SMIC Offers CPF-Based CADENCE Low-Power Digital Reference Flow
October 24 2007 - 3:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
SMIC Joins Power Forward Initiative; Brings New Solution to Enable
Customers to Design 90-NM Low-Power Chips Targeted for Fabrication
at SMIC SHANGHAI, China and SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 24
/Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Semiconductor Manufacturing International
Corporation ("SMIC", NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 0981.HK) one of the leading
foundries in the world, and Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
(NASDAQ:CDNS), the leader in global electronic-design innovation,
today announced that SMIC is offering a Common Power Format
(CPF)-based 90-nanometer low-power digital reference flow and
CPF-compliant libraries. SMIC also announced that it has joined the
Power Forward Initiative (PFI). The new flow uses intellectual
property developed by SMIC and employs the Cadence Design Systems,
Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) Low-Power Solution, which is designed to
increase productivity, manage design complexity, and shorten time
to market. This flow is the result of a joint effort by Cadence(R)
and SMIC further strengthening their relationship and speeding up
low-power designs for their mutual customers who face low-power
design challenges. The SMIC reference flow (3.2), employing Cadence
technology, is a complete CPF-enabled RTL-to-GDSII low-power flow
aimed at efficient energy use for 90- nanometer system-on-chip
designs. It incorporates SMIC 90-nanometer logic low leakage 1P9M
1.2/1.8/2.5V generic process and commercial low-power library
support. The flow features power awareness throughout all necessary
design steps including logic synthesis, simulation, design for
test, equivalence checking, silicon virtual prototyping, physical
implementation, and complete signoff analysis. "Joining the Power
Forward Initiative shows our support for this industry- wide
low-power effort and our pursuit of bringing advanced low-power
solutions to our end users," said David Lin, senior director,
Design Services Division at SMIC. "As advanced process nodes
continue to shrink beyond 90 nanometers, two key issues have
emerged: manufacturability and testability. The SMIC reference
flow, based on the Si2 standard CPF, is a response to these issues.
This gives us an efficient high-yield process that delivers the
highest quality of silicon." "Cadence welcomes SMIC as a new member
of the Power Forward Initiative and their commitment to the success
of the industry," said Dr. Chi-Ping Hsu, corporate vice president,
IC Digital and Power Forward at Cadence. "It is critical for the
semiconductor industry to work closely together to advance
low-power technologies, design, and production solutions." CPF is
an Si2-approved standard format for specifying power-saving
techniques early in the design process-enabling sharing and reuse
of low-power intelligence. The Cadence Low-Power Solution is the
industry's first complete flow that integrates logic design,
verification, and implementation with the Si2-standard Common Power
Format. About Power Forward Initiative The Power Forward
Initiative, which has more than 20 member companies, is an industry
initiative sponsored by Cadence and has the goal of enabling the
design and production of more power-efficient electronic devices.
The initiative includes companies representing a broad cross
section of the design chain including system, semiconductor,
foundry, IP, EDA, ASIC, and design services companies. CPF was
contributed by Cadence to the Si2 Low Power Coalition in December
2006 and CPF 1.0 is now available as an Si2 standard to the
industry at large. Safe Harbor Statements (Under the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) Information provided in
this press release may contain statements relating to current
expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future
events that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements generally relate to the company's plans,
objectives and expectations for future operations and are based
upon management's current estimates and projections of future
results or trends. Actual future results may differ materially from
those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For
a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" in
the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed on June 29, 2007
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These
forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and
we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise. About SMIC Semiconductor Manufacturing International
Corporation ("SMIC"; NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981) is one of the leading
semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and most
advanced foundry in Mainland China, providing integrated circuit
(IC) manufacturing service at 0.35um to 90nm and finer line
technologies. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, SMIC has a 300mm
wafer fabrication facility (fab) under pilot production and three
200mm wafer fabs in its Shanghai mega-fab, two 300mm wafer fabs in
its Beijing mega-fab, a 200mm wafer fab in Tianjin, and an in-house
assembly and testing facility in Chengdu. SMIC also has customer
service and marketing offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and a
representative office in Hong Kong. In addition, SMIC manages and
operates a 200mm wafer fab in Chengdu owned by Cension
Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation and a 300mm wafer fab under
construction in Wuhan owned by Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor
Manufacturing Corporation. For more information, please visit
http://www.smics.com/ About Cadence Cadence enables global
electronic-design innovation and plays an essential role in the
creation of today's integrated circuits and electronics. Customers
use Cadence(R) software and hardware, methodologies, and services
to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics,
networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems.
Cadence reported 2006 revenues of approximately $1.5 billion, and
has approximately 5,200 employees. The company is headquartered in
San Jose, Calif., with sales offices, design centers, and research
facilities around the world to serve the global electronics
industry. More information about the company, its products, and
services is available at http://www.cadence.com/ . For more
information, please contact: Press Contact: Reiko Chang SMIC
Shanghai Corporate Relations Tel: +86-21-5080-2000 x10544 Email:
Lily Yang Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Tel: +86-21-6122-2358 Email:
DATASOURCE: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
CONTACT: Reiko Chang of SMIC Shanghai, Corporate Relations,
+86-21-5080- 2000 x10544, or ; or Lily Yang of Cadence Design
Systems, Inc., +86-21-6122-2358, or Web site: http://www.smics.com/
http://www.cadence.com/
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