FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1999-0067

Fujitsu Introduces New IPSymphony Design Environment; Brings Common Software Interfaces, Web-Based Engineering to SOC Design

- Revolutionary Methodology-Driven Design Flow Reduces Turnaround Time by 40 to 60 Percent for IP Block-based Hierarchical Designs -

Tokyo, March 30, 1999 -- Fujitsu Limited's WorldWide System LSI Technology (WWSLT) group today introduced IPSymphony, the next generation of Fujitsu's chip design environment. Developed primarily to address the complexities of System On a Chip (SOC) design in a global environment, IPSymphony is expected to reduce turnaround time by 40 to 60 percent, while improving the quality of first-time silicon. A major component of Fujitsu's IPWare(TM) program, IPSymphony will be the foundation for all Fujitsu design environments worldwide.

IPSymphony is built on two key proprietary developments, Common Software Interface (CSI) and Web-Based Engineering (WBE). CSI makes it possible to integrate Fujitsu and Independent Software Vendor (ISV) tools together. WBE is the realization of the "work anywhere, anytime" concept. IPSymphony is the first of many new revolutionary developments that comprise Fujitsu's worldwide system LSI design program.

According to Ryusuke Hoshikawa, group executive vice president of Fujitsu's Semiconductor Group: "Fujitsu recognized in 1996 that there was the need for a quantum shift in chip design due to the nature of SOC technology. WWSLT was formed specifically to address the requirements of extremely large and complicated SOC designs created in a global environment."

IPSymphony: A System-Level Design Environment

IPSymphony provides a complete system-level design environment to ensure success from concept to prototype for IP/block-based design. The technology addresses the increased planning and estimation required early in the process to handle area, power, testability, signal integrity and timing requirements for SOC design. IPSymphony facilitates high-level abstraction using C/C++, RTL and hardware / software partitioning, effectively elevating silicon issues to the abstract level. The result is a significant reduction in the number of iterations required to meet the chip design requirements. Functional and manufacturing verification, including automated test-bench generation, built-in self test, formal verification and hardware / software co-verification, together with advanced SOC test methodologies, will thoroughly test the design as well as decrease test time.

In the physical implementation, IPSymphony can handle the expected large SOC design (5-10 million gates) with high performance (over 600 MHz). Timing-driven, stage-based constraints and the ability to handle hierarchical designs will shorten the design cycle.

To address the logistics of coordinating multiple design teams and the increase in data, IPSymphony incorporates data management into each step of the methodology. Revision control, data accessibility and logistics are inherent in the software architecture; documentation and scheduling are then automated. The chip status and status of the individual blocks are readily accessible, enabling concurrent engineering.

"The demands of SOC designs can require multiple design groups, design blocks (IP) and the ability to manage the associated logistical problems in a worldwide environment," said Kiminori Fujisaku, general manager of WWSLT in its headquarters office in the United States. "Also, an increasing number of EDA tools are required, some of which may be specialized for a particular block, but must work seamlessly with all other associated tools."

These needs, along with the increase in the number of design issues related to such areas as testability, signal integrity and power management, make SOC very different from existing design methodologies. "IPSymphony provides the environment into which any EDA tool, either from an ISV or internally developed, can be integrated. Design methodologies can be created, documented, reused, shared and executed from anywhere in the world," added David Dick, director of Advanced Technology development Department for Fujitsu's WWSLT.

Key IPSymphony Developments: Common Software Interface & Web-Based Engineering

Two key technology developments, Common Software Interface and Web-Based Engineering, support IPSymphony. CSI provides the ability to integrate any tools together through a set of proprietary API-like objects, which de-couple the tools from their database environment. "This feature alone vastly reduces the time required to integrate a new tool into this design environment. The result is that our designers have access to the best tools available in the industry," said Takeshi Yamamura, director of the Japan office of WWSLT.

WBE makes the "work anywhere, anytime" concept a reality by utilizing the World Wide Web and Internet/Intranet through a Web server and software packages that allow any platform that can access the Fujitsu net to work together. Thus workstations, laptops, desktops or even handheld computers can be used to access the system. All Fujitsu sites worldwide, independent of machines, will be able to share data, flows and executables easily. For example, a request from a U.S. design center for a design methodology can be sent to Japan, created collaboratively between Fujitsu Europe and Japan, debugged and then posted online, ready to use by every Fujitsu site instantly.

"The exciting part of this technology is that we now can act globally and leverage knowledge developed throughout Fujitsu," said Hoshikawa. "Fujitsu's design expertise and system design can now be used more effectively, which results in decreased turnaround time as well as improvements in the quality of first-time silicon."

* All company / product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for identification purpose only.

Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu Limited is a leading provider of information technology products and solutions for the global marketplace. Founded in Japan in 1935 as a telephone equipment maker, the Fujitsu Group had consolidated revenues of $37.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31,1998. With over 500 group companies, including Amdahl and ICL, Fujitsu is one of the world's largest suppliers of computers and information systems solutions, telecommunications and semiconductor products, software and services. The Fujitsu Group has over 180,000 employees worldwide and operations in more than 100 countries.
Homepage: http://www.fujitsu.com/

Press Contacts:

Fujitsu Limited, Public Relations  Noriko Kikuchi, Scott Ikeda, Bob Pomeroy  Tel: +81-3-3215-5236 (Tokyo)  Fax: +81-3-3216-9365  Fujitsu Microelectronics, Inc.  Emi Igarashi  Tel:+1-408-922-9104 (U.S.)  Fax:+1-408-943-0403  email: emi.igarashi@fmi.fujitsu.com Customer contact:  Fujitsu Limited, System LSI Technical Department,  System LSI & ASIC Div.  Tel: +81-44-754-2315 (Japan)  email: query_sales@ed.fujitsu.co.jp