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Compact Model Council Members Elect HiSIM-RF Surface Potential SPICE Model for Standardization

SANTA CLARA, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/10/2005 -- Silvaco, a leading vendor of commercial circuit simulation and EDA software, today received the great news from the Compact Model Council (CMC) that the HiSIM-RF Surface Potential SPICE Model was elected by its members for standardization. The HiSIM-RF model was developed at Hiroshima University, a leading Japanese research institution in SPICE model development. Silvaco has always endorsed the HiSIM-RF model throughout its evolution and development.

"We congratulate the HiSIM-RF development team that won this competition among several very qualified candidates," said Dr. Ivan Pesic, CEO of Silvaco. "I believe that the model's accurate surface potential algorithms, high performance integrated derivatives, and Berkeley-style interface for ease of integration were some of the key features that CMC members were seeking in their next generation compact model."

The current industry standard BSIM3 and BSIM4 models, while very successful over the past decade, are not able to accurately model the behaviors of technologies at 90nm and below. The CMC believes that a new standard MOSFET model is now needed, one that is inherently symmetric, continuous, and physically correct for charges and currents.

The CMC examined many qualified MOSFET model candidates and voted down to two finalists for standardization. The second finalist was the PSP model from Philips and the University of Pennsylvania.

The Compact Model Council is a group of 27 voting companies that was formed in August 1996 for the purpose of promoting the international, nonexclusive standardization use and implementation of compact models. Compact models are mathematical descriptions (equations) of semiconductor devices used by analog circuit simulators. Integrated circuit designers and printed circuit board designers use circuit simulators to accurately predict the behavior of electronic devices before the devices are manufactured.

Silvaco Analog/Mixed-Signal/RF Circuit Simulators

As a leading commercial SPICE vendor, Silvaco sponsored the HiSIM-RF model. Silvaco successfully integrated the model into its SmartSpice Circuit Simulator, SmartSpice-RF Harmonic Balance-based Simulator, and Harmony-AMS Mixed-Signal Simulator for model evaluation according to CMC model selection guidelines. Silvaco's UTMOST SPICE Modeling Software with a genetic optimization algorithm was used to extract the model parameters from CMC 90nm device data for member evaluation.

About Silvaco

Silvaco International, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a leading vendor of electronic design automation software (EDA) for the development of analog and mixed signal integrated circuits. Founded in 1984, the company delivers technology computer aided design (TCAD) simulation software, SPICE parameter extraction, circuit simulation, and physical IC design/verification software products. The company integrates these proven products with experienced support and engineering services to provide complete semiconductor process, device and design automation solutions in CMOS, bipolar, SiGe, and compound technologies. Worldwide customers include leading foundries, fabless semiconductor companies, integrated semiconductor manufacturers, universities, and designers of integrated circuits who require the utmost accuracy in their analog designs.

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For more information please contact:

Ken Brock
Vice President, Marketing
Silvaco
408-654-4392
ken.brock@silvaco.com
www.silvaco.com

SOURCE: Silvaco

Altium releases Service Pack 4 for Altium Designer

Altium Designer system significantly extended with over 100 new features and enhancements to improve design team experience

SYDNEY, Australia – June 24, 2005 – Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), a leading developer of Windows-based electronics design software, today announced the release of Service Pack 4 (SP4) for Altium Designer, the single, unified application that incorporates all the technologies and capabilities necessary for complete electronic product development. Available as a free download to existing licensed Altium Designer Nexar, Protel, CircuitStudio and CAMtastic customers, SP4 includes over 100 new features and enhancements to improve collaboration between design teams and make electronic product development faster and more efficient.

The development of the new features and enhancements available within SP4 reflects the close cooperation Altium shares with its Altium Designer community. As a result of this cooperation, SP4 includes a range of new team-targeted features such as document file locking to improve collaborative design. With this feature enabled, documents opened for editing by one designer can be locked to prevent accidental overwriting by other designers, thus improving overall work flow in which a number of designers are working on a single project.

A new ‘Archive Project’ command automatically consolidates all project documents within a compressed zip file. This allows easy movement of the design between PCs, or archiving of a completed project.

At the PCB level, SP4 introduces real-time, 3D component clearance checking when placing parts. Designers can define the extent of components in terms of multiple areas, heights and standoffs, creating a complex 3D ‘envelope’ of the component body. Enhancements to component clearance checking rules allow clearances in all directions to be monitored in real-time during placement, enabling the effective stacking of components compliant with height restrictions.

Schematic editing has been enhanced to include the automation of common rework operations on schematic designs, reducing errors and design time. New commands include ‘Push Part to Sheet’, that makes it easy to replace a component with a sheet symbol, automatically creating an additional subsheet containing the displaced component and maintain overall connectivity. A new ‘Rename Child Sheet’ command allows the user to change the filename of a subsheet and optionally update all sheet symbols in the project or workspace. These commands guarantee the integrity of updates and lessen the risk of errors and the time taken to reorganize a schematic.

“Altium Designer Service Pack 4 is yet another example of Altium’s commitment to responding to our customers needs and bringing the best and latest technology to their design desktops,” said Nick Martin, founder and CEO, Altium. “The powerful features and enhancements included in this service pack improve collaboration within design teams and make the overall electronic product development process easier and more efficient.”

SP4 key features at a glance
.. Improved design team support with the new file locking option
.. Improved project management and portability with the new ‘Archive Project’ wizard
.. New Default Document feature, which allows users to define defaults for all document-kinds, including projects
.. Improved control of the 99SE import process
.. Full 3-dimensional component clearance checking can be performed with introduction of the new Component Body object
.. Enhanced PCB editing, click to select a component or net object on the PCB and that component or net will select in the PCB panel as well
.. Enhanced schematic hierarchy management with the new ‘Push Part to Sheet’ and ‘Rename Child Sheet’ commands
.. Stronger global editing capabilities
.. Click-and-drag component toolbar building
.. Extended HDL design capabilities; the new Altium Synthesizer has been introduced, which supports both VHDL and Verilog (Verilog2001)
.. Improved vendor independence with the addition of support for Lattice EC® and ECP® devices
.. Improved Altera® device support with the addition of support for the Altera® MAX® II devices

Pricing and Availability
Service Pack 4 is available free of charge for immediate download to all existing licensed Altium Designer customers from http://www.altium.com/Products/AltiumDesigner/ServicePacks/. For more information on Altium Designer, visit http://www.altium.com/Products/AltiumDesigner/.
For pricing, please contact your local Altium Sales and Support Center or Reseller, or visit http://www.altium.com/Contacts/SalesOfficesResellers/.

About Altium Limited
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) is a global developer and supplier of electronics design software for the Microsoft Windows environment. Founded in 1985, Altium released the world's first Microsoft Windows–based printed circuit board design tool in 1991, and continues to provide advanced, easy-to-use and affordable software design tools for complete electronic product development to electronics engineers, designers, and developers worldwide. Altium is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and has sales and support offices in Australia, the United States, Japan, Europe and China. For more information, please visit www.altium.com.

Altium, Altium Designer, CAMtastic, CircuitStudio, Design Explorer, DXP, LiveDesign, NanoBoard, NanoTalk, Nexar, nVisage, P-CAD, Protel, Situs, TASKING, and Topological Autorouting and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Altium Limited or its subsidiaries. All other registered or unregistered trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners, and no trademark rights to the same are claimed.

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