Faraday Expands Into High-performance Application ICs with its Hard Core CPU Technology

FA5 and FA6 CPU Cores Enable the Next Generation SoC Solutions at UMC 0.18µm and 0.13µm CMOS Technologies

HSINCHU, Taiwan and Sunnyvale, Calif. – June 27, 2005 -- Faraday Technology Corporation, (TAIEX: 3035), a leading ASIC and silicon IP provider, today announced that Faraday has expanded its next generation SoC solutions based on ARMv4 ISA compatible RISC CPU cores, namely the FA510, FA526, and FA626. The extension means Faraday shall further expand into the rapidly bourgeoning sphere of high-performance application ICs for networking, multimedia, data storage, and other purposes with CPU-embedded technologies.

“Faraday licensed ARMv4 ISA to start with our first CPU core in 2002; since then, we have been working earnestly in the development of the CPU embedded application ASICs. The resulting devices combine multiple FA5 and FA6 CPU cores in platform solutions that encompass networking, multimedia, and Wireless LAN applications. With the platform solution architecture, these CPU embedded devices make use of all the leading edge IPs provided by Faraday, including embedded memories, I/Os, MPEG4, Audio Codec, WirelessLAN, PCI Express, etc.,” said George Hwang, vice president of R&D & Marketing at Faraday. “We are looking forward to having prosperous ASIC design wins with our CPU embedded technologies,” added Mr. Hwang.

Faraday has always been known as a quality company with an eye for innovation. Its commitment towards the development of multimedia, audio, portable device, and Security/VPE appliance ICs is just one of the many reasons it has shine above its competitors. Another thing that impressed so many of its customers is Faraday's worldwide presence and ability to inject its application platform ASIC experience and IP integration into its embedded system designs. Faraday's unique competitiveness is the reason for Faraday's success in helping customers to compete and survive in the ever changing environment.

Faraday FA5 & FA6 Hard Core and CPU embedded Platform

Faraday FA5 and FA6 CPU cores have been embedded in a variety of application platforms which are proven by UMC CMOS process. The hard cores and the platforms give designers more performance and greater flexibility to achieve higher system throughput while controlling silicon cost. The flexibility and re-programmability enable upgrades in software as protocol specifications or market requirements evolved, and hence offer a tremendous price-performance advantage to SoC designers.

Currently, FA5 and FA6 have been implemented at different instruction/data cache size for 0K/0K, 4K/4K, 8K/4K, 8K/8K, 16K/8K, 16K/16K, 32K/32K at UMC 0.25µm, 0.18µm, and 0.13µm CMOS processes. These hard cores are also proven at different application platforms, including Multimedia, Networking, Storage, industrial controller applications, etc.

About Faraday Technology Corporation
Faraday Technology Corporation is a leading silicon IP and fabless ASIC vendor. The company's broad IP portfolio includes 32-bit RISC CPUs, DSPs, and PHYs/Controllers for USB 2.0, Ethernet, Serial ATA and PCI Express. With more than 500 employees and 2004 revenue of US$159 million, Faraday is one of the largest fabless ASIC companies in the Asia-Pacific region, and it also has a significant presence in other world-wide markets. Headquartered in Taiwan , Faraday has service and support offices around the world, including the U.S. , Japan , Europe, and China . For more information, please visit: http://www.faraday-tech.com