The SOI Industry Consortium Welcomes a Key IP Services Provider

Symmid Semiconductor and Partners see SOI Technology as Key to Low-Power Solutions in 45nm and Smaller Geometries

BOSTON, July 31, 2008 -- The SOI Industry Consortium announced today that Symmid Semiconductor Technology (SST), based in Silicon Valley, California, a provider of ASIC design services and intellectual property (IP) porting, has joined the organization as a technical member. With the addition of SST, the SOI Industry Consortium now comprises 24 leading companies from across the electronics industry covering a spectrum of users, enablers, suppliers and manufacturers. This new addition complements the IP focus of the SOI Industry Consortium.

SST, which is a technology partner for leading foundries, focuses primarily on system-on-chips (SoCs) with the most stringent performance, power and area requirements. The company is also a design partner of Arrow's Custom Logic Solutions (CLS) Group, one of North America's broadest custom logic solutions providers.

"Symmid Semiconductor Technology foresees increased interest in SOI technology for low-power SoC designs. We are excited about our participation in the SOI consortium and we plan to contribute to the momentum of SOI adoption through enablement of IP development and porting," said Alex Parshad, CEO of Symmid Semiconductor.

"We support Symmid Semiconductor's participation in the SOI consortium as we see SOI having an important role in the future of custom logic design," said Tony Lowry, Director of Engineering at Arrow's Custom Logic Solutions Group. "Standby power draw is a critical concern to our deep-submicron customers. We view SOI technology as key to low-power solutions in 45nm and smaller geometries."

"We are very happy to have a key IP services provider such as Symmid Semiconductor as part of the SOI consortium, complementing our focus on SOI IP,"said Horacio Mendez, executive director of the SOI Industry Consortium. "The recent GSA survey on SOI technology confirmed that IP availability figures high on the list of perceived gaps in the ecosystem. The addition of Symmid Semiconductor to the Consortium should further strengthen the position of SOI IP for the design community."

The SOI Industry Consortium is open to any company, organization or academic institution with an interest in SOI. The initiative is aimed at accelerating silicon-on-insulator (SOI) adoption in a wide range of markets by promoting the benefits of SOI technology and reducing the barriers to adoption. Current members now include: AMD, Applied Materials, ARM, Cadence Design Systems, CEA-Leti, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Freescale Semiconductor, IBM, Innovative Silicon, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, Magma Design, Nvidia, Samsung, Semico, Soitec, SEH Europe, STMicroelectronics, Symmid Semiconductor, Synopsys, TSMC, Tyndall Institute, UCL (University Catholique of Louvain) and UMC.

About the SOI Industry Consortium:

The SOI Industry Consortium is chartered with accelerating silicon-on-insulator (SOI) innovation into broad markets by promoting the benefits of SOI technology and reducing the barriers to adoption. Representing leaders spanning the entire electronics industry infrastructure, SOI Industry Consortium members include: AMD, Applied Materials, ARM, Cadence Design Systems, CEA-Leti, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Freescale Semiconductor, IBM, Innovative Silicon, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, Magma Design, Nvidia, Samsung, Semico, Soitec, SEH Europe, STMicroelectronics, Symmid Semiconductor, Synopsys, TSMC, Tyndall Institute, UCL and UMC. Membership is open to all companies and institutions throughout the electronics industry.

For more information, see http://www.soiconsortium.org