Virtual Silicon Announces High-Speed Interface IP Product Line

Silicon Ready Circuits Provide High-Speed Interfaces to Industry Standard Busses

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2001--Virtual Silicon Technology Inc., a leader in semiconductor intellectual property, today announced the introduction of their new high-speed eSi-Interface(TM) IP product line for the use in system-on-chip (SoC) design. The eSi-Interface products provide the critical link for chip-to-chip communications for such applications as networking, computing, wireless communications, peripheral interface, portable electronics and graphics. The first silicon proven members of the family include USB1.1, SSTL-2 (class II), and Advanced Graphic Port (AGP/4X) solutions. Virtual Silicon is developing Interface products in 0.18 micron, 0.15-micron, 0.13 micron and 0.10 micron process technologies.

"Virtual Silicon interface IP is already working in our PCI5110 UMTS/3G baseband processor which has just been released to our customers," said Mark Bapst, director of SoC development at PrairieComm Inc. "High speed data and other specialized interfaces are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in both communications and computing applications, including PrairieComm's 3G digital wireless baseband solutions. Virtual Silicon's expertise in designing high-speed interface IP allowed us to meet our performance and ESD specifications with first pass silicon."

"As faster and faster SoC are developed, the need for reliable high-speed chip-to-chip communication has become critical," said John Ford, vice president of marketing for Virtual Silicon. "Virtual Silicon is committed to meet the demand for the growing number of industry standard bus interfaces and new high-speed memory bus architectures with a comprehensive, Silicon Ready® product line."

The Silicon Ready Program

Silicon Ready status indicates that the circuits were tested in real silicon by Virtual Silicon on one of its many test chips, and by customers in a production SoC. eSi-Interface products that are Silicon Ready include IP for industry standard bus connections USB1.1 (0.18 micron), SSTL-2 (0.15 micron), and AGP4X (0.15 micron). They also include crystal oscillators designed to operate at 32Khz and the 14-28Mhz range. eSi-Interface products are pitch and power ring compatible with Virtual Silicon's eSi-Pad(TM) I/O products and eSi-PLL(TM) phased locked loops in either inline or staggered formats for 0.18 micron, 0.15 micron, and/or 0.13 micron. Current users of Virtual Silicon's eSi-Pad and eSi-PLL products can seamlessly incorporate eSi-Interface products into their designs.

Availability and Pricing

Other eSi-Interface products that will be available for the above process technologies before the end of the year include USB1.1, USB2.0, PCI-2.2, PCI-X, LVDS (622 MHz), HSTL (Class I & II), and SSTL-2 (Class II). eSi-Interface products may be licensed directly from Virtual Silicon with list prices from $40,000 to $300,000.

About Virtual Silicon Technology

Virtual Silicon is a leading supplier of semiconductor intellectual property and process technology to manufacturers and designers of complex systems-on-chip (SoC). Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, the company provides process-specific embedded components that serve the wireless, networking, graphics, communication and computing markets. Customers include leading fabless semiconductor companies, integrated semiconductor manufacturers, foundries and SoC developers who demand leading edge technology for their semiconductor innovations. For more information, call (408) 548-2700 or visit Virtual Silicon online at www.virtual-silicon.com.

Note to Editors: eSi-Interface, Silicon Ready, and Virtual Silicon are trademarks of Virtual Silicon Technology, Inc.

Contact:
     Virtual Silicon Technology
     John Ford, 408/548-2737
     johnf@virtual-silicon.com
              or
     VitalCom Marketing and PR
     Lou Covey, 650/637-8212 x202
     lou@vitalcompr.com