Ann Duft
Xilinx, Inc.
(408) 879-4726
ann.duft@xilinx.com

Kathy Keller
Oak Ridge Public Relations
(408) 253-5042
kathy.keller@oakridge.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
XILINX SHIPS INDUSTRY'S FIRST COMPLETE 
PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC REED-SOLOMON SOLUTION 
FROM ALLIANCECORE PROGRAM
Xilinx Core Solutions program now includes over 60 cores 
and supporting developing tool products 
as part of the largest and most successful core program 
in the programmable logic industry
 
SAN JOSE, Calif., September 8, 1997--Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) today announced availability of the first complete Reed Solomon (RS) solution that includes both decoder and encoder cores. Additionally the company announced the availability of five new LogiCOREs, including a 16-bit 1024-point Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) cores. When implemented in an XC4013 HardWire device, the 1024-point FFT solution is nine dollars in production volume. 

"The Reed Solomon decoder and the FFT and DFT cores are the latest offerings in the progression of Xilinx CORE solutions that offer complete design solutions for our users," said Rich Sevcik, Xilinx senior vice president software. "These new products are optimized for Xilinx FPGA devices and in some cases require half the logic resources used by implementations for competing programmable logic devices." 

First RS decoder for the programmable logic industry 

This is the first time an RS decoder core has been available for programmable logic and is targeted at systems with data error detection/correction requirements. The core implements the full functionality of a general RS decoder and all necessary interface circuitry using a single Xilinx FPGA. The core has been fully tested across a wide range of parameter settings using input sequences compatible with many international digital video, audio, and satellite standards. 

Both decoder and encoder cores are sold and supported directly by Integrated Silicon Systems, Ltd., (ISS) Belfast, Northern Ireland, as part of the Xilinx AllianceCORE program. The parameterized design allows ISS to rapidly configure the cores for a wide variety of customer applications; these include digital video, audio, and satellite broadcast, and data storage and retrieval systems such as CD-ROM and Digital Video Disk (DVD). 

FFT and DFT LogiCOREs use less logic resources 

Jointly developed with RICE Electronics, Florissant, Mo., the FFT and DFT LogiCOREs employ up to 70 percent less logic resources than other programmable logic implementations. "This is a direct result of the Xilinx architectural features such as segmented routing and distributed RAM, that are especially advantageous for DSP applications," continued Sevcik. 

The FFT and DFT cores perform transforms twice as fast as any processor-based design currently announced—as fast as 30 microseconds for a 1024-point FFT. These cores can efficiently implement multiple channels in a single FPGA, unlike any other solution available today. Further, unlike dedicated processor applications requiring multiple processors to improve performance, the Xilinx-based DSP solution only requires the designer to migrate to a higher density FPGA. Footprint compatibility options exist to eliminate board layout changes. 

Like all Xilinx DSP LogiCOREs, the FFT and DFT cores deliver the same high performance across the entire density range of the Xilinx XC4000 family. Competitive non-segmented architectures suffer performance degradation in larger devices. Common applications for this core include high-speed modems; telephony applications such as digital subscriber loops; medical and scientific instrumentation; signal compression/decompression; and a variety of military applications. 

AllianceCORE and LogiCORE background 

These new cores continue the momentum behind the Xilinx AllianceCORE and LogiCORE programs. Announced in February 1997, the AllianceCORE program involves partnerships with third-party intellectual property (IP) developers to deliver complete, pre-implemented, system-level building blocks that have been tested and verified in Xilinx programmable logic devices. Today, 18 AllianceCORE partners are developing cores specifically for use in Xilinx programmable logic in such diverse areas as networking, telecommunications, computers, and DSP applications. 

Products in the LogiCORE program are pre-implemented and verified system level logic functions sold and supported directly by Xilinx. The company was the first programmable logic supplier to adopt the concept of cores for FPGAs with the LogiCORE PCI interface. Through it, Xilinx has gained notable experience developing, selling, and servicing FPGA cores. 

Pricing and availability 

All of these cores are available today. Datasheets can be downloaded from the Xilinx website at www.xilinx.com/products/logicore/tblcores.htm. The FFT and DFT cores are available free of charge directly from Xilinx. For more information, send email to: dsp@xilinx.com. The Reed Solomon core is available from ISS. For more information, call ISS at 44-1-232-664-664 or email to: info@iss-dsp.com

Founded in 1984, Xilinx is the world’s largest supplier of programmable logic solutions producing 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, peripheral, 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

 
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 Xilinx is a registered trademark of Xilinx, Inc. All XC-prefix products AllianceCORE, and LogiCORE referenced above are trademarks of Xilinx, Inc. Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. 
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