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Corporate Backgrounder


Introduction
Xilinx leads one of the fastest growing segments of the semiconductor industry - programmable logic devices. Xilinx develops, manufactures, and markets a broad line of advanced integrated circuits, software design tools and intellectual property. Customers use the automated tools and intellectual property -- predefined system-level functions delivered as software cores -- from Xilinx and its partners to program the chips to perform custom logic operations.

Founded in 1984, Xilinx pioneered a revolutionary new technology, the field programmable gate array (FPGA), and shipped its first commercial product in 1985. Today, Xilinx fulfills more than half the world demand for FPGAs. Xilinx also markets complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), which are faster than FPGAs for some applications but have fewer logic resources.

Xilinx programmable logic solutions help minimize risks for manufacturers of electronic equipment by shortening the time required to develop and bring new products to market. Customers can design and verify their unique circuits in Xilinx programmable devices much faster than they can by using traditional methods where the logic circuits are fixed once the chip is manufactured. Moreover, because Xilinx devices are standard parts that are ready to be programmed, customers are not required to wait for prototypes or pay large up-front engineering costs, as with fixed logic or ASICs. Xilinx products are used in a wide array of digital electronic applications ranging from wireless base stations to DVD players.

Unlike traditional semiconductor companies that have a few hundred customers, Xilinx has more than 7,500 customers worldwide and more than 50,000 design starts. The company counts among its customers, global leaders such as Alcatel, Cisco Systems, EMC, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Nortel, Samsung, Siemens, Sony, Sun Microsystems and Toshiba.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Xilinx is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: XLNX) with approximately 2,600 employees, with nearly half of its engineers dedicated to software development. Fiscal 2003 was a year of solid financial performance for Xilinx in spite of the sluggish economy and a weak technology sector. According to market research firm Gartner Dataquest, Xilinx is ranked as the 4th largest ASIC company in the world - up from number 5 last year.

Xilinx enjoys a stellar corporate reputation and is widely recognized today as one of best managed and most financially sound high technology companies in the semiconductor industry. In Fortune Magazine's 2003 list of "The Best 100 Companies to Work For", Xilinx ranked #4 nationwide and was the highest-ranking publicly traded company. The San Francisco Chronicle also named Xilinx one of the top 50 companies to work for in Silicon Valley. Xilinx ranked 17 in Business Week's list of 50 best-performing companies in the S&P 500, and one of the 400 best big companies by Forbes. Two of its customers, Cisco and Lucent, named Xilinx supplier of the year.

The Market
Despite a significant downturn in 2001-2002, the semiconductor industry remains an important and dynamic market to watch. Today, semiconductors power just about every type of electronic product, and are expanding into new and previously unimaginable applications that touch and improve our lives everyday.

As a result of the semiconductor industry's diversification beyond traditional end markets - computers and telecommunications - the technology behind chips must be more flexible, adaptable and cost-effective. In the consumer markets, which will fuel much of the industry's future growth, product life cycles are shorter, pricing is extremely aggressive, product lines are more diverse and there are multiple (and changing) standards to support.

Two important trends are driving this expansion of the semiconductor industry: 1) the evolution of advanced manufacturing and process technologies that enable the continuation of Moore's Law and allow new cost efficiencies; and 2) the increasing performance and cost benefits of programmable chips that allow unprecedented levels of customization and flexibility.

Xilinx's business is drawn from a variety of market segments and is becoming more diversified as new and different types of products are adopting programmable technology. A sizeable portion of its revenue comes from the communications market, which is characterized by last minute design modifications and rapidly changing standards. Xilinx chips help to power routers, hubs, network adapter cards, telephone handsets, wireless base stations, cable and DSL modems, line testers and central office switches and metro area networks. Manufacturers of data processing, consumer electronics, industrial control, instrumentation, defense and aerospace products also use Xilinx programmable logic devices. The same characteristics that make programmable technology appealing to the communications sector are also driving growth in other end markets such as consumer, industrial and automotive.

Xilinx's diversification strategies began to pay off in fiscal 2003 as sales from the consumer, industrial and other category increased by 121 percent. In the most recent quarter ending September 2003, sales from this category represented 30% of total sales, up from 37% in the same quarter of fiscal 2003. Xilinx will continue its market diversification strategies in fiscal 2004 through the introduction of new low cost, high performance FPGAs and CPLDs.

Operations
As a "fabless" supplier, Xilinx partners with leading semiconductor manufacturers such as IBM Microelectronics in the U.S. and UMC in Taiwan. Xilinx co-founder Bernie Vonderschmitt, pioneered this strategy that allows Xilinx to focus on designing new product architectures, software tools and intellectual property while having access to the most advanced semiconductor process technologies. Fabless companies have the benefit of being able to focus solely on their core value-add without the burden of the huge capital costs entailed with building and running a chip factory, which can now cost upwards of $2 billion to build. Today, Xilinx is producing programmable logic devices on a state-of-the-art 90 nm .13 micron process and utilizing the cost efficiencies of 300mm wafer manufacturing.

Xilinx's partnership with IBM goes beyond just operational advantages. By working closely together, the two companies have exchanged technology and are providing a whole new level of functionality on a single chip. Combining Xilinx's programmability with IBM's chip making technology enables new system chips that include programmable elements and provide device makers with more flexibility and choices.

Xilinx has manufacturing operations in San Jose and Dublin, Ireland and a major facility in Longmont, Colorado, where much of the company's software development takes place. A facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is dedicated to the development of the company's low-power CoolRunner line of CPLDs as well as intellectual property for FPGAs. Other offices are located in Raleigh, North Carolina, Columbia, Maryland; Austin, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Edinburgh, Scotland; Grenoble, France; and Toronto, Canada. Xilinx also maintains sales and support offices throughout Europe and Asia and in Japan.

Industry Leading ICs
Customer requirements for logic solutions that provide higher speeds, greater logic density and integrated system-level functions continue to drive the demand for Xilinx products. The company currently offers several series of FPGAs and CPLDs that are tailored to meet the requirements of different applications and are often cited as industry-leading solutions. EDN, Electronic Products and EE Product News have all honored Xilinx with product of the year awards. Most recently, Electronic Design named Xilinx's introduction of the SRAM-based FPGA one of the electronic industry's top 50 milestones in the last 50 years. Full details on all Xilinx products are available on the web at www.xilinx.com.

Xilinx FPGAs
The Xilinx Virtex® series has redefined programmable logic by expanding the traditional capabilities of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) with new levels of integration and features that address high performance system design issues. In a single, off-the-shelf programmable Xilinx device, systems architects can take advantage of microprocessors, the highest density of on-chip memory, multi-gigabit serial transceivers, digital clock managers, on-chip termination and more. The result is that Xilinx FPGAs helps designers to simplify board layout, reduce bill of materials, and get products to market faster than ever before.

Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGAs are available with up to four immersed IBM PowerPC™ 405 processors and up to 16 high-speed transceivers that operate at 3.125 gigabits per second. Xilinx Rocket I/O™ transceivers offer a complete serial interface solution, supporting 10 Gigabit Ethernet with XAUI, PCI Express and SerialATA. Each IBM PowerPC in Virtex-II Pro FPGAs run at 300-plus MHz, delivering 450 Dhrystone MIPS, and is supported by IBM CoreConnect™ bus technology. With Virtex-II Pro FPGAs, systems designers can for the first time partition and repartition their systems between hardware and software at any time during the development cycle, even after the product has shipped, and debug hardware and software simultaneously at speed. Virtex-II Pro devices range in density from 3,168 to 50,832 logic cells.

The Xilinx Virtex-II Platform FPGA series delivers the highest performance and highest density of any programmable logic solution available today. The innovative Virtex-II IP-Immersion architecture enables integration of both hard and soft intellectual property (IP), enhanced system memory, and lightning-fast DSP performance, providing the best platform for advanced digital designs in the industry. With densities ranging from 40,000 to eight million-system gates, Virtex-II solutions are empowered by advanced design tools that reduce development time through fast design entry, powerful synthesis, smart implementation algorithms, and efficient verification capabilities.

Virtex-II EasyPath FPGAs
The Xilinx Virtex-II EasyPath FPGA solution leverages specialized testing methods to provide the exact same FPGA used in prototyping in an application-specific form to lower unit costs in volume production. With Virtex-II EasyPath FPGAs, customers have no long ASIC lead times, no timing or pinout changes, no lost feature support, and no risk of design failure.

Xilinx Spartan® FPGAs are ideal for low-cost, high volume applications and are managing costs throughout the product life cycle. Ranging from 50K to 5M system gates, the newest 90nm Spartan-3 platform is the world's lowest cost FPGA with unrivaled price points to address customer demand for low cost solutions. With Spartan-3, Xilinx is poised to address entirely new high volume applications in the "sweet spot" of mid-range ASICs - such as low cost routers, storage servers, medical and industrial imaging, and residential gateways - to significantly expand the total available market for the Spartan
Series.

CPLDs
Xilinx CoolRunner® CPLDs combine very low power with high speed, high density, and high I/O counts in a single device. The latest CoolRunner-II CPLD family, operating at 1.8 volts, uses second generation Fast Zero Power™ (FZP) design technology to provide the best performance with the lowest possible power consumption. CoolRunner-II CPLDs feature a 100 percent digital core, advanced system features support for multiple advanced I/O standards, including LVCMOS, HSTL, and SSTL, over 300MHz performance, and a standby current of less than 100 micro amps. CoolRunner-II CPLDs are available in densities ranging from 32 to 512 macrocells.

The low cost XC9500 CPLDs offer device densities ranging from 36 to 288 macrocells, with versions that operate at 5-volt, 3.3-volt and soon 2.5-volts. XC9500 CPLDs supports ISP, or in-system programming, allowing manufacturers to perform unlimited design iterations during the prototyping phase, extensive system in-board debugging, program and test during manufacturing, and field upgrades. Based on advanced flash memory technology, the XC9500 family provides fast, guaranteed timing, superior pin locking, a full JTAG compliant interface, and 10,000 programming cycles.

Xilinx Integrated Software Solutions
At Xilinx, software tools are a key part of the company's programmable logic solutions. Since its inception, Xilinx has shipped more than 150,000 seats of its ISE development systems to customers worldwide. Today Xilinx offers several lines of tools that are Internet-enabled. These tools allow designers instant and direct access to the technical support area of the Xilinx Web site. Xilinx design tools also are the fastest in the industry. With the latest release of the company's Integrated Software Environment (ISE) version 5.2i tools, customers can compile FPGA designs at a rate of more than 3M gates per hour.

Core Solutions and Algorithms
A wide range of over 300 predefined intellectually property cores are available to implement system-level functions directly in Xilinx programmable logic devices. This intellectual property, available from Xilinx and third-party partners, allows designers to cut design time and significantly reduce risks while having access to the best performing and lowest cost components available. Full information about Xilinx cores is available on-line at www.xilinx.com/ipcenter.

LogiCORE™ products are sold and supported directly by Xilinx and include the latest parallel and serial system interfaces such as PCI, POS PHY Level 4 (PL4), RapidIO, 10 Gigabit Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI), digital signal processing (DSP) functions, and peripheral cores to build processor based systems such as UARTs, Time/Counters, GPIO, WDT, SPI, IIC, and Ethernet MAC 10/100.
AllianceCORE™ modules are sold and supported by a network of third-party developers and are optimized for Xilinx devices. Current AllianceCORE products range from processors and standard peripheral controllers to ATM functions.

The CORE Generator™ tool from Xilinx delivers highly optimized cores that are compatible with standard design methodologies for Xilinx FPGAs. This easy-to-use tool generates flexible, high performance cores with a high degree of predictability and allows customers to download future core offerings from the Xilinx web site. Both Xilinx and independent IP developers can design cores for the CORE Generator tool, which also serves as a cataloging and delivery system for related collateral for all designers using Xilinx. In addition, customers can use the CORE Generator as a platform to develop an internal design reuse methodology for intellectual property developed for Xilinx programmable logic devices.

Field Upgradable Systems
Xilinx CPLD and FPGA technology, combined with our ISE design tools, enable products to be continually improved, even after being deployed to the customer. Many Xilinx customers value field upgradability and cite this as a key reason for the use of CPLDs and FPGAs over ASICs. Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) field repairs and upgrades are an inherent part of a product's life cycle and making changes to hardware is now as easy as upgrading the software. FPGAs have a significant cost advantage to ASICs when a device is being upgraded or replaced by field technicians. There are many ways to deliver a new programming file to the CPLD/FPGA, ranging from doing it manually to utilizing a network to deliver the file, which we call Internet Reconfigurable Logic or IRL. End products benefiting from field upgradability range from cellular base stations / satellite communications systems to emerging network appliances such as multi-use set top boxes, games, security systems and process controllers.

Distribution
To reach its broad customer base, Xilinx has established a worldwide network of independent sales organizations-manufacturer representatives and distributors that it supports through more than a dozen Xilinx sales offices in North America, Europe and Asia.

Service and Support
The Xilinx Global Services organization provides customers with education support and design services plus an automated knowledge database on the web. Xilinx Education Services offers customers a variety of options for in-depth training in the company's programmable logic solutions. Courses are offered at the customer's location as well as at Xilinx offices worldwide. Customers also can choose the Xilinx E-Learning system, which provides scheduled live classes over the Web. Through Xilinx Support Services, customers can also choose direct access to Xilinx's most experienced engineers through the Platinum Technical Service. The Platinum Technical Service provides customers with a dedicated toll free telephone number to reach senior application engineers. Titanium Technical Service allows customers to have access to a dedicated application engineer with expertise in Xilinx tools in support of the customer's back end design flow. Xilinx Design Services brings together the activities of system design, programmable logic design and embedded software development to help customers accelerate product development. Xilinx expert designers can help customers with traditional FPGA designs as well as those planned for the next generation of Platform FPGAs.

Xilinx offers online 24-hour design support through its online support.xilinx.com community. The site features an answers database with more than 4,000 unique design tips, techniques and application notes, interactive forums that allow designers to trade information with their peers, and problem solvers that automatically step customers through the debugging process.

Xilinx augments these services with a team of more than 300 field application engineers (FAEs) throughout North America, Europe and Asia who provide on-site answers and consulting services for customers. FAEs, both from Xilinx and the company's independent sales organizations, are experts in electronic design. They also offer design evaluation of new projects and close consultation through the design process.

Management
Willem P. "Wim" Roelandts, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the Board, joined Xilinx in January 1996. He is responsible for formulating the company's overall strategy and providing the leadership, vision and focus necessary for Xilinx to continue its pace of rapid growth and expansion. Since joining Xilinx, Roelandts has played an increasingly active role in industry affairs. He serves on the board of directors of the Semiconductor Industry Association and the Technology Network, and he is president of the Fabless Semiconductor Association. Roelandts also frequently acts as a keynote speaker at industry conferences and trade shows. He joined Xilinx after a 30-year career with Hewlett-Packard. In his last position there as senior vice president, he was responsible for all aspects of HP's worldwide computer systems business, including research and development, marketing, manufacturing, sales and professional services. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Rijks Hogere Technische School in Belgium.

Sheri Anderson, vice president and Chief Information Officer, joined Xilinx in 2001. Anderson is responsible for the computer systems, networks, databases and management information systems, which support the company's business strategy and link Xilinx closely with its partners and customers. Anderson came to Xilinx from Novell, Inc. where she served as the General Manager and Senior Vice President of Customer Services. She began there in 1995, and was the CIO for five years. Prior to her work at Novell, Anderson held executive positions with leading companies including Non-Stop Logistics Corporation, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Wells Fargo Banks, N.A., Electronic Data Systems and Remedy Corporation. Additionally, Anderson serves on various technical advisory committees and industry associations. Anderson earned her bachelor's degree in Economics from Stanford University in 1976.

Ivo Bolsens, vice president and chief technology officer (CTO), joined Xilinx in 2001 and is responsible for identifying Xilinx technologies and talent as well as heading up the Xilinx Research Laboratories, which focuses on advanced research in the area of programmable logic. Bolsens comes from the Belgium-based research center IMEC, where he was for 17 years, serving as vice president of information and communication systems. Since 1999, he was also professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Bolsens earned his master's degree in electrical engineering and his Ph.D. in applied science from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. He is author and co-author of more than 100 papers in the field of VLSI design, CAD, embedded system design and wireless communication and is also co-author of the book, "High Level Synthesis for Real Time Digital Signal Processing."

Kris Chellam joined the Company in July 1998 as Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining the Company, he served at Atmel Corporation as Senior Vice President and General Manager of a product group from March to July 1998 and as Vice President, Finance and Administration, and Chief Financial Officer from September 1991 through March 1998. Mr. Chellam also serves as a director of At Road Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDZ)

Erich Goetting, vice president and general manager of Advanced Products is responsible for all marketing and business activities in that organization. As the former vice president of engineering at Xilinx, Erich was responsible for FPGA research and development. Goetting led the development of the Virtex FPGA product family. Before joining Xilinx in 1989, Goetting held management and technical positions at Bell Laboratories, Hughes Electro-Optic and Data Systems, and Exel Microelectronics. He holds 22 patents in the areas of programmable logic and CMOS integrated-circuit design. Goetting earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in finance from the Wharton School of Business. He also received a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Southern California.

Steve Haynes serves as vice president of worldwide sales, at Xilinx. He joined Xilinx in 1987 as a regional sales manager in the Northeast, was promoted to area sales director in 1988, and served as vice president, North American sales, from 1995 to 1998. Haynes has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience in the semiconductor industry, including tenure at National Semiconductor and Silicon Systems. He earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Denver in Denver, Colo.

Patrick Little, serves as vice president and general manager of the CPLD business unit at Xilinx. As head of the CLPD division, Little is responsible for overseeing all aspects of CPLD product design, operations, product planning and software processes. He has over 15 years of operating experience in the semiconductor and consumer industries and was most recently president and CEO of Believe, Inc., a computer graphics IC company he founded with the top-ranked venture firm, Crosspoint Venture Partners. He began his career in 1987 as a hardware design engineer at Wyse Technology, Inc. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from San Jose State University and completed postgraduate work in finance and marketing at the University of California, Berkeley.

Clay Johnson, general manager of General Products, is responsible for all marketing and business activities in that organization. Previously, he was vice president of FPGA business development. He joined Xilinx in 1990 and previously served as vice president of worldwide service and support and vice president and general manager of the Hardwire/High Reliability Division. Earlier, he worked as European marketing manager and director of support. Before joining Xilinx, Johnson was director of customer support at Daisy Systems Corp. and a product engineer at Advanced Micro Devices. He earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Don Mullikin, serves as vice president of the Global Services, where he is responsible for a broad range of services that Xilinx provides for customers worldwide. Those include technical support for applications and products as well as customer education and design services. Mullikin joined Xilinx in 1995 and was responsible for the company's North America technical support organization. From 1988 to 1995 he served in sales and management roles at Texas Instruments, where he most recently was responsible for developing and managing the corporate technical support operation. Mullikin earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Villanova University.

Boon C. Ooi, vice president of worldwide operations, is responsible for all aspects of worldwide manufacturing, including supply chain and supplier relationships, quality assurance, and product testing, reliability and packaging. He joined Xilinx in 2003 from Intel Corp., where spent over 25 years and most recently served as vice president of the corporate technology group, and director of operations. Ooi earned his Affiliate from Chartered Management Accountants, in the UL in 1978 and his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix, Ariz., in 1992.

Richard Sevcik, senior vice president and general manager of FPGA Products, is responsible for ensuring the delivery of the most cohesive hardware and software products in the industry. Sevcik also is responsible for the direction of the Global Service division. Sevcik earlier was in charge of the Intellectual Property cores, Software and Services Group at Xilinx. He was appointed the Xilinx Board of Directors in April 2000. He joined Xilinx in 1997 from Hewlett-Packard, where he had served as group general manager of HP's Systems Technology Group. Sevcik received his bachelor's degree in engineering physics from the University of Illinois and his master's in solid state physics from Northwestern University.

Sandeep Vij, vice president of worldwide marketing, has overall responsibility for all marketing activities involving the company's programmable logic solutions. Earlier he served as director of FPGA marketing at Xilinx and as general manager of General Products. He joined Xilinx in 1996 from Altera Corp., where he worked for more than five years in a number of product marketing roles. Before that he held various engineering and marketing positions at General Electric Co. He has a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from San Jose State University.

Evert Wolsheimer, vice president of quality and reliability, Wolsheimer oversees the corporate quality methodology for the design, manufacture, training, measurement, and post sale customer support of Xilinx products. Wolsheimer previously served as vice president and general manager of Xilinx's CPLD business, overseeing product planning, design, software, operations and marketing. He joined Xilinx in 1991 as director of technology development. Prior to Xilinx, Wolsheimer was manager of technology development at LSI Logic and held several marketing and R&D management positions at Philips. He has three US patents at Xilinx and has published numerous papers for industry conferences and technical trade journals. Wolsheimer holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from Delft University in the Netherlands. He also serves on the board of directors for the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA).

Peg Wynn serves as vice president of worldwide human resources at Xilinx and is responsible for worldwide staffing, employee relations, training, organizational development, compensation, and benefits. Wynn joined Xilinx in 1998 as a human resources director and was responsible for international human resources and strategic planning. She served from 1993-1998 with Winning By Design, Palo Alto, California, as a principal consultant working with international clients on strategic planning and productivity improvement as well as large-scale change management programs. Wynn also served with Intel Corp. for 13 years in a variety of human resources, engineering and corporate consulting positions. Wynn received her bachelor's of science degree from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1974.

Bernard V. "Bernie" Vonderschmitt, co-founder and chairman emeritus, is a respected industry veteran with an extensive semiconductor background who served as chief executive officer at Xilinx until January 1996. He is the 2002 recipient of the Fabless Semiconductor Association's Morris Change Award for Exemplary leadership. Before co-founding Xilinx in 1984, he spent three years as vice president and general manager of Zilog's component division. Earlier, he held similar responsibilities with the solid-state division of RCA, where he worked for 20 years helping the company establish several major agreements with Japanese firms. He earned his MBA from Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and MS in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Headquarters
2100 Logic Drive
San Jose, CA 95124
Main Tel (408)559-7778 or (800) 4XILINX

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