SAN JOSE, Calif. -- EZchip Technologies (a subsidiary of LanOptics Ltd., NASDAQ:LNOP), a fabless semiconductor company providing 10/40-Gigabit 7-Layer network processors, today announced the completion of the design and subsequent tape-out of its NP-1 single chip network processor. Conclusion of this stage marks a major milestone in the delivery of the world's most highly integrated 10G/OC-192 network processor. The NP-1 is being manufactured by IBM through its SA-27E 0.18-micron ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) technology. First silicon sample chips are expected in March 2002 for testing at EZchip and EZchip's early customers. "EZchip has achieved its goal of combining powerful network processing elements into a single chip," said Eli Fruchter, president and CEO of EZchip. "The NP-1 integrates on chip elements such as 1G and 10G Ethernet MACs, search engines and content processing capabilities - normally found in separate chip-sets. The NP-1's unsurpassed integration level enables our customers to build higher density line cards at lower power dissipation and lower cost. With the forthcoming launch of the QX-1, our single-chip 10G/OC-192 traffic manager, we will continue to deliver the kind of integration our customers have been demanding." EZchip Technologies