Icechip: From ECAD to detailed accurate thermal design analysis for IC packages in minutes.

December 22, 2004, Lebanon, NH, USA

Fluent Inc., world leader in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and services, and Harvard Thermal, the industry expert in the use of ECAD-based interfacing for the creation of detailed component and board level thermal analysis, have entered into a technology licensing agreement to embed Harvard Thermal’s PTD product into Icechip, a detailed thermal design software for IC packages to add to Fluent’s suite of tools for electronics design and analysis that include Icepak, Icepro, Iceboard, and Icemax.

“Icepak division of Fluent is focused on delivering the best-in-class suite of design tools to the electronics industry” says Prabhu Sathyamurthy, Director of Icepak division. “This partnership between Fluent and Harvard Thermal will benefit customers seeking detailed thermal design of IC packages, which are becoming increasingly complex in functionality and layout. Icechip is designed to perform detailed thermal analysis inclusive of IC package substrates, traces, vias, non-uniform heat generation, wire bonds, and solder balls. It will also be able to handle all varieties of IC package types including wirebond and flipchip BGAs, stacked die configurations, and Multi-Chip Modules (MCMs).”

Detailed thermal design is a critical challenge in improving the performance and reliability of these devices. Harvard Thermal's direct interface to ECAD tools such as Cadence's APD and Synopsys' Encore and its expertise in thermal solutions of the board and component levels makes this technology very attractive to fit into the vision of a seamless design layout and analysis flow in the electrical, mechanical, and thermal characterization of packages, printed circuit boards, and system.

“Our unique methodology to generate models for complex IC packages gives tremendous depth and flexibility. This flexibility ensures users can handle any package style today and in the future,” said David Rosato, president of Harvard Thermal. “We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Fluent in this industry. The customers will clearly benefit from the use of our technology and its marriage with Fluent's technologies in Icepak. Icechip will dramatically reduce the analysis and characterization process and ensures accuracy by capturing the true geometry generated directly from the EDA software used in the package design process.”

Pricing and Availability Icechip will be available from Fluent Inc. Visit Fluent's Icepak web site for a listing of worldwide offices and distributors. Annual fees include support provided by Fluent and its distributors. For pricing information, please contact Fluent or your local distributor.

About Fluent Fluent is the world's largest provider of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and consulting services. Fluent's software is used for simulation, visualization, and analysis of fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and chemical reactions. It is a vital part of the computer-aided engineering (CAE) process for companies around the world and is deployed in nearly every manufacturing industry. Using Fluent's software, product development, design and research engineers build virtual prototypes and simulate the performance of proposed and existing designs, allowing them to improve design quality while reducing cost and speeding time to market. Fluent's corporate headquarters is located in Lebanon , New Hampshire , USA , with offices in Belgium , England , France , Germany , India , Italy , Japan , and Sweden . Its CFD software is also available around the world through joint ventures, partnerships, and distributors in Korea , Australia , Brazil , China , Taiwan , the Czech Republic , Middle East , and most European countries.

About Harvard Thermal Harvard Thermal provides a cutting edge suite of software solutions for simulating the thermal performance of electronic components and printed circuit boards. These tools directly import data from the electrical design tools resulting in unprecedented accuracy in the models created. Their general purpose tool is used by industry to thermally simulate most any heat transfer problem from satellites to pizza. Harvard Thermal also provides consulting services. Harvard Thermal is located in Harvard, Massachusetts.

Icepak and FLUENT are registered trademarks of Fluent Incorporated.

PTD is a registered trademark of Harvard Thermal Inc.

For more information, contact: Jennifer Correa Fluent Inc. 10 Cavendish Court Lebanon, NH 03766 (603) 643-2600 Ext. 668 jrc@fluent.com