Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS), a world leader in semiconductor design software and SolutionSoft Systems, Inc. (Solution-Soft), the leading provider of Intelligent Data Optimization (IDO) solutions, today announced the general release of Solution-Soft's GDSII and MEBES format data compression technologies as part of Synopsys' CATS® mask data preparation software, the most advanced, full-featured solution available for semiconductor photomask manufacturing.

The seamless integration of GDSII and MEBES data compression technology with CATS software enables designers to read, write and view gdzip and mezip compression files on-the-fly without having to decompress them on disk. This saves online and offline storage costs and network bandwidth while increasing transfer speed and reliability. In addition, with file sizes reaching the terabyte level, these new technologies will help customers to improve their overall processing times.

The gdzip and mezip compressed format has achieved widespread popularity in the semiconductor industry with TSMC, UMC, Chartered Semiconductor, SMIC, Hejian and Tower Semiconductor all supporting this format for their customers' tape-outs worldwide.

"The Tape-out Operations group at Xilinx has been using Solution-Soft's MEBES and GDSII compression tools for several years. With the read and write capability of compressed files now integrated with Synopsys' CATS fracture software, this solution eases our manufacturing preparation burden. Now that we don't have to uncompress files, especially the large MEBES files, we gain a great convenience and a considerable productivity enhancement, as well as save additional investments into infrastructure like file storage servers," said Dr. Wolfgang J. Leitermann, senior manager, Tape-out Operations at Xilinx. "Other advantages are faster transfer time of files to our foundry partners overseas and faster restore times from the archive."

"Solution-Soft recognized the challenge faced by the industry to transfer, manipulate and store the exponentially increasing IC design and fractured files," said Paul Wang, president of Solution-Soft. "In response, we developed the breakthrough compressors gdzip and mezip for the industry standard GDSII and MEBES formats. The combination of Synopsys' CATS software with Solution-Soft's compression technology will give our mutual customers unmatched efficiency in data processing and archiving, will reduce transfer time, and will offer a smaller storage footprint."

"The gdzip and mezip compressors deliver an order of magnitude better compression and smaller files than generic compression tools," said Dr. J. Tracy Weed, director of Product Marketing, Synopsys DFM Products. "The ability to view GDSII and MEBES compressed files while leaving them compressed on disks provides a new enabling capability to the industry which can deliver considerable time and storage savings to customers during their photomask data preparation cycle."

About Solution-Soft

Solution-Soft is the leading provider of Intelligent Data Optimization (IDO) solutions, which address the urgent need for automated management of data in complex networking environments. IDO solutions facilitate automated data selection, compression, movement and redirection that optimize high availability, storage scalability and system performance. The company has developed robust data and information life-cycle management software solutions for corporate data centers and storage system vendors. Solution-Soft boasts more than 1,500 customers, including 3M, AT&T, Boeing, Ford, French Telecom, Hewlett Packard, Merck, TSMC, Chartered Semi, SMIC and UMC. Solution-Soft's market presence is bolstered by partnerships with Citrix Systems, FalconStor, Fujitsu Siemens, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, NetApp, Red Hat, Inc. and Sun Microsystems.

About DFM

Synopsys' Design-For-Manufacturing (DFM) solution reaches beyond the traditional boundaries of EDA by identifying and addressing manufacturing problems early in the design process, all the way from place and route through to physical verification (RET -- resolution enhancement technology), mask optimization and process tuning (TCAD). CATS software is a member of Synopsys' DFM product family. It is the most advanced and fully featured data preparation software available for semiconductor photomask manufacturing, including applications for inspection, metrology and for direct-write-on-wafer. The full suite of Synopsys' DFM products include PSM phase shift technology, Proteus mask synthesis, CATS mask data preparation, SiVL® lithography verification, i-Virtual Stepper™ mask inspection verification and TCAD physics-based simulation products.

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. is a world leader in 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: Solution-Soft, gdzip and mezip are trademarks of SolutionSoft Systems, Inc. Synopsys, CATS and SiVL are registered trademarks of Synopsys Inc. i-Virtual Stepper is a trademark of Synopsys Inc. Any other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Carole Murchison of Synopsys Inc., +1-650-584-4632, or carolem@synopsys.com; or Khyati Shah of Edelman, +1-650-429-2769, or khyati.shah@edelman.com, for Synopsys Inc.; or Michael Morrison of Solution-Soft, +1-408-346-1415, or mmorrison@solution-soft.com.

SOURCE: Synopsys, Inc.

CONTACT: Carole Murchison of Synopsys Inc., +1-650-584-4632, or
carolem@synopsys.com; or Khyati Shah of Edelman, +1-650-429-2769, or
khyati.shah@edelman.com, for Synopsys Inc.; or Michael Morrison of
Solution-Soft, +1-408-346-1415, or mmorrison@solution-soft.com

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