WILSONVILLE, Ore, May 28, 2002 - Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) today announced that the company's Calibre® division has reached an agreement with IMEC, the leading European independent research center in the field of microelectronics, nanotechnology, enabling design methods and technologies for information and communications technologies (ICT) systems, to cooperate on the development of subwavelength microlithography.

IMEC will use the Calibre® resolution enhancement technology (RET) software in a collaborative effort to advance high-numerical aperture (NA) 193-nanometer, and 157-nanometer (nm) microlithography processes. The use of RET software is the only way to enable acceptable chip yield at today's advanced process nodes.

This agreement formalizes the close, informal collaboration between IMEC and Mentor Graphics that has flourished since 1999. Under the terms of the three-year agreement, Mentor Graphics will become a formal member of IMEC's industrial affiliation programs (IIAPs) for the development of high-NA 193-nm and 157-nm lithography and will continue to provide software, training and consulting. This collaboration will also ensure that Mentor Graphics RET keeps up with the demands of sub-100-nm technology.

With today's complex designs, the only way to achieve pattern fidelity is through a variety of mixed-RET recipes. One of the exciting areas of research that Mentor Graphics and IMEC will explore is in the double-exposure dipole decomposition resolution enhancement technique, which uses less expensive binary masks and still achieves very enhanced resolutions, similar to alternating, strong phase shift masking. This makes it a leading candidate for sub-100-nm strong RET.

"Resolution enhancement techniques are critical for subwavelength manufacturing, and we are glad to formalize a relationship that has already proven to be fruitful in our research," said Dr. Luc Van den hove, vice president of IMEC's silicon process technology division. "Because Calibre makes use of all four resolution enhancement technologies, namely optical & process correction, phase-shift mask, scattering bars and off-axis illumination, including the very promising double-exposure dipole decomposition technique for the 70-nm node, our researchers have the tools they need to realize major breakthroughs. This is an important asset for the further developments within our 193-nm and 157-nm optical lithography IIAPs."

Most recently, Mentor and IMEC collaborated on testing the feasibility of gate patterning using 248-nm alternating phase shift masking (PSM) for sub-100-nm technology using Calibre to create a phase shift masked layout. As reported at Photo Mask Japan in 2001, Calibre and IMEC were able to obtain functional isolated gates of 70 and even 50-nm by using extra trimming techniques. It is a priority for IMEC to achieve such small dimensions in advance of the industry in order to develop next-generation architecture and processes.

Back end patterning is another very challenging area for current 100-nm generation and the coming 70-nm generation. In the past year, IMEC researchers have been using the Calibre RET tool suite for applying model-based OPC on metal and vias layers for such technology enabling successful architecture development.

"IMEC has conducted leading-edge research in advanced lithography," said Joseph Sawicki, general manager of the Calibre division of Mentor Graphics. "We are very pleased to formalize our existing relationship and make our tools available to IMEC. In turn, we will benefit from research that ensures RET keeps up with the demands of sub-100-nm technology."

Calibre Physical Verification and Subwavelength Manufacturability Tools

Calibre is the industry's only complete physical verification and subwavelength solution. The Calibre physical verification tool suite, Calibre DRC™ and Calibre LVS™, ensures that IC physical designs conform to manufacturing rules and match the intended functionality of the chip. As the market leader in physical verification tools, Calibre is the industry standard, used in 19 of the world's 25 largest integrated device manufacturers, foundries and deep submicron library providers.

For subwavelength designs, Calibre leverages its hierarchical verification engine to provide a tool suite to add, model and verify layouts for all four RET techniques: optical & process correction (OPC), phase-shift mask (PSM), Scattering Bars (SB) and off-axis illumination (OAI), including the new sub-100-nm capable double- exposure dipole decomposition technique currently being refined for production deployment.

About IMEC

IMEC was founded in 1984 and today is Europe's largest independent research center in the field of microelectronics, nanotechnology, enabling design methods and technologies for ICT systems. IMEC's activities concentrate on the design technology for integrated information and communication systems; silicon process technology; silicon technology and device integration; nanotechnology, microsystems, components and packaging; solar cells; and advanced training in microelectronics. IMEC is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has a staff of more than 1200 people including over 350 industrial residents and guest researchers. IMEC has a 0.13µm 200mm pilot line and is ISO9001 certified. Its revenue of more than 120Meuro is derived from agreements and contracts with the Flemish government and companies, the EC, MEDEA+, the European Space Agency, equipment and material suppliers, and semiconductor and system-oriented companies worldwide. News from IMEC is located at www.imec.be.

About Mentor Graphics Corporation

Mentor Graphics Corporation is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $600 million and employs approximately 3,500 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.

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Mentor Graphics and Calibre are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. Calibre DRC and Calibre LVS are trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, please contact:

Nan Gage
Mentor Graphics
Phone: 503.685.1809
nan_gage@mentor.com

Kara Udziela
Weber Shandwick
Phone: 503.552.3731
kudziela@webershandwick.com

Katrien Marent

Corporate Communication Manager IMEC

Phone: +32 16 28 18 80

Katrien.marent@imec.be