LogicVision's Embedded SerDes Test Selected by PLX Technology for Gen 2 PCI Express Device Family

Solution Enables High Quality Production Test and System-Level Diagnostics

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- October 9, 2007 -- LogicVision, Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor test and yield learning solutions, today announced that PLX Technology, Inc. , the leading global supplier of PCI Express® (PCIe®) switch and bridge silicon, has selected LogicVision’s leading-edge SerDes BIST solution, ETSerdes™, for its next generation Gen 2 PCI Express switch family. The solution is expected to enable PLX to achieve manufacturing quality goals, contain the rising costs of test, and provide for comprehensive characterization and diagnosis of high speed SerDes I/O. PLX’s PCI Express Gen 2 switches double the interconnect bit rate over its predecessor, to 5 GT/s (GigaTransfers per second) from 2.5 GT/s.

“We carefully looked at available solutions in the market place and chose LogicVision’s ETSerdes because it provides a purely digital, scaleable, RTL-based solution with sub-picosecond accuracy for testing our high speed I/Os with lane counts of up to 48,” said George Apostol, Vice President of Engineering at PLX. “ETSerdes allows us to run a comprehensive suite of tests and characterizations on existing automatic test equipment. Additionally, having the test functionality embedded in our devices allows us, and our end customers, to run tests and error injection in the host system environment for field-level debug and diagnostics.”

High-speed data serialization/de-serialization I/O technologies, typically known as SerDes, are being rapidly adopted in data storage, telecommunications, and personal computer applications. Significant test challenges have emerged as multiple SerDes transceivers, with data rates of up to 10 gigabits per second (Gb/s), are being integrated into SoCs. As a result, IC manufacturers are finding it increasingly expensive and time-consuming to guarantee the critical signal-integrity parameters of these high-speed I/Os, especially while ramping-up yield.

LogicVision’s ETSerdes is the industry’s only vendor-independent, RTL-synthesizable, parametric built-in self-test (BIST) for multi-gigahertz SerDes I/Os. It provides unique capabilities for testing ICs with any number of high-speed serial data channels operating at any frequency, from less than 1 Gbps to more than 10 Gbps. ETSerdes provides test accuracy comparable to that of the highest performance external equipment at a fraction of the cost and is compatible with any ATE platform. The ability of ETSerdes to diagnostically measure wave shape, jitter, and jitter tolerance parameters, each in millisecond test times, can drastically reduce test costs and improve quality.

ETSerdes includes an industry-standard Bit Error Rate Test (BERT) that can be controlled and monitored via a JTAG port or on-chip system signals. This embedded capability provides a typically mandatory, system-level function with system and test bus access, and includes automated test generation for quantifying signal path bit error rate (BER). All ETSerdes capabilities can be re-applied at system-level to quickly characterize entire signal paths.

“PLX Technology’s selection of ETSerdes over bundled-in solutions is evidence of the unique value of our technology,” said Farhad Hayat, VP of Marketing at LogicVision. “As high speed I/O speeds increase to 5 Gb/s and beyond, leading device manufacturers require cost-effective test solutions that scale with I/O performance and complexities. With ETSerdes our customers get access to a comprehensive test solution that provides highly accurate and fast manufacturing test that can be reused in the end-application.”

About PLX
PLX Technology, Inc.(www.plxtech.com), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., USA, is the world’s leading supplier of PCI Express and other standard I/O interconnect semiconductors to the communications, server, storage, embedded-control, and consumer markets. The company provides a competitive advantage through an integrated combination of experience, high-performance silicon, hardware and software design tools, and global partnerships. These innovative solutions enable our customers to develop equipment with industry-leading performance, scalability and reliability that allows them to bring designs to market faster.

About LogicVision Inc.
LogicVision (NASDAQ: LGVN) provides proprietary technologies for embedded test that enable the more efficient design and manufacture of complex semiconductors. LogicVision's embedded test solution allows integrated circuit designers to embed into a semiconductor design test functionality that can be used during semiconductor production and throughout the useful life of the chip. For more information on the company and its products, please visit the LogicVision website at www.logicvision.com.