Philips Semiconductors completes CoolRunner families with 128 macrocell CPLDs; Philips CoolRunner CPLDs Gain Market Acceptance.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1997--In a little more than a year since the introduction of its CPLD Business Unit on April 8, 1996; and, for the third time in eleven months, Philips Semiconductors announces new production-ready CPLD devices. The new products feature 128-macrocells with in-system-programmability (ISP) for both 3V and 5V applications. Joining Philips' 32- and 64-macrocell devices already on the market, the new PZ3128 and PZ5128 complete the CoolRunner-3V and CoolRunner-5V families based on the combination of unprecedented low power and high speed.

The CoolRunner 3V family are among the highest speed 3V CPLDs on the market today, and the broadest family offering at the new power supply standard. The CoolRunner-5V devices set a new performance power curve through the use of Philips revolutionary Fast Zero Power (FZPS(TM)) technology.

Philips' FZP and eXtended Programmable Logic Array (XPLA(TM)) architecture, form the basis of the CoolRunner families. The combination is unrivaled in its ability to eliminate previous barriers to offering high density and high performance solutions concurrently with low power. The design technique, FZP, offers low power without a performance penalty through the elimination of sense amps. Philips' eXtended Programmable Logic Array (XPLA) architecture combines PAL and PLA structures to offer maximum effective densities, higher performance for complex functions, and superior support for making design changes while maintaining a fixed pin-out. XPLA's additional 32 product terms in each logic block provide designers with optimum flexibility for product-term allocation.

Market Response

"Market response continues to be strong," said Steve Kelley, general manager of Philips' Programmable Products Group. "Customers are recognizing just how fast and low power our devices are -- and its resulting in design wins. By having 32, 64, and 128 macrocell solutions, we are addressing the production requirements of our customers. Our next move will be to address the CPLD size barrier with subsequent families, and set a new paradigm for CPLD density."

What Users Say About Philips' CPLDs

-- A senior project designer for a world-wide telecommunications supplier states, "Our decision to use Philips CPLDs is based on low power benefits. By replacing an existing PLD with a CoolRunner, we save 50mA on each circuit board and, depending upon system configuration, the saving goes up to 1.2 amps. This benefit is immediate. The increased power margin eliminates any power issues in the field as systems are upgraded."

-- A development engineer from Golden Enterprises, a supplier of Personal Response Systems(R) for telephone call centers notes, "Since we use small enclosures, heat was our initial concern. The low power of the CoolRunner family put the spotlight on Philips, and the high speed and gate count of their CPLDs keeps it there."

-- A prominent laptop computer designer comments, "By moving to the Philips PZ3032 CPLD, we were able to squeeze the functionality of two of the competitors' 32 macrocell parts into one, realize a 90 percent power saving, and reduce the cost by almost 50 percent."

128 Macrocell ISP and XPLA Offer Unique Routing Capabilities

In-system programmability (ISP) allows for easier prototyping and the ability to change board configurations in the field. This results in easier and lower cost maintenance, and simultaneously provides inventory flexibility that supports multiple feature sets during final equipment manufacturing. However, ISP requires increased logic availability to ensure that field upgrades can be realized when pins are locked. The additional logic resources and improved routability offered by the XPLA architecture addresses these requirements without sacrificing speed for routability. CoolRunner 128-macrocell CPLDs feature propagation delays of only 10ns for 3V and 7.5ns for 5V establishing Philips' CPLDs as a premier speed leader across supply voltages.

Support

Philips software support is based on a designers ease-of-access. This is realized by integrating fitters into tools designer already own, and by offering Philips' low-cost tools -- the XPLA Designer(TM). Philips' CoolRunner family is supported by such third-party suppliers as Mentor, Cadence, MINC, Synopsys, Logical Device, Viewlogic, Synario, and Synplicity.

Pricing

The 3V 10ns and 12ns devices are priced at US$28.30 and $22.64, and the 5V 7ns and 10ns devices are priced at US$25.96 and US$20.77 respectively, all in volumes of 10,000 units for the 84-pin PLCC package. Production volumes are currently available. For pricing outside of the United States, please contact your local Philips Semiconductors sales office or authorized Philips distributor.

Philips Semiconductors, a subsidiary of Philips Electronics North America Corporation and an affiliate of Philips Electronics NV, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the ninth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia, and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world, and are supported by regional customer application labs.

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Note to Editors:

Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing the Philips Internet Home Page located at: http://www.semiconductors.philips.com

Additional information on CPLDs can be obtained by accessing the Philips CPLD Home Page located at: http://www.coolpld.com

CONTACT: Philips Semiconductors

Jodi Guilbault, 408/991-2332

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or

Mathas Communications

Carolyn Mathas, 541/899-8435

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