D2S Taps Semiconductor EDA Veteran to Serve as Vice President of Engineering

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- D2S™, an emerging supplier of computational design platforms, today announced that it has hired Stephen Meier as vice president of engineering.  A 24-year veteran of the semiconductor industry with senior management stints at Intel and Synopsys, Meier will lead D2S' engineering team in developing the company's model-based mask data preparation (MB-MDP) technology.  MB-MDP is a design for e-beam (DFEB) approach that uses overlapping variable shaped beam (VSB) shots to enable the production of complex and higher-resolution masks with enhanced accuracy and within reasonable write times—making cost-effective optical lithography for the 20-nm node possible.

"Stephen brings a wealth of software management experience and advanced-node semiconductor knowledge to D2S, which will be essential to developing innovative solutions like our MB-MDP technology to support the need for e-beam technology for all leading lithographic approaches for the 20-nm node and beyond," stated Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, the managing sponsor of the eBeam Initiative.  "Stephen's appointment complements the role of Bill Lee as vice president, sales, to round out the management team.  Both Stephen and Bill are known for their outstanding ability to work with global customers to ensure product readiness."

Previously, Meier worked for 16 years at Synopsys, where he most recently served as vice president of R&D in charge of the company's flagship product IC Compiler, which he helped drive from inception to market leadership.  Meier also held key management roles overseeing other leading Synopsys product lines, including Design Compiler, Physical Compiler, VCS and Magellan.  Prior to joining Synopsys, Meier was an R&D project leader at Intel, where he led the development of the company's physical design tools and was recognized for his contribution to the design of the i486 microprocessor.  Meier received his master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.

"I'm thrilled to be joining D2S, which is pioneering MB-MDP technology to make 20-nm optical lithography economical," stated Meier.  "This is an exciting time to be coming on board with this team—when skyrocketing mask costs and complexity for leading-edge semiconductor designs are creating opportunities for D2S and its partners to enable the production of realistically priced masks that yield reliably at the 20-nm node and beyond."

About D2S, Inc.

D2S is an emerging company providing a computational design platform to maximize existing e-beam technology to reduce mask costs for both low- and high-volume applications.  D2S advanced design-for-e-beam (DFEB) mask solution reduces mask write times for high-volume designs with complex and circular features using existing e-beam mask writing equipment.  D2S DFEB direct write solution virtually eliminates the costs of masks for low-volume applications and can speed time-to-market by shortening the design-to-lithography process flow.  D2S is the managing sponsor of the eBeam Initiative.  Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company was founded in 2007.  For more information, see: www.design2silicon.com.

D2S™ is a trademark of D2S, Inc.

SOURCE D2S, Inc.