage in designing and selling
their products. Alliances such as these prove that Synopsys
Professional Services will seek out and develop relationships with
companies that supply the best technology to our mutual customers.''
``We're very pleased that an organization with Synopsys
Professional Services' reputation is supporting our NCL technology,''
added Dr. David Lamb, vice president of engineering at Theseus Logic.
``The combination of our technology and Synopsys' high level of support
will establish NCL as the best choice for engineers designing
asynchronous devices.''
NCL Benefits
Since NCL gates only switch when they are processing data, NCL
circuits simplify the design of power management control for ICs.
Also, power is reduced because there are no clock trees or long
control-lines to drive, and because there are only monotonic
transitions between data and null states, there is no glitching power.
With its inherent ability to operate across a wide range of
power-supply voltages, additional power savings are possible by
dynamically matching power-supply voltages to required data rates. In
essence, NCL technology consumes less power by construction than by
design.
Because NCL is asynchronous, all clocks -- including their circuit
design, attendant complexities and costs -- are eliminated. Failure
modes due to timing problems such as race hazards and clock skew are
also eliminated. NCL makes designing subsequent systems easier by
allowing designers to use simple substitution and accretion of local
circuits. NCL offers many benefits in system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs,
such as interfacing multi-rate modules (IP cores running with
different throughput requirements) and IP reusability. NCL also
improves reliability with a more random distribution of switching
activity thereby reducing power bus spikes and EMI.
Synopsys and Theseus Partnership
Theseus and Synopsys Professional Services have collaborated on a
number of NCL related projects. These include the successful tape-out
of an NCL-based microcontroller, which promises a 40 percent reduction
in power and a 10-db reduction in noise as compared to the standard
clocked Boolean implementation. Synopsys' expertise in logical and
physical design helped Theseus tape out the device in record time. The
close working relationship between the two companies evolved into the
strategic alliance. As part of the alliance, Theseus has certified
Synopsys Design Centers to offer NCL-based services to Theseus
licensees.
Availability
NCL technology is available for license now and Synopsys
Professional Services is certified to offer NCL-based services.
About Synopsys
Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS), headquartered in Mountain View,
California, creates leading electronic design automation (EDA) tools
for the global electronics market. The company delivers advanced
design technologies and solutions to developers of complex integrated
circuits, electronic systems and systems on a chip. Synopsys also
provides consulting and support services to simplify the overall IC
design process and accelerate time to market for its customers. Visit
Synopsys at www.synopsys.com.
About Theseus
Theseus Logic, Inc., a privately held corporation headquartered in
Orlando, Florida, is an Intellectual Property company dedicated to
commercializing a revolutionary clockless chip design ``language'',
known as NULL Convention Logic (NCL). NCL is the first and only
asynchronous-logic approach that enables the benefits of
delay-insensitive logic to be fully realized using standard design
processes and tools. The company develops and provides NCL cell
libraries, design tools and methodology, and design services to NCL
licensees. The company holds a comprehensive portfolio of
asynchronous-logic patents and intellectual property and has a
strategic alliance with Motorola. Visit Theseus at www.theseus.com.
Note to Editors: Synopsys is a registered trademark of Synopsys,
Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this
release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Synopsys, Inc.
Lois Vishney, 650/584-5194
vishney@synopsys.com
or
Theseus Logic, Inc.
John Teegan, 650/464-5787
jteegan@theseus.com
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