Alliance Introduces Industry's First I2C Programmable Dual PLL EMI Reduction IC; IC Reduces EMI at Clock Source, Enables Significant System Cost Savings.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2003

Alliance Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq:ALSC), a leading worldwide provider of analog and mixed signal products, high performance memory products, and systems solutions for the communications, computing, embedded, industrial and consumer markets, today announced the availability of its AS80M25XX series of dual phase locked loop (PLL) clock chip, which allows for third party clock configuration while reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) at the clock source.

Alliance's AS80M25XX series are I2C configurable, which means all the functional parameters of the devices can be configured from an external I2C master unit through the I2C bus. Users can optimize the device configuration by writing to the device through the I2C bus and then validating the results "in-system". Alliance also provides the option of hard-coding the final configuration by factory programming. The user is provided the flexibility of synthesizing any output frequency from any input frequency source within the operating ranges of the device.

"System designers for embedded systems, PC peripherals and digital consumer applications are confronted with difficult design parameters while dealing with EMI reduction. Alliance was able to leverage its analog and mixed signal expertise, broad Intellectual Property and leading design methodologies to deliver a technologically superior solution and an industry first," said Buddy Venugopal, vice president and general manager of Alliance's Analog/Mixed Signal Business Unit. "With our capabilities and outstanding design team, Alliance is strongly positioned to deliver analog and mixed signal solutions to our customers quickly and cost effectively."

Alliance's AS80M2516A is a versatile spread spectrum frequency modulator designed specifically for a wide range of clock frequencies. It allows system designers complete flexibility in system timing planning and enables the verification of system functionality and performance under various Spread Spectrum clocking schemes with almost unlimited control on all modulation parameters like depth, rate and profile, all via I2C programming.

The AS80M2516A modulates the PLL in order to spread the bandwidth of a synthesized clock, thereby decreasing the peak amplitudes of its harmonics. This technique results in significantly lower system EMI compared to the typical narrow band signal produced by oscillators and most clock generators. Additionally, the AS80M2516A allows significant system cost savings by reducing the number of circuit board layers and shielding that are traditionally required to pass federal EMI regulations.

The AS80M2516A includes two on-chip PLLs with four frequency outputs - two per PLL; input frequency range of 6Mhz - 80Mhz in Spread Spectrum mode or 2Mhz - 200Mhz in Non-Spread Spectrum mode; an output frequency range of 4Mhz - 140Mhz; a supply voltage of 3.3V, programmable spread range and type of modulation (center or down) and type of profile and an incorporated power down feature.

Also available from Alliance are the AS80M2516A's corresponding evaluation board and programming software, which are sold separately ($299 for both the Eval board and Software). Software is available for configuring all the parameters of the chip, through I2C. The evaluation board and software are currently available for sampling. The AS80M2516 is priced at $3.50 in 10,000 - unit quantities and is available in sample quantities today.

About Alliance:

Alliance Semiconductor powers applications with high performance integrated circuits for the communications, computing, embedded, industrial and consumer electronics markets. Utilizing advanced CMOS process technologies and design expertise, Alliance provides leading OEMs with a broad portfolio of complementary technologies including analog and mixed signal products, chip-to-chip connectivity, networking packet accelerators and high performance memory products. Alliance addresses the needs of system developers by leveraging its proprietary advances in Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) reduction, analog design, power management, timing technology, adaptive compute technology, HyperTransport(TM) I/O and specialized memory solutions for established and emerging applications Alliance, founded in 1985 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the ALSC symbol and is included in the S&P 600 Index. Additional information is available on Alliance's Web site at: http://www.alsc.com.