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Industry's first low-cost FPGA-based standard compliant system-level solution for USB 2.0 accelerates device time-to-market and enables interoperability between all USB 2.0 peripherals.

Mentor Graphics Corp. (Nasdaq:MENT), Xilinx, Inc. (Nasdaq:XLNX - ) and Kawasaki LSI today unveiled the semiconductor industry's first fully-functional silicon reference design for Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0-compliant peripheral designs.

Targeted initially at the home networking market, the reference design is the first to provide full support for the USB 2.0 Transceiver Macrocell Interface (UTMI) specification, a standard designed to improve interoperability between all USB 2.0 products. The system-level design solution will accelerate high-volume development of USB 2.0 based products, including residential gateways, set-top boxes, removable storage, scanners, printers, video conferencing cameras and modems.

The reference design combines a USB 2.0 function controller and a high-speed M8051 E-Warp microcontroller from the Mentor Graphics® Inventra(TM) Intellectual Property division with a UTMI-compliant analog transceiver from Kawasaki LSI. The complete USB 2.0 function controller is implemented in a low-cost Xilinx Spartan-II(TM) FPGA.

A mass storage device was chosen for the reference design as it is one of the few applications that can significantly utilize the 480-Mbs bandwidth offered by a high-speed USB link. The reference design also implements the `USB mass storage class -- Bulk only transport' specification to provide a bridge between a SCSI hard disk and the USB. Software and supporting documentation is also included.

The reference design will be demonstrated at the Xilinx Home Networking Industry Forum 2001 at the Santa Clara (Calif.) Convention Center on Feb. 1, 2001.

``USB 2.0 product developers have been waiting for a successful integration of both a USB 2.0 controller and a UTMI-compliant analog transceiver in silicon,'' said Sandeep Vij, vice president of marketing and general manager of the General Products Division for Xilinx, Inc. ``By coupling best-in-class core technologies from Mentor Graphics and Kawasaki LSI with our Spartan-II FPGA, we are able to deliver a sub $8 flexible FPGA solution that is optimal for home networking and other high-volume digital consumer applications.''

UTMI-Compliance Enables USB 2.0 Device Interoperability

Defined by Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, Calif.), the UTMI specification defines a standard interface to USB transceivers that enables common design across prototype and production implementations. This standard has been widely adopted in the semiconductor industry by vendors including Cypress Semiconductor, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Kawasaki, LSI Logic, Lucent Microelectronics, ST Microelectronics, and Texas Instruments.

``UTMI has been endorsed by all the leading peripheral makers as the interface standard of choice for USB 2.0,'' said Joel Silverman, vice president of marketing, Kawasaki LSI U.S.A. ``Our UTMI-compliant analog transceiver integrates seamlessly with Mentor's USB 2.0 controller, providing designers with a complete system-level solution that will enable faster time-to-market for next generation computing peripherals.''

Mentor Graphics Delivers USB 2.0 Controller

The Inventra Intellectual Property division of Mentor Graphics is focused on delivering reusable soft core solutions for tomorrow's USB products. Its USB cores perform packet encoding, decoding and error checking functions, shielding the user from the details of USB transfer operations.

Mentor's USB 2.0 function controller core supports high-speed, 480-Mbps transfers, 40 times faster than current USB 1.1 full-speed operation. Integrating the core into an ASIC, FPGA, or ASSP peripheral design ensures complete USB 2.0 compliance, device functionality and backward compatibility with USB 1.1. Industry-standard interfaces enable easy integration with all UTMI-compliant analog transceivers.

``Our standards-compliant, transceiver-independent, easy-to-use USB 2.0 reference design will be a key enabler for many design projects, helping to bring to market plug-and-play consumer devices for the wireless and networking markets,'' said Susheel Chandra, general manager for the Mentor Graphics Inventra Intellectual Property Division. ``The release of our USB 2.0 controller reinforces our position as the semiconductor industry's broadest supplier of off-the-shelf commodity IP.''

Pricing and Availability

The USB 2.0 reference design is available through Xilinx and Mentor Graphics. For more information, please visit http://www.xilinx.com

For more information on Inventra USB Cores with VCI Solutions for USB 2.0 Products, please visit http://www.mentor.com/inventra/cores/usb2.html

For more information on Kawasaki LSI USB 2.0 Products, please visit http://www.klsi.com/products/usb2.html

About Xilinx

Xilinx (Nasdaq:XLNX) is the leading innovator of complete programmable logic solutions, including advanced integrated circuits, software design tools, predefined system functions delivered as cores and unparalleled field engineering support. Founded 1984 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Xilinx invented the field programmable gate array (FPGA) and fulfills more than half of the world demand for these devices today. Xilinx solutions enable customers to reduce significantly the time required to develop products for the computer, peripheral, telecommunications, networking, industrial control, instrumentation, high-reliability/military, and consumer markets. For more information, visit the Xilinx website at http://www.xilinx.com.

About Kawasaki LSI U.S.A.

Kawasaki LSI U.S.A. is the semiconductor leader in innovative USB solutions. Kawasaki LSI is first in creating a USB 2.0 transceiver that meets the USB 2.0 specification. Other first USB innovations developed by Kawasaki LSI are USB to Ethernet, Home Networking, and combo legacy products. Kawasaki LSI is the North American affiliate of Kawasaki LSI, which in turn is a division of Kawasaki Steel in Japan. The company provides the product development, marketing, sales and technical support for customers in the Americas, Far East, and Europe in connectivity and data communications applications. ASIC and CAM products are also provided by Kawasaki LSI. For more information, visit our website at http://www.klsi.com.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products and consulting services for the world's largest electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more than $525 million and employs approximately 2,600 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777, Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.

Mentor Graphics is a registered trademark of Mentor Graphics Corp. Inventra is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corp. Spartan-II is a trademark of Xilinx, Inc. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

     Benjamin Group/BSMG Worldwide
     for Mentor Graphics
     Jeremiah Glodoveza, 415/352-2628 ext. 559
     jeremiah@benjamingroup.com
     or
     Xilinx, Inc.
     Tamara Snowden, 408/879-6146
     tamara.snowden@xilinx.com
     or
     Kawasaki LSI
     Joel Silverman, 408/570-0555
     Joel@klsi.com