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Xilinx And UMC ship first programmable Logic Devices using Copper Process
technology
UMC's copper process is ramped
for volume production;collaboration sets stage for higher performance
FPGAs
SAN
JOSE, Calif., March 27, 2000—Continuing to lead the programmable
logic industry into the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing
processes, Xilinx, Inc., (NASDAQ: XLNX) in partnership with UMC
announced the immediate availability of the industry's first FPGA
family built with copper process technology. The two companies collaborated
on copper interconnect technology over the past two years and the
process is the foundation for the new Xilinx VirtexTM-E
Extended Memory (Virtex-EM) FPGA, also announced today. Virtex-EM
is shipping today and is expected to ramp to volume production in
the second half of calendar 2000.
"UMC is the
first semiconductor foundry to deliver wafers using copper interconnect
technology. And, we are pleased to see that Xilinx has effectively
implemented this technology to deliver the industry's first copper-based
FPGAs," said Fu Tai Liou, UMC chief technical officer. "Previously,
wafer yield and return on investment was a concern for those wishing
to engage in copper. Now through Xilinx, we have demonstrated that
our 0.18-micron copper process is a proven, cost-effective solution
for our customers."
"Our partnership with UMC has been very fruitful and has yielded
great success," said Wim Roelandts, Xilinx president and chief executive
officer. "Since 1997, we have been the first to ship 0.25- and 0.18-micron
FPGAs, and now we have extended that leadership with our delivery
of the copper-based Virtex-EM family. Our rapid deployment of new
processes allows us to quickly bring high-density and high-performance
FPGAs to market faster and, in turn, bolster the success of our
customers."
Copper: the next generation
The advantage of copper interconnect is its inherently lower resistivity,
which minimizes power supply drop throughout the device. In the
0.18-micron, six-layer metal process of the Virtex-EM family, the
top two layers deploy copper interconnect. These two layers are
used to route clock lines to minimize both clock skew and I/O skew,
leading to optimized performance once again. UMC is also ready to
manufacture devices that have up to six layers of copper interconnect
with low-k dielectrics.
"Copper interconnect enables higher density FPGAs to maintain our
drive for greater performance improvements," said Dennis Segers,
Xilinx senior vice president and general manager. "This breakthrough
lays the groundwork to move quickly down the technology curve to
0.13-micron all-layer copper process and beyond."
The copper process is available in volume production
from UMC. "Our fabs are already demonstrating copper yields that
are equivalent to our 0.18-micron aluminum process, and we project
further improvements throughout the year. Our goal is to continue
delivering the highest performance, most reliable copper process
in the market so that our customers can begin migrating their designs
to this advanced metal process technology today. Furthermore, we
are rapidly moving forward to production qualify our all-copper,
low-K WorldlogicTM 0.13 technology late this year," stated
Dr. Liou.
In the related product announcement today, Xilinx announced
the product features and current availability of the aforementioned
Virtex-EM FPGA family manufactured by UMC. This announcement marks
the industry's first FPGA products with copper interconnect and
the initial device incorporates over one million bits of True Dual-Port
™ Block RAM. Production shipments will begin in the second
half of calendar 2000.
NOTE
CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of
the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward looking
within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including
statements about future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies,
business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned
that actual events and results could differ materially from these
statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions
in the overall semiconductor market and economy, acceptance and demand for products,
and technological
and development risks.
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, Calif.,
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.
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