Sonics' On-Chip Network Licensed by Toshiba for High-Performance Video Solutions

SonicsSX Provides High-Quality, High-Definition Video Support for SoCs

MILPITAS, Calif.-- November 4, 2009 --Sonics, Inc.®, a premier supplier of intelligent on-chip communications solutions, said today that Toshiba Corporation has licensed SonicsSX, a high-performance on-chip network, targeted at video-based SoCs (system-on-chips). This latest license represents an extension of Toshiba’s adoption of Sonics’ technology for its next-generation SoC designs. SonicsSX is Sonics’ highest performance product with up to 16GB/s bandwidth per port and is ideal for solving the data throughput requirements of today’s powerful video SoCs. Leveraging Sonics’ industry-leading technology, Toshiba has designed multiple generations of SoCs for key applications ranging from digital television systems to application processors for cell phones and video game engines.

“Sonics is a valued partner and its on-chip network expertise has been key to our next-generation SoC design initiatives,” said Takashi Yoshimori, Assistant Chief Technology Executive of SoC Design/Application. “During our long-standing partnership, Sonics’ support of our system LSI programs has been invaluable. Sonics SoC solutions helped us rapidly achieve the performance goals for our video-intensive applications.”

“As a worldwide leader in digital consumer products, Toshiba understands the advantage of using an SoC platform that provides performance, ease-of-integration, time-to-market benefits and true IP reuse,” said Jack Browne, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Sonics. “We look forward to our continued collaboration as Toshiba expands its home entertainment innovations around the globe.”

First introduced in July 2008, SonicsSX accelerates video performance and eases global integration of IP cores and subsystems onto a single chip. To address increased processing for high-quality, high-definition video, SonicsSX offers network-on-chip (NoC) capabilities for higher operating clock frequencies, native support for 2D data transactions and an expanded data bus width to 256 bits. It also contains Sonics’ Interleaved Multichannel Technology (IMT), enabling SoC architectures to transition from single to multiple DRAM channels, or multichannel, while automatically balancing the traffic among the channels.

SonicsSX has built-in security features that provide protection for digital media and its low-power circuitry ensures extremely low active power for mobile battery-powered applications.

The SonicsStudio™ Development Environment supports SonicsSX for quick SoC architecture and performance analysis. Developers have the advantage of completing data flow analysis during the architecture phase of product development rather than in later stages of product completion. This provides quicker integration with software and shorter overall product development schedules.

About Sonics

Sonics, Inc. is a pioneer of network-on-chip (NoC) technology and today offers SoC designers the largest portfolio of intelligent, on-chip communications solutions. Sonics’ products optimize memory access, seamlessly manage on-chip network traffic, accelerate system performance and reduce power consumption in SoCs with advanced voice, data and video features—including those found in home entertainment, networking, wireless and mobile devices. With a broad array of silicon-proven IP, Sonics helps designers eliminate memory bottlenecks associated with complex, high-speed SoC design, streamline and unify data flows and solve persistent network challenges in embedded systems with multiple cores. As the leading supplier of on-chip communications networks for the embedded market, Sonics has enabled its customers to ship more than 500 million units worldwide. Founded in 1996, Sonics is headquartered in Milpitas, Calif. with offices worldwide. For more information, please visit www.sonicsinc.com and www.sonicsinc.com/blog.