ANST Ansoft Corp (MM)

Panasonic and Ansoft Corporation (NASDAQ:ANST) have released a new design kit for Any Layer Interstitial Via Hole (ALIVH) Board for Nexxim�, HFSS� and Ansoft Designer�. The design kit can be used together with Panasonic surface mount technology (SMT) components, such as varistors and common mode noise filters. Engineers designing high-performance HDMI signal lines can utilize this design kit to ensure the signal quality of the digital signal content. The kit is equipped with scalable differential and common mode elements that can be applied in circuit- and system-level simulations to produce realistic waveforms. �Panasonic is pleased to complement Ansoft�s powerful simulation technologies with an ALIVH Design Kit together with our most advanced surface mount components,� said Mr. Naoto Okamura, group leader, Device Application Center at Panasonic. �We look forward to expanding all the possibilities with Ansoft for board design to extend the library in the future to include LCR composites, noise suppression components, baluns, SAW devices and power supplies to benefit our mutual customers.� Panasonic�s ALIVH technology has several unique features. Engineers can design circuit boards that are more compact because via holes can be placed in all layers of the board. These compact board designs allow engineers to add greater circuit functionality due to the increased real estate and to shorten the effective trace length for high-speed signal circuits, resulting in greater performance. Lighter weight is achieved by applying non-woven aramid reinforcement and via holes free of copper plating. ALIVH board applications include portable communication information terminal devices, such as cellular phones and PDA; small-sized electronic equipment, such as digital video cameras; and package substrate, such as multi-chip modules (MCMs). The Panasonic ALIVH Design Kit is available in scalable form, allowing users to modify board stack-ups to maximize the performance of printed circuit boards based on the Panasonic ALIVH technology. Panasonic ALIVH Board and device models are reputed for their accuracy and robustness, and all extracted parasitic elements and coupling have been verified to converge under all operating conditions. The design kit is available from Panasonic�s Web site (http://industrial.panasonic.com/i/library.html) and is easy to download and configure for use within Nexxim and Ansoft Designer. This site provides Ansoft customers with the ability to search for components by name, performance data or other specification. Panasonic will maintain model support and upgrades, while Ansoft will address all customer support for Nexxim and Ansoft Designer. ALIVH technology and the associated Ansoft Design Kit also will be introduced in the Panasonic booth at Techno-Frontier, to be held at the Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex in Japan from April 18 to 20, 2007. To learn more about this event, visit www.jma.or.jp/TF/en/index.html. For more information on this and other design kits, visit www.ansoft.com/ansoftdesigner/designkits.cfm. About Panasonic Panasonic USA Inc. is the North American subsidiary of Panasonic Co. Ltd., a multinational manufacturer of passive electronic components, printed circuit board (PCB)-mounted DC/DC converters, DC/AC drivers for flat panel display backlighting and optical recording media. Panasonic USA operates sales and engineering offices in Elgin, Illinois; component sales and support is provided through a large network of electronics distributors. To learn more, please visit www.panasonic.com. About Ansoft Ansoft is a leading developer of high-performance electronic design automation (EDA) software. Engineers use Ansoft software to design state-of-the-art electronic products, such as cellular phones, Internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs), printed circuit boards (PCBs), automotive electronic systems and power electronics. Ansoft markets its products worldwide through its own direct sales force and has comprehensive customer-support and training offices throughout North America, Asia and Europe. To learn more, please visit www.ansoft.com.