Sun Microsystems Licenses Circuit Semantics' Modeling and Characterization Solutions

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2002--Circuit Semantics Inc. (CSI), the leading timing and characterization solution provider for high-performance integrated circuit (IC) design, said today that Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Processor and Network Products (PNP) Group has signed a license agreement for Sun to use CSI's EDA software products.

"Circuit Semantics' technology has helped us to significantly improve the performance of our circuit designs," says Tom Dillinger, CAD manager for Sun's PNP Group. "With CSI tools, our design teams have the means for characterization and analysis of the custom circuit blocks used in our advanced microprocessor designs."

CSI tools provide timing characterization for custom, transistor-level designs. Timing models produced by CSI tools let designers analyze mixed gate and transistor-level design styles.

Sun also uses CSI tools to generate models that enable functional, fault, and formal verification of custom designs.

With CSI tools, IC designers can accelerate custom designs to tape out, with a known performance level, and can run tests to check that the design is equivalent to the register transfer level (RTL) functional model.

"CSI believes that this license agreement with Sun shows that our tools solve the need for better timing and characterization solutions for high-performance designs," notes Sanjay Rohatgi, Circuit Semantics' vice president of field support. "Our relationship with Sun and with all our customers ensures that our technology keeps pace with their methodologies and design flows."

"The benefits delivered by CSI tools for block characterization are something that could not be done before the development of Circuit Semantics' core technology," adds Jose Torres, vice president of marketing for Circuit Semantics. "Our products enable higher accuracy in timing, power, and modeling and a significant reduction in engineering time over traditional methodologies."

About Circuit Semantics

Circuit Semantics Inc. provides timing and characterization solutions for high-performance cells, cores, and blocks, based on innovative, patent-pending technology. IC designers employ these mixed-level solutions to create high-performance chips using full-custom and structured-custom methodologies. Its products support precise, gate-level abstraction of transistor-level circuits to accelerate timing closure for designs fabricated in deep submicron (DSM) process technologies. These solutions are especially well suited for the microprocessor, digital signal processing (DSP), graphics, and high-speed communications markets. Circuit Semantics is headquartered at 2590 North First Street, Suite 301, San Jose, Calif. 95131. Telephone: (408) 571-4800. FAX number: (408) 468-1468. For more online information, visit its website at: http://www.circuitsemantics.com.

DynaCore, DynaModel, and DynaTest are trademarks of Circuit Semantics Inc., in the United States and other countries.

     Circuit Semantics, Inc.
     Jose Torres, 408/571-4813
     jose.torres@circuitsemantics.com