Stratosphere and Cadence Collaborate to Drive 45 Nanometer Design Yield and Performance Higher
Collaboration enables a complete ecosystem for managing impact of process variation on design

San Jose, CA - September 10, 2007 - Stratosphere Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of process and yield characterization and modeling technologies, together with Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NasdaqGS:CDNS - News), the leader in global electronic design innovation, today announced a collaboration to increase 45nm semiconductor device yield by addressing a critical emerging challenge: manufacturing variability. The collaboration meets this challenge with improved process modeling, analysis and implementation flows that allow foundries, IDM's, ASIC and COT designers to increase the quality of their results.

The collaboration uses the new statistical timing analysis features in the Cadence® Encounter® digital IC design platform in combination with sophisticated variability models created by Stratosphere Ozone™ variability modeling environment to significantly improve process variation management, design performance, parametric yield and power consumption at advanced process geometries.

Stratosphere's Ozone™ delivers statistical ProcessIntelligent™ variability models of electrical parameters at device/interconnect/circuit/cell levels. When used within Cadence's SoC Encounter GXL and Encounter Timing System GXL environments, these models support an end-to-end flow from parametric yield measurement, modeling and characterization to design analysis, optimization and final signoff. The result is a comprehensive methodology for 45 nanometer design that minimizes impact of potential systematic (lithography, chemical mechanical planarization) and random variations.

"We have worked very closely with Cadence to develop ProcessIntelligentTM models that help users of the Cadence Encounter® platform to analyze impact of within-die, die-to-die, systematic and random variation on design" stated Prashant Maniar, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Stratosphere Solutions, Inc. "The Cadence-Stratosphere collaboration empowers our mutual customers to significantly mitigate impact of process variation, improve performance predictability, and prevent silicon failures. Such collaboration across the value chain is critical to meeting the demands of cutting-edge electronic design for the foreseeable future."

"At today's nanometer process geometries, predictable timing requires working closely with foundries and semiconductor companies," said Mike McAweeney, vice president of DFM marketing at Cadence. "Stratosphere provides a parametric yield metrology platform to these manufacturers, who in turn produce massive amounts of fab data that can be translated into accurate statistical models. Our collaboration with Stratosphere has produced a comprehensive and seamless flow that helps customers to prevent, analyze and optimize for manufacturing effects and manage process variation."

About Stratosphere Solutions, Inc.

Stratosphere Solutions Inc. is the leading provider of an innovative parametric yield improvement solution including a silicon-proven IP platform and modeling applications empowering customers to reduce impact of variability on performance and parametric yield. The company's customer base includes leading worldwide semiconductor companies building products utilizing processes from 130nm down to 45nm.Corporate headquarters are located at: 155-A Moffett Park Drive, Suite 220, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. Telephone: (408) 215-0074. Facsimile: (408) 744-0121. Email: info@stratosol.com. Website: http://www.stratosol.com.

About Cadence Design Systems, Inc.

Cadence enables global electronic-design innovation and plays an essential role in the creation of today's integrated circuits and electronics. Customers use Cadence software and hardware, methodologies, and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems. Cadence reported 2006 revenues of approximately $1.5 billion, and has approximately 5,200 employees. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world to serve the global electronics industry. More information about the company, its products, and services is available at www.cadence.com.

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Cadence and Encounter are registered trademarks, and the Cadence logo are trademarks, of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Ozone and ProcessIntelligent are trademarks of Stratosphere Solutions Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.