PLDA and Silica Strike pan-Eurpean IP Distribution Agreement

— PLDA, an industry leader in the IP controller market, and Silica, an Avnet Company and one of the leading European distributors of specialized semiconductor products, today announced a distribution agreement for the pan-European region.

"This agreement allows us to expand our IP portfolio for Xilinx FPGAs" explains Andy Thorne, General Manager Xilinx at Silica.. "PLDA has ten years industry experience and a solid reputation. Through this agreement, FPGA designers now have a single source and convenient access to both FPGA silicon and Intellectual Property needs.  Our clients win with access to world-class IP at reasonable prices and shorter product cycles”, Thorne adds.

Silica serves all European countries, and its large customer base allows PLDA to significantly broaden its European reach. "With its excellent reputation, engineering capabilities, and logistics and service backbone, we consider Silica an ideal partner to generate additional growth for our European distribution channels," explains Arnaud Schleich, co-founder and Vice President of Marketing at PLDA.

PLDA offers complete solutions for high-speed busses, including PCI Express, PCI-X, PCI, PXI, and AHB. IP packages include a customization wizard, synthesis files, simulation models, reference designs, BFMs, a software development kit (SDK), complete technical documentation, and technical support provided directly by the design team.

PLDA's growing suite of PCI Express products includes the silicon-proven PCIe IP controller, which has been listed on PCI-SIG's Integrators list since 2004. Today, PLDA has sold over 200 PCI Express licenses and offers two families of PCI Express IP that support x1, x4, and x8 Lanes for Root Port, Endpoint, Bridge, and Switch configurations. "PLDA is the largest provider of IP cores for the logical and transport layers of PCI, PCI-X and PCI Express," according to A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects, published by The Linley Group, Inc. Copyright 2006.

About PLDA

PLDA designs and sells a wide range of ASIC and FPGA interfacing solutions for the PCI and derivative markets (PCI Express, PCI-X, and PCI). The company offers complete solutions to a global market, including IP cores, hardware, software, consulting services, and comprehensive technical support provided directly by the IP designers. For additional information about PLD Applications, please visit www.plda.com.

Founded in 1996 and profitable since its inception, PLDA is privately owned. The company maintains offices in California and France.

About Silica

SILICA, a division of Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA (Europe, Middle-East, Africa), is a highly specialized semiconductor distributor. Silica has 37 sales & marketing offices throughout Europe and provides a broad portfolio of semiconductor products and solutions from world leading suppliers to all market segments in the electronics industry. The company's Web site is located at www.silica.com.