Xilinx and Conexant announce licensing agreement of SkyRail 3.125 Gbps CMOS Serial Transceiver Technology.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2000

High-Bandwidth Interconnect Technology Targets

Next Generation Networking Solutions

Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ:XLNX) and Conexant Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNXT) today announced they have entered into a strategic development and licensing partnership to integrate Conexant's high-speed serial transceiver technology into the Xilinx(R) next-generation Virtex(TM)-II field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), providing network system manufacturers with cost-effective, fast time-to-market building blocks for next generation Internet infrastructure equipment.

The agreement provides Xilinx with a license to Conexant's SkyRail* 3.125 Gb/sec CMOS serial transceiver technology. Conexant's CMOS transceivers provide a five-fold decrease in operating current as compared to currently available galium-arsinide (GaAs) implementations, while at the same time facilitating integration into complex CMOS digital ICs such as FPGAs.

"Conexant is delighted to have the world's foremost FPGA company endorse and integrate our leading-edge 3.125 Gb/sec CMOS transceiver technology," said Richard Egan, vice president in Conexant's Broadband Internetworking Systems business unit. "Building an ecosystem of suppliers and industry partners is a key step in establishing SkyRail as the industry-standard high-speed interconnect in next-generation designs."

The integration of Conexant's innovative SkyRail* CMOS transceivers within the Xilinx Virtex-II FPGA architecture creates a single chip with the ability to offload multi-gigabits of serial data streams. The unprecedented combination of gigabit interconnect technologies coupled with embedded processors and related IP within an industry-standard FPGA will allow designers to create highly integrated solutions for high-speed networking, telecommunications and storage arrays.

"In creating our next-generation Virtex-II FPGAs, we felt it was critical to include high-speed serial interconnect technology, as leading system architects are increasingly employing gigabit serial interconnect technologies as the means to connect high-bandwidth elements within their systems. The multi-gigabit data rates coupled with the innovative low-power CMOS design of the SkyRail transceivers make them ideal solutions to meet the need for ever-escalating bandwidth requirements, " said Erich Goetting, vice president of Product Development for the Xilinx Advanced Products Group. "The Conexant CMOS design enables us to leverage our industry-leading CMOS process technology partnerships and ensures our continued leadership in redefining the FPGA."

The high-speed SkyRail transceiver is compliant with industry standards such as Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel in addition to the emerging 10-Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3ae) standard. By integrating quad transceivers, which are used to create 10-gigabit attachment unit (XAUI) interfaces, a single FPGA can interface to both 10-Gigabit Ethernet and OC-192c. The high-speed transceiver is also compliant with the 2.5 Gbps InfiniBand(TM) architecture standard being created by the InfiniBand(TM) Trade Association. Member companies include Intel, Cisco Systems, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft.

About Xilinx

Xilinx is the leading innovator of complete programmable logic solutions, including advanced integrated circuits, software design tools, predefined system functions delivered as cores, and unparalleled field engineering support. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Xilinx invented the field programmable gate array (FPGA) and fulfills more than half of the world demand for these devices today.

Xilinx solutions enable customers to reduce significantly the time required to develop products for the computer, peripheral, telecommunications, networking, industrial control, instrumentation, high-reliability/military, and consumer markets. For more information, visit the Xilinx web site at www.xilinx.com.

About Conexant

With a revenue run-rate of approximately $2 billion per year, Conexant is the world's largest independent company focused exclusively on providing semiconductor solutions for communications electronics. With more than 30 years of experience in developing communications technology, the company draws upon its expertise in mixed-signal processing to deliver integrated systems and semiconductor products for a broad range of communications applications. These products facilitate communications worldwide through wireline voice and data communications networks, cordless and cellular wireless telephony systems, personal imaging devices and equipment, and emerging cable and wireless broadband communications networks. The company aligns its business into five product platforms: Network Access, Wireless Communications, Digital Infotainment, Personal Imaging, and Personal Computing. Conexant is a member of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 Indices.

Conexant's Network Access Division provides semiconductor system solutions across a broad range of telecom and datacom infrastructure platforms and applications, including network processors, multiservices access processors, wide area network (WAN) solutions, digital subscriber line (xDSL) technologies, and optical networking IC solutions. By building upon today's broadest line of ICs and expertise in high-speed analog and digital connections, Conexant is well positioned to drive telecommunications infrastructure expansion. For additional information visit www.conexant.com.

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