Simplex and Toshiba Change the Face of Chip Design by Enabling Revolutionary IC Architecture
SUNNYVALE, Calif. and TOKYO, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In a development that
could revolutionize the future of chip technology,
Simplex Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLX) and Toshiba Corporation today announced
a new semiconductor architecture with the potential to deliver simultaneous
improvements of
10+ percent greater chip performance, 20+ percent less power consumption, and
30+ percent more chips per wafer.
Dubbed the X Architecture*, this new
approach to chip design is the first to make possible the pervasive use of
diagonal interconnects, or wiring, for advanced integrated circuits (ICs).
Concurrently, Simplex revealed its invention of the interconnect design
technology that enables the development of chips based on the radical new X
Architecture. To create this breakthrough, Simplex and Toshiba collaborated for more
than two years on the feasibility and development of the X Architecture.
The
two companies have completed the design of a RISC processor core as the
first-ever X Architecture design.
Toshiba expects to use the X Architecture
in additional designs starting in 2002. While diagonal routing has long been recognized as a superior means of
connecting the ever-increasing number of components on a chip, until now, its
implementation has been limited to small, hand-routed portions of
custom-designed chips.
As a result, traditional ``Manhattan,'' or right-angle,
interconnect structures have prevailed. ``We believe that the benefits of this new architecture are so great that
within a few years, most designs with five or more metal layers will be
implemented using the X Architecture,'' stated Dr. Susumu Kohyama, Senior Vice
President of Toshiba Corporation.
``Toshiba worked with this team before when
they founded Tangent, and we are delighted to be working with the same team at
Simplex on this important new breakthrough in semiconductor design and
manufacturing.'' An Opportunity for Innovation Recent innovations in process technologies and material -- such as copper,
low-k dielectrics and silicon-on-insulator-have enabled chipmakers to realize
significant gains in cost and area savings, level of integration and device
performance.
However, design technologies and methodologies have not kept
pace with these process advances and therefore do not take maximum advantage
of the design opportunities now available.
The primary reason for this is
that the underlying approaches and algorithms for virtually all current
routing technologies were developed more than 15 years ago, based on the
assumptions and methods dictated by the computing power available at that
time.
The power of today's sophisticated computing resources, however,
presents an opportunity to conceive an entirely new approach to physical
design. Simplex Enables the Breakthrough Over three years ago, Simplex recognized this opportunity for innovation,
and set about the complex and intense process of inventing the design
technologies that would enable chipmakers to easily take advantage of the
benefits offered by the pervasive use of diagonal interconnect. Simplex's liquid routing technology, based on gridless, octilinear
routing, makes X Architecture chips practical and achievable for the first
time.
This radically different approach to routing -- with the interconnect
unconstrained by a grid and able to move in any of eight directions -- enables
more direct connection between any two transistors on a chip, close or far,
resulting in an average 20 percent reduction in wire length over the chip.
This, in turn, yields simultaneous improvements in chip performance, power
consumption, and chips per wafer for every design. ``This kind of innovation is only possible when you have the vision, the
right people and the courage to start from scratch,'' noted Penny Herscher,
Simplex chairman and chief executive officer.
``Simplex was founded to provide
interconnect-centric design technologies for the interconnect-centric world of
deep-submicron design.
We built the most innovative and experienced team in
the world, and then partnered with Toshiba -- a world-class semiconductor
manufacturer -- to deliver on our vision.'' Simplex will be working with Toshiba and other semiconductor partners
throughout the remainder of the year to prove out the technology and
streamline the design process to create X Architecture chips.
Simplex will
employ its enabling technology to create a limited number of X Architecture
chips for customers this year.
X Architecture chips will be more generally
available, both through the Simplex SoC Design Foundry and through licensing
arrangements with semiconductor partners, in the second half of 2002. About Toshiba Toshiba Corporation is a leader in information and communications systems,
electronic components, consumer products, and power systems.
The company's
integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as an
innovator in advanced components, products, and systems.
Toshiba has
190,000 employees worldwide, and annual sales of over US$54 billion.
Visit
Toshiba's website at http://www.toshiba.co.jp . About Simplex Simplex Solutions, Inc. provides software and services for the design and
verification of integrated circuits to enable its communications, computer and
consumer-products customers to achieve first-time production success and rapid
delivery of complex systems-on-chip.
Simplex's customers use its products and
services prior to manufacture to design and verify the integrated circuits to
help ensure that the integrated circuits will perform as intended, taking into
account the complex effects of deep-submicron semiconductor physics.
Simplex
can be reached at 408-617-6100 or on the web at www.simplex.com. Further details about the X Architecture and Simplex's liquid routing
technology will be provided during a conference call this morning at
8:00 a.m. Eastern/5:00 a.m. Pacific.
The call will be broadcast live over the
Internet and can be accessed via the Investor Relations section on the Simplex
website, located at www.simplex.com, or through the Street Fusion web site at
www.streetfusion.com -- ticker SPLX.
Please access the website at least 15
minutes prior to the start of the call to download and install any necessary
audio or video software.
Shortly after the conclusion of the call, a replay
will be available via Simplex's website at www.simplex.com through June 8,
2001. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements (including, without
limitation, information regarding semiconductor design, production and
performance improvements resulting from X Architecture, the effects of the X
Architecture on semiconductor technology, the pervasive use of X Architecture
in the development of semiconductors, Simplex's work with Toshiba and other
partners in the continued development of the X Architecture technology and the
timing of availability of semiconductors designed using the X Architecture)
that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the results of Simplex
and other events to differ materially from management's current expectations. Actual results and events may differ materially due to a number of factors
including, among others:
failure of semiconductor designers and manufacturers
to adopt the X Architecture; failure of the X Architecture to enable the
production of designs that are feasible and are competitive with current
designs or future alternatives; the viability of Simplex's interconnect
technology and other Simplex intellectual property that enables the X
Architecture; the ability of Simplex to engage the partners necessary to
complete the development of the X Architecture; future strategic decisions
made by Toshiba and/or other partners that inhibit the development of the X
Architecture; demand for advanced semiconductors that are developed using the
X Architecture; cost feasibility of the production of semiconductors designed
using the X Architecture; and the rapid pace of technological change in the
semiconductor industry.
The matters discussed in this press release also
involve risks and uncertainties described in Simplex's and Toshiba's most
recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Simplex and
Toshiba assume no obligation to update the forward-looking information
contained in this release. See ``Semiconductor Leaders Launch Initiative to Support Radical New Chip
Architecture,'' also announced today.
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