Rambus Introduces New Innovative Decision Feedback Equalization Technology; SmartDFE™ Achieves Substantial Cost Savings and Performance Increase

Business Wire, Feb 6, 2006

LOS ALTOS, Calif. -- Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS), one of the world's premier technology licensing companies specializing in high-speed chip interfaces, today introduced its latest innovation, SmartDFE(TM) (Decision Feedback Equalization) technology. Incorporated into Rambus' advanced backplane (ABP) solution, SmartDFE enables substantial performance increase in high-speed data transmission with superior bit error rate margins when compared to standard equalization methods. ABP solutions with SmartDFE can reach performance levels of up to 7.5Gbps for upgraded systems and support legacy rates ranging from 1-6.4Gbps.

"To achieve considerable cost savings on the bill of materials for passive components, our SmartDFE technology was designed to enable the use of lower cost dielectric materials and connectors," said Kevin Donnelly, vice president of engineering for Rambus Inc. "This is just one of the innovative approaches our engineering team has developed and constantly evaluates in an effort to help our customers obtain better value from their investment."

SmartDFE technology addresses the issue of varying frequency responses within different channels in the same backplane. The technology significantly improves signal integrity by observing the characteristics and history of the data transmission and applying this knowledge to make intelligent data recovery decisions. This innovative approach does not affect the signal at the transmitter which leads to a reduction in cross-talk effects as well as a reduction in dispersion and attenuation. SmartDFE also takes advantage of the bitstream history at the receiver, making the technology backward compatible with legacy SerDes.

The Rambus family of ABP SerDes consists of a wide range of cells supporting data rates ranging from 1-10Gbps and support standards and popular data rates such as XAUI, turbo-XAUI and "double XAUI." Proven in advanced fabrication processes, Rambus' ABP technology and signal integrity analysis services help engineers shorten development cycles, increase system performance over challenging signal environments, and reduce time-to-market. More information on Rambus' advanced backplane solutions is available at http://www.rambus.com/products/backplaneserdes.> About Rambus Inc.

Rambus is one of the world's premier technology licensing companies specializing in the invention and design of high-speed chip interfaces. Since its founding in 1990, the company's patented innovations, breakthrough technologies and renowned integration expertise have helped industry-leading chip and system companies bring superior products to market. Rambus' technology and products solve customers' most complex chip and system-level interface challenges enabling unprecedented performance in computing, communications and consumer electronics applications. Rambus licenses both its world-class patent portfolio as well as its family of leadership and industry-standard interface products. Headquartered in Los Altos, California, Rambus has regional offices in North Carolina, India, Germany, Japan and Taiwan.

Additional information is available at www.rambus.com.

SmartDFE is a trademark and Rambus is a registered trademark of Rambus Inc. Other trademarks that may be mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.