Mike Seither
Xilinx, Inc.
(408) 879-6557
mike.seither@xilinx.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN JOSE, Calif., February 3, 1997--Xilinx, Inc., (NASDAQ:XLNX) today unveiled a product roadmap that points to delivery this year of high density field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices manufactured using advanced deep submicron process technologies.

In January Xilinx began shipping samples of the company's first FPGA devices using 0.35 micron process technology: the XC4062XL, XC4036XL and XC4013XL parts. During the second quarter of 1997 Xilinx expects to have a family of three-layer metal 0.35 micron devices. The 10-member XC4000XL family will comprise devices ranging in density from 5,000 to 85,000 gates, all operating at 3.3 volts with 5-volt tolerant I/Os.

In a statement of direction, the company also said its expects to ship this year products that will be manufactured with more advanced five-layer metal 0.25 micron technology. Samples are expected during the summer of 1997 of a 0.25 micron FPGA device offering 36,000 logic gates, with a 125,000-gate device to follow shortly thereafter. The devices will operate at 2.5 volts at the core voltage level, while the I/Os will operate at 3.3 volts and 2.5 volts, and tolerate 5-volt signals.

If technical advancements with CMOS process technology continue at their current pace, the company said it could be possible to manufacture FPGA devices with two million gates by the year 2001.

Xilinx released a white paper, "The Future of FPGAs," in conjunction with the company's statement of direction for high density programmable logic products. Among other topics, the white paper provides an analysis of the coming voltage migration that will confront digital designers. For more than 20 years, the white paper points out, 5 volts has been the standard supply voltage for most electronic components, including FPGAs. Design engineers could expect predictable gains in price and performance without having to change designs to accommodate smaller and faster versions of an FPGA as the devices were manufactured with successively finer processes, moving from 3.0 micron to 2.0 micron, then 0.8, 0.6 and finally 0.5 micron. But future generations of FPGAs, and all other semiconductors manufactured with 0.35, 0.25 and 0.18 micron processes, will require incremental moves to lower voltages. This will force the issue of ever-changing supply voltages into customers' design and product life cycle assumptions.

Xilinx said that its product strategy calls for devices that will have voltage compatibility with the previous two generations of products. The new 3.3-volt Xilinx XC4000XL products which are now sampling, and the 2.5-volt products slated for shipment later this year, can co-exist in 5-volt environments.

Going forward, Xilinx plans to set forth a new methodology, also detailed in the white paper, for measuring the logic density of FPGAs. The new density metric is based on logic cells that typically consist of a 4-input look-up table and one flip flop. The company said this method will make it possible for customers to make meaningful comparisons of competing products. The goal is to end the confusion caused by programmable logic vendors who include on-chip RAM to arrive at inflated gate densities.

Xilinx said the new XC4062XL device, when measured using logic cells, is currently the industry's largest FPGA device. The Xilinx XC4085XL device, the flagship product in the company's new 3.3-volt family planned for shipment this summer, is expected to offer 40 percent more density than the XC4062XL device, while the denser 2.5-volt device scheduled for sampling later this year has been designed to offer twice as much density as the XC4062XL device.

In addition, Xilinx said its HardWire program will support the company's new, higher density devices for customers who require a migration path to a mask programmable solution in order to achieve the lowest possible cost. The Xilinx roadmap includes fully compatible 3.3-volt HardWire devices in 1997 and 2.5-volt HardWire devices in 1998. HardWire devices are guaranteed to be fully logic- and pin-compatible with their FPGA counterparts at ASIC-like prices, and they eliminate the need for customers to write test vectors or perform timing simulations as part of the conversion process.

Xilinx also plans to announce the general availability of a new software platform that supports very high density designs and features ASIC-like design flows and hooks to synthesis. The software, now in the hands of selected users, is scheduled for general availability later in 1997.

The foregoing statements regarding the company's product plans and products in development, the anticipated timing of product introductions and expected industry trends are forward-looking statements, and actual results could vary significantly as a result of the risk factors listed below. The success of the new products is dependent upon several factors, including timely completion of new product designs, achievement of acceptable manufacturing yields and market acceptance of the resulting products. In addition, changes in customer needs, changes in process or design technology, or product announcements by the company's competitors, all of which are outside of the company's control, could reduce demand for the company's products.

Should the company be unable to successfully complete development of the foregoing products on a timely basis, if the company's suppliers are unable to successfully manufacture such products in volume and with acceptable yields, or if such products do not obtain market acceptance due to competitive or other factors, the company's operating results would be adversely affected.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 electronics and high reliability/military markets. For more information on Xilinx, access the World Wide Web site at http://www.xilinx.com.

Take a self-guided slide presentation--with full audio capabilities--by Xilinx President and CEO, Wim Roelandts will be available from this web site discussing Xilinx's Roadmap.

Note to editors: Xilinx is a registered trademark of Xilinx, Inc. All XC-prefix product designations and HardWire are trademarks of Xilinx, Inc. Other brands or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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