Cadence and Microcosm Technologies Form MEMS Alliance; Industry Leaders Utilize MEMS Technology To Enable Smart Products For Industrial And Consumer Markets.RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 1999-- Microcosm Technologies, Inc. and Cadence Design Systems (company) Cadence Design Systems - A company that sells electronic design automation software and services. http://cadence.com/. See also Verilog. , Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :CDN (Content Delivery Network) A system of distributed content on a large intranet or the public Internet in which copies of content are replicated and cached throughout the network. ) today announced that they have formed a strategic relationship to assist companies with the development of a wide range of next-generation systems and products that utilize micro-electro-mechanical systems Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) Systems that couple micromechanisms with microelectronics. Such systems are also referred to as microsystems, and the coupling of micromechanisms with microelectronics is also termed micromechatronics. (MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) Tiny mechanical devices that are built onto semiconductor chips and are measured in micrometers. In the research labs since the 1980s, MEMS devices began to materialize as commercial products in the mid-1990s. ) technology. The relationship will initially target applications of MEMS technology in the industrial and consumer sectors in support of Cadence's Electronics Infusion initiative and Industrial Electronics design services. Cadence, the world's leading supplier of electronic design products software and services, is working with a wide range of companies whose offerings would benefit from electronic content but who do not have the in-house expertise or capacity to design state-of-the-art electronic components or systems. Based on the definitive agreement with Microcosm, the world's leading supplier of software and services for MEMS technology, the two companies will jointly pursue and perform consulting and design services projects for customers to provide the performance, functionality and cost advantages enabled by the integration of electronics and MEMS. Customers will include manufacturers of automotive, machine tool, and industrial equipment; semiconductor manufacturing equipment; and automation systems. "MEMS technology has tremendous capability to enable a large number of innovative new products, including distributed sensor networks for environmental control; smart instrumentation for closed-loop process control; and very accurate sensors, valves and meters for fluid applications," said Bob Leach, senior vice president of the Cadence Electronics Infusion consulting group. "The capacity to develop highly integrated, ultra-compact electro-mechanical and opto-electro-mechanical systems, systems that can sense and act, will provide advantages in configurability, size, weight, accuracy and reliability. Microcosm's expertise with these types of systems and its experience in applications such as fluidics fluidics, branch of engineering and technology concerned with the development of equivalents of various electronic circuits using movements of fluid rather than movements of electric charge. , where Cadence has not previously participated, extends our overall capability to assist customers." In addition to providing joint product realization services, Cadence and Microcosm have also agreed to cooperate on integration of their software products and design methodologies. Microcosm will extend its automatic macromodeling capability to generate simulation libraries of MEMS components for Cadence's analog, mixed-signal, and HDL (Hardware Description Language) A language used to describe the functions of an electronic circuit for documentation, simulation or logic synthesis (or all three). Although many proprietary HDLs have been developed, Verilog and VHDL are the major standards. simulation tools. Bi-directional exchange of layout information will be supported between the Cadence and Microcosm tool sets, and Microcosm will provide complete access to its MEMS design tools and foundry design kits from within the Cadence design environment. These software capabilities will be made available over the next twelve months. "We are excited about the possibilities of offering our joint customers innovative design solutions that integrate MEMS devices, such as sensors and actuators from Microcosm, with our board-level signal conditioning Imagine feeding the output of a temperature sensor, which is in millivolts, to an Analog-to-digital converter to be processed. Is it possible for the Analog-to-Digital converter to process such a minute voltage amplitude? The answer is probably no. and embedded measurement and control software capability," stated Al Strelzoff, vice president and general manager of the newly formed Industrial Electronics Design Group at Cadence. "Just one example would be customized vibration sensors integrated with machine control for improved real-time equipment diagnostics and preventive maintenance The routine checking of hardware that is performed by a field engineer on a regularly scheduled basis. See remedial maintenance. preventive maintenance - (PM) To bring down a machine for inspection or test purposes. See provocative maintenance, scratch monkey. . We have already begun working with Microcosm to develop these types of solutions and deliver our combined expertise to our rapidly growing base of industrial customers." MEMS technology has garnered considerable attention, as it is being increasingly employed across such diverse markets as automated manufacturing, transportation, communications, health care, and a wide variety of consumer products. In the broadest sense, MEMS consists of mechanical microstructures, microsensors and microactuators integrated with microelectronics and interfacing the microelectronics with the nonelectronic world. Any product that requires the capability to sense or create motion is a candidate for MEMS technology. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a 1999 market study by System Planning Corporation System Planning Corporation is a Virginia based corporation that conducts research and produces electronics and computer software for the United States Department of Defense and other federal government agencies in the support of National security. , the MEMS device market will grow from an estimated $2.9 billion in 1996 to $11.5 billion in the year 2003. Michael Jamiolkowski, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Microcosm, said, "We are extremely pleased to be teaming with Cadence to create a new generation of embedded system Any electronic system that uses a CPU chip, but that is not a general-purpose workstation, desktop or laptop computer. Such systems generally use microprocessors, or they may use custom-designed chips or both. products based on MEMS technology. The integration of MEMS and microelectronics will enable closed-loop control systems on a chip, making possible new levels of product functionality and opening up new markets and applications. Together, Cadence and Microcosm are an unbeatable partner for visionary companies around the world." ABOUT CADENCE Cadence is the largest supplier of electronic design automation products, methodology services, and design services used to accelerate and manage the design of semiconductors, computer systems, networking and telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics, and a variety of other electronics-based products. With more than 4,000 employees and 1998 annual sales of $1.2 billion, Cadence has sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world. The Company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. and traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the symbol CDN. More information about the company, its products and services may be obtained from the World Wide Web at http://www.cadence.com. ABOUT MICROCOSM Microcosm Technologies, Inc. is the largest company in the world devoted specifically to software products and design and consulting services for micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and microfluidics applications. Microcosm is a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. In addition to Raleigh, the Company has offices located in Cambridge, Mass.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; San Mateo, Calif.; Amsterdam, Netherlands and Paris. More information about the company, its products and services can be found at its web site, http://www.memcad.com. Cadence and the Cadence logo are registered trademarks of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All others are properties of their holders. |
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