Martine Warlop
Xilinx, Inc.
44-1-428-714-720
martine.warlop@xilinx.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

XILINX PARTNERS ANNOUNCE NEW ALLIANCECORE SOLUTIONS AT IP 97 EUROPE SHOW

LONDON, IP 97 Europe, Oct. 21, 1997 -- Xilinx, Inc., (NASDAQ:XLNX), the world’s leading supplier of programmable logic, today announced the availability of several new core products from member companies of the Xilinx AllianceCORE solutions program. The Xilinx solutions program includes industry-leading FPGAs, design software and an array of predesigned cores which enable dramatic improvements in time to market and design productivity. The new core products will be exhibited at the IP 97 Europe show in London this week.

"While cores alone have value, customers also need tools to help them rapidly integrate cores into a design, perform system debug in a real-world environment and then quickly convert the prototype into a production unit," said Roman Iwanczuk, director of the Xilinx CORE Solutions Group. "All of these new cores will be accompanied by Xilinx programmable logic based prototyping boards that allow customers to evaluate the core plus their own logic in hardware before having to perform board layout. This further demonstrates our partners’ commitment to providing complete core solutions to our customers."

The new products include:

· A single-chip DRAM controller core for the Xilinx XC9500 family of CPLDs (complex programmable logic devices) from NMI Electronics Ltd. of Halesowen, England. The controller is designed for high-speed, high-performance applications that require fast and predictable timing and is targeted at embedded point-of-sale, telecommunications, industrial and test systems as well as peripheral equipment such as printers. The NMI DRAM controller can be used with most DRAM types.

In addition, it supports CPU burst mode and operates with most microprocessors. The core is available in source code format for ease of customization for a list price of $4,800. At the IP 97 show, NMI will demonstrate the core in a Xilinx-based hardware demonstration board that it will also sell to customers who want to test the core.

· The GVA-100 Digital Signal Processing Prototyping Platform from GV & Associates of Ramona, California, which features two on-board Xilinx field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and a Texas Instruments TMS320C541 DSP processor. The development system allows DSP algorithms to be implemented in hardware on the Xilinx XC4000E or XC4000XL families of FPGAs or in software on the DSP processor. The system is designed to prototype Xilinx DSP solutions, which combine DSP processing and Xilinx FPGAs to achieve performance levels that are orders of magnitude greater than processor-only solutions. The Xilinx FPGAs can access the DSP processor memory (SRAM) through the use of the bus arbitration circuitry of the TMS320C541. Also, the two Xilinx FPGAs have a 32-bit local bus, which allows for the direct transfer of data between the two devices as well as direct digital access port. An external high stability clock input is also available. More than 30 Xilinx DSP LogiCOREä modules are available to be implemented in the FPGAs on the GVA-100 prototyping system. Pricing begins at $2,300, depending on which Xilinx FPGAs devices are on the board.

· The MDS Development Module from Memec Design Services of Mesa, Arizona, is a printed circuit board which provides a 40-pin DIP socket-compatible footprint for direct replacement of industry standard components using a Xilinx FPGA. The module can be used to evaluate MDS cores in a target system, eliminating the need for custom board fabrication or board relayout. The MDS module contains a Xilinx FPGA and a socketed serial configuration PROM. Contact Memec Design Services for pricing, U.S. telephone (888) 360-9044.

· The Memec Design Services XF8279 programmable keyboard/Display Interface and the XF8256 Multifunction Microprocessor Support Controller cores. The XF8279 core is functionally compatible with the Intel standard 8279 peripheral chip and can be loaded into the MDS Development Module to become a pin-compatible replacement for the obsoleted component.

The keyboard section of the Memec XF8279 core can interface to regular typewriter style keyboards or random toggle or thumb switches. The display section of the core drives alphanumeric displays or a bank of indicator lights. The core is designed to meet or exceed the AC specifications of the Intel 8279, and in most cases, timing specifications can be tightened significantly. The XF 8256 core is a multifunction universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter that combines five commonly used functions into a single device: serial communications, parallel

I/O, timing, event counting and priority interrupt functions. Contact Memec Design Services for pricing.

· The M8259 Programmable Interrupt Controller from ARM Semiconductor (USA), Inc., of Sunnyvale, California. The M8259 controller is functionally compatible with the Intel 8259 part and can be used in most microprocessor and microcontroller systems to control and prioritize interrupts. It can handle up to 8 interrupts with programmable masking and priority for the interrupts. It also can be cascaded with up to 8 more M8259 blocks to handle more than 8 interrupts without any additional logic circuits. List price: $2,250.

All of these products, in addition to more than 60 others from Xilinx and its AllianceCORE partners, are available today. Data sheets can be downloaded from the Xilinx web site at www.xilinx.com/products/logicores/tblcores.htm

Founded in 1984, Xilinx is the world’s largest supplier of programmable logic solutions comprising industry leading device architectures and world class design software. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company pioneered the market for field programmable gate array (FPGA) semiconductor devices that provide high integration and quick time-to-market for electronic equipment manufacturers in the computer, peripherals, telecommunications, networking, industrial control, instrumentation, consumer and high reliability/military markets. For more information on Xilinx, access the World Wide Web site at www.xilinx.com.

--30 –

Xilinx is a registered trademark of Xilinx, Inc. AllianceCORE, XC9500, XC4000E, XC4000XL and LogiCORE are trademarks of Xilinx, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
#9741


© 1998 Xilinx, Inc. All rights reserved
Trademarks and Patents