BiTMICRO Networks Standardizes on Synopsys' DesignWare PHY IP for PCI Express and SATA

Silicon-Proven Mixed-Signal PHYs Reduce Risk and Speed Time to Production for BiTMICRO's Flash Solid State Disk Drives 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 2, 2006 - Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), a world leader in semiconductor design software, today announced that BiTMICRO Networks has chosen Synopsys' DesignWare® physical layer (PHY) Cores for PCI Express® and Serial-ATA (SATA) high-speed serial interfaces. DesignWare PHY's are a part of Synopsys' industry-leading portfolio of connectivity intellectual property (IP). These will be used by BiTMICRO for the development of their flash solid state disk drives. BiTMICRO's system-on-chip (SoC) designs will take advantage of the DesignWare PHYs' very low bit error rate and ultra low power consumption to help provide system OEMs and enterprise storage end-users with high performance, reliability and robustness for their mission-critical applications.

In order to get to volume production quickly with lower risk of integration errors, BiTMICRO chose the silicon-proven DesignWare PHY Cores for PCI Express and SATA interfaces. Architected specifically for reuse in standard CMOS processes, these DesignWare PHYs are extensively validated through third-party compliance labs and plugfests and include the complete set of deliverables required for fast and easy integration. The DesignWare PHYs tolerate process, voltage and temperature variations without compromising performance such as bit error rate, power and area. This performance is backed by detailed silicon characterization reports and PCI-SIG and SATA-IO compliance certification, giving companies like BiTMICRO confidence that their end-products will properly interoperate with these industry standard interfaces.

"BiTMICRO recognizes the importance of working with a leading connectivity IP provider such as Synopsys, who can provide a broad portfolio of proven and compliant PHYs to help us achieve our time-to-market goals in the most cost-effective manner," said Rudy Bruce, executive vice president of Marketing and Sales at BiTMICRO Networks. "We expect this collaboration to result in the rapid development of reliable and ultra-low power SoC solutions for our customers."

"The silicon-proven Synopsys PCI Express and SATA PHYs will help ensure that BiTMICRO will be able to meet tight schedules for their flash memory management products with PCI Express and SATA interfaces," said Guri Stark, vice president of Marketing for the Solutions Group at Synopsys. "DesignWare PHY IP helps to lower integration risk and give SoC designers predictable results in demanding, mission-critical applications like BiTMICRO's in the industrial, embedded computing, medical, and aerospace industries."

About DesignWare® Mixed-Signal IP
Synopsys enables designers to quickly integrate analog Mixed-Signal IP (MSIP) into next-generation SoCs by offering a comprehensive portfolio of high-performance PHY IP for the PCI Express, SATA, XAUI and USB protocols. In addition, the Synopsys DesignWare MSIP offering also includes a complete suite of I/O Libraries. Available for industry-leading processes, DesignWare Mixed-Signal IP meets the needs of high-speed designs for the networking, storage, computing, and consumer electronics markets. The DesignWare MSIP offering is complemented by a comprehensive suite of industry leading digital controllers and verification IP to provide chip developers with a complete solution for SoC integration. Each MSIP can be licensed individually, on a fee-per-project basis or users can opt for the Volume Purchase Agreement, which enables them to license all of the MSIP in one simple agreement. For more information on DesignWare® IP, visit: http://www.designware.com/.

About Synopsys
Synopsys, Inc. is a world leader in EDA software for semiconductor design. The company delivers technology-leading semiconductor design and verification platforms and IC manufacturing software products to the global electronics market, enabling the development and production of complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). Synopsys also provides intellectual property and design services to simplify the design process and accelerate time-to-market for its customers. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California and has offices in more than 60 locations throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Asia. Visit Synopsys online at www.synopsys.com.

About BiTMICRO Networks
BiTMICRO® Networks (http://www.bitmicro.com) is a leading provider of high performance non-volatile solid state disk and semiconductor storage solutions. The Company's flagship product, the E-Disk® SSD, is offered with SCSI Narrow and Wide, IDE/ATA and Fibre Channel interfaces in 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard disk drive footprints, and 19-inch rack mount configurations scalable up to several terabytes of pure solid state storage. Its next-gen TALINO™ E-Disk® Controllers comprise a family of Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) devices that succeed the highly successful disk controller chipset of BiTMICRO®'s electronic disk technology.