Silicon Logic Engineering Named as Member of IBM Blue Logic IP Collaboration Program

SLE Provides Crucial Semiconductor Intellectual Property to Mutual Customers

EAU CLAIRE, Wis., Oct. 2, 2002-- Silicon Logic Engineering (SLE), a provider of high-end digital application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and system-on-chip (SOC) intellectual property (IP) and design services, today announced that it has become a member of IBM's Blue Logic IP Collaboration Program.

Established in March 2002, the program enables first-time-right design and rapid time-to-market of chips for advanced electronic systems products. It fosters close working relationships between IBM and select third-party providers to facilitate customer utilization of IP cores that have been proven in IBM Microelectronics' leading ASIC manufacturing technologies. SLE's IP for high-end networking applications has been proven in IBM's leading edge SA-27e 0.18-micron and CU-11 0.13-micron process technologies.

"High-end systems developers are demanding best-in-class third party chip IP that is known to work in leading semiconductor processes," said Jeff West, president of SLE. "Our company has a long history of designing ASICs for the IBM methodology and we are very pleased to be able to offer a new path to customer success by having SLE's IP included in the IBM Blue Logic IP Program."

Recognized by electronics industry analysts as critical to the design and manufacture of the next generation of smaller, faster and less expensive products, third-party IP licensing mechanisms have been developed in recent years to address the burgeoning requirement for specific electronic functions that require in-depth, application-specific design expertise. With the IBM Blue Logic IP Program, third-party IP cores are available for licensing directly from the IBM program members to integrate into ASICs manufactured by IBM.

"The Blue Logic IP Collaboration Program has been well-received by customers, particularly in the high-end and mid-tier ASIC arenas, who require a broad range of design and manufacturing options in order to meet their design and time-to-market goals," said Tom Reeves, vice president, ASIC product group, IBM Microelectronics. "The program increases offerings in the IBM library of technical solutions and helps enable select third party providers, like SLE, to offer their solutions within the IBM Blue Logic design methodology."

The first SLE-developed IP block to be made available under IBM's Blue Logic IP Collaboration Program is the System Packet Interface (SPI)-4, Phase 2. SLE's SPI-4, Phase 2 is a complete solution that includes both the physical and link layers, and incorporates a proprietary real-time tuning algorithm. It is a fully digital, standard cell based implementation that requires no PLLs or DLLs. SLE's SPI-4, Phase 2 is ideal for packet and cell transfer in key applications such as OC-192, Packet over Sonet/SDH, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Developed by the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), the SPI-4, Phase 2 standard is fast emerging as one of the most important integration standards in the history of telecommunications and data networking.

About SLE
SLE is a semiconductor design services company that provides ASIC and system technology services to the world's leading electronic systems and fabless semiconductor companies who require high-end chip design expertise. SLE's ASICBlaster solution dramatically reduces the time it takes its customers to get their products to market by offering a proven and repeatable design process, tools and semiconductor intellectual property (SIP). Founded in 1996 by former Cray Research engineers, SLE is headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.