Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS), the world leader in semiconductor design software, today announced the adoption of its Proteus™ optical proximity correction (OPC) software at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) for production at the 130 nanometer (nm) process. Proteus will enable SMIC to obtain OPC results within hours and reduce mask synthesis turn-around-time.

"SMIC is committed to providing our customers with the best service, including high yields and quick turn-around-time," said Dr. Simon Yang, vice president of Logic Technology Development Center of SMIC. "Proteus OPC software helps us better serve our customers."

"Proteus has become critical for achieving the demanding turn-around-time and accuracy that is needed at the leading semiconductor vendors throughout the world," said Sandeep Khanna, vice president of marketing for DFM at Synopsys. "The broad adoption of Proteus throughout the world by leading semiconductor vendors such as SMIC validates the need for our highly scalable, high-accuracy mask synthesis solution for small process geometries."

Proteus plays an increasingly critical role in enabling optical lithography to keep pace with shrinking chip dimensions such as those at 130nm. OPC correction at smaller geometries requires significantly more processing time. Proteus' unique architecture provides near-linear scalability that allows customers to reduce turn-around-time by using inexpensive Linux-based central processing unit (CPU) clusters. Several leading-edge semiconductor companies have deployed Proteus to reduce mask synthesis turn-around-time from days to hours.

About Synopsys DFM

Synopsys offers the industry's most comprehensive RTL-to-Mask DFM solution. Its DFM product family addresses critical yield and manufacturability issues with its software products: Proteus mask synthesis, CATS™ mask data preparation, SiVL® lithography verification, iVirtual Stepper™ mask defect dispositioning and Taurus™ TCAD. Synopsys leverages this expertise through its industry-leading Galaxy™ design platform implementation solution in order to help ensure that designs at 90nm and smaller geometries will meet key manufacturing requirements. Synopsys' DFM product family is the solution-of-choice for 130nm yield sensitive, high-value chips worldwide, 80 percent of all sub-180nm microprocessors, 50 percent of all sub-180nm DRAMs, 80 percent of all sub-180nm FPGA and graphics chips, 75 percent of all sub-180nm cellular baseband chips produced use Proteus, and more than 80 percent of all photomasks produced use CATS.

About SMIC

SMIC (NYSE: SMI)(NYSE: SEHK:)(NYSE: 0981.HK) is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world. As a foundry, SMIC provides integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing at 0.35-micron to 0.13-micron technologies. Established in April 2000, SMIC, a Cayman Islands company, operates three 8-inch wafer fabrication facilities in the Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in Shanghai, and an 8-inch wafer fabrication facility in Tianjin, China. In addition, SMIC is currently constructing 12-inch wafer fabrication facilities in Beijing, China. SMIC's Fab 1 was named one of two "Top Fabs of the Year 2003" by Semiconductor International, a leading industry publication in May 2003. In addition to IC manufacturing, SMIC provides customers with a full range of services, including design services, mask manufacturing and wafer probe test. For more information, please visit http://www.smics.com/ .

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. is the world leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software for semiconductor design. The company delivers technology-leading semiconductor design and verification platforms and IC manufacturing software products to the global electronics market, enabling the development and production of complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). Synopsys also provides intellectual property and design services to simplify the design process and accelerate time-to-market for its customers. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California and has offices in more than 60 locations throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Asia. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/.

NOTE: Synopsys, and SiVL are registered trademarks and Proteus, Galaxy, iVirtual Stepper, and Taurus are trademarks of Synopsys, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

SOURCE: Synopsys, Inc.

CONTACT: media, Jennifer Scher of Synopsys, Inc., +1-650-584-5594, or
scher@synopsys.com; or Sarah Seifertf of Edelman, +1-650-429-2776, or
sarah.seifert@edelman.com, for Synopsys, Inc.

Web site: http://www.smics.com/

Web site: http://www.synopsys.com/