X Initiative Gains Momentum
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 11/1/2001
Marking a significant milestone reached in only four months since its inception, the X Initiative announced last month that eight companies have joined the semiconductor supply chain consortium, bringing its total membership to 23. The new members join those already signed on in supporting the X Initiative's charter to facilitate and accelerate the industry's adoption of the X Architecture. The X Initiative is chartered with accelerating the availability and fabrication of the X Architecture, an interconnect architecture based on the pervasive use of diagonal routing that will enable chipmakers to realize simultaneous benefits in chip performance, cost and power consumption.
The new X Initiative members comprise suppliers of electronic design products and services, intellectual property and photomasks. They include MicroArk Co. Ltd. (Tokyo); Monterey Design Systems Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.); NurLogic Design Inc. (San Diego); Photronics Inc. (Jupiter, Fla.); Prolific Inc. (Newark, Calif.); Silicon Logic Engineering Inc. (Eau Claire, Wis.); SiliconMap LLC (Livermore, Calif.); and Virage Logic Inc. (Fremont, Calif.).
Together with the companies previously committed to participating in the X Initiative, these latest additions give the X Initiative the distinction of having as members the world's top three suppliers in several important markets, including standard-cell IP and photomasks. "This momentum validates the potential of the X Architecture. These companies are well-positioned as early adopters to reap the reward of market share as the technology moves into the mainstream," said Jan Willis, X Initiative steering group facilitator and vice president of business development at Simplex. "The initiative will continue to facilitate early leverage for its members through projects like the recent DuPont Photomasks and Numerical Technologies experiments."
DuPont Photomasks Inc. used existing photomask production equipment to successfully write and inspect an X Architecture test mask, based on Simplex-generated design data. Numerical Technologies Inc. processed the first X Architecture photomask data with optical proximity correction, also based on design data provided by Simplex. For more information, see www.xinitiative.org.
