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WILSONVILLE, Ore. & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aug. 27, 2001--Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) and Xilinx, Inc. today announced extensive tool integration from Mentor Graphics for the Xilinx® Integrated Software Environment (ISE)(TM) 4.1. With this collaboration, designers now have access to a comprehensive FPGA design suite that includes capture, simulation, synthesis, management and timing analysis integrated with Xilinx ISE implementation tools, accelerating the creation of complex FPGA designs.

``The ISE software has been built to support the design of very complex Programmable Logic Devices -- like our Virtex-II Platform FPGAs with densities as large as ten-million system gates,'' said Rich Sevcik, senior vice president and general manager, Xilinx, Inc. ``Designing devices of this magnitude requires a design solution that features tight integration between EDA tools and our industry-leading ISE product with its best-in-class timing-driven place and route capabilities. Our partnership with Mentor Graphics enables us to support a complete front-to-back design flow that yields a substantial time-to-market advantage for our customers.''

``Mentor Graphics is committed to providing designers with the best, most comprehensive tool suite available for complex FPGA design. Our product development teams work in 'technology lockstep' with Xilinx to provide software integration and performance enhancements in close coordination with new hardware availability,'' said Anne Sanquini, vice president and general manager of the HDL Design division at Mentor Graphics. ``Our commitment to the FPGA market is underscored by the depth and breadth of our product support for the new Xilinx ISE package.''

ISE Integration for Synthesis and Simulation Tools

Xilinx and Mentor Graphics have teamed up to provide seamless integration of the Mentor Graphics® LeonardoSpectrum(TM) version 2001.1D synthesis solution and Mentor's ModelSim® version 5.5 simulation products into Xilinx ISE. This integration effort ensures seamless operation of Mentor's world-class solutions for customers who prefer the Xilinx design environment.

Mentor's LeonardoSpectrum version 2001.1D synthesis solution contains optimization enhancements that drive higher quality of results, including Automatic Inference. Unique to LeonardoSpectrum, Automatic Inference detects memories from the RTL code and builds in the designer's choice of distributed or block RAM. For Virtex series designers, this new functionality eliminates the need to manually instantiate RAMs, ROMs and FIFOs in the RTL code, providing substantially faster implementation and verification flows.

Mentor's ModelSim simulation tool delivers ASIC class RTL and timing simulation performance for advanced programmable logic designers. Along with performance improvements, the 5.5 release of ModelSim includes improved integration with Xilinx ISE. Xilinx designers now have a faster path from concept to Verilog or VHDL with a new FPGA library wizard and the improved Project Manager tool.

Complete Flow to Take Designers from Concept to Silicon

Mentor Graphics offers a complete design environment that fully automates the entire programmable logic design flow. The FPGA Advantage® solution has been enhanced to support seamless integration with Xilinx world class timing-driven place and route tools. Mentor then makes it easy to integrate the FPGA into the board level design by enabling board-level verification with the Tau® board-level static timing analysis tool. Highlights include:

• FPGA Advantage design flow integration. FPGA Advantage offers Xilinx designers a complete FPGA design solution, including capture, simulation, synthesis, and management. This flow contains all of the new features described above for LeonardoSpectrum and ModelSim, and provides value to Xilinx designers in the areas of team design, ease of use, and overall faster time to silicon.
• Tau board-level timing tool integration. ISE designers can export chip component-level timing information via a STAMP model directly into Tau to perform timing analysis. Tau provides exhaustive worst-case timing analysis and verification at the board level, and eliminates false violations reported in standard board static timing tools. Tau can also drive timing requirements directly to board layout, ensuring that complex FPGAs work at the board level. The ISE integration also enables designers to take advantage of new features in Tau, including improved graphical feedback during analysis.

About Xilinx, Inc.

Xilinx is the leading innovator of complete programmable logic solutions, including advanced integrated circuits, software design tools, predefined system functions delivered as intellectual property cores, and unparalleled field engineering support. Founded in 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 web site at www.xilinx.com.

About Mentor Graphics Corp.

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more than $600 million and employs approximately 2,975 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, ModelSim, Tau and FPGA Advantage are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. LeonardoSpectrum is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

     Mentor Graphics
     Amy Malagamba, 503/685-7836
     amy_malagamba@mentor.com
      or
     Xilinx
     Ann Duft, 408/559-7778
     ann_duft@xilinx.com