Analog Devices Announces New Manufacturing Process and Delivers Suite of High-Voltage Analog ICs for Industrial Electronics.

NORWOOD, Mass. -- -Revolutionary iCMOS(TM) process technology enables ICs with both outstanding analog performance and up to 30-volt supplies.

Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal-processing applications, today demonstrated its commitment to the industrial and instrumentation electronics industry with the announcement of a new semiconductor manufacturing process that combines high-voltage silicon with submicron CMOS and complementary bipolar technologies. Extensive research and development efforts have culminated in Analog Devices' industrial CMOS (iCMOS(TM)) process technology that enables unprecedented levels of performance, design, and cost efficiencies in high-voltage applications, such as factory automation and process controls. Fifteen new analog components introduced today leverage the new process to great results. Unlike analog solutions using conventional CMOS manufacturing processes, components manufactured on the iCMOS industrial process can withstand up to 30-volt (V) supplies while delivering breakthrough performance levels, cutting system design cost, and reducing power consumption by up to 85 percent and package size by 30 percent.

"Prior to the iCMOS development, industrial designers considering an analog CMOS product for its cost or power efficiency benefits were forced to add significant levels of signal conditioning, signal biasing, and external op amps to get the high speed and low power consumption required to interface to high-voltage industrial systems ranging from actuators to sensors," said Denis Doyle, ADI fellow, Process Development, Analog Devices, Inc. "Under those conditions, manufacturing technologies capable of handling 30 volts were in the range of 3.0 microns to 5.0 microns, and adding digital functionality caused them to grow to unacceptable sizes. iCMOS makes this approach obsolete by enabling the integration of more signal chain functionality into a much smaller footprint without compromising performance."

The products introduced today include:

--Quad 16-Bit DAC: The AD5764 combines four 16-bit digital-to-analog converters (DAC) in a single-chip, high accuracy solution that is 50 percent smaller than competing devices. For more information, please visit: www.analog.com/AD5764.

--True bipolar input, multichannel ADCs: The 13-bit AD732x and 12 to 16-bit AD765x analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) allow wide input ranges from +/-2.5 V to +/-10 V, and feature software selectable inputs.

--High-precision op amp: The AD8661 precision rail-to-rail operational amplifier features a wide dynamic operating voltage from 5 V to 16 V for single supply operation combined with low offset voltage, low input-bias, and packaging that is one third the size of competing devices. For more information, please visit: www.analog.com/AD8661.

--High-voltage switches and multiplexers: Supporting +/-15 V signals, the ADG12xx switches offer very low capacitance, while the ADG14xx multiplexers dramatically reduce on-resistance.

About Analog Devices' iCMOS Industrial Process Technology

The introduction of Analog Devices' iCMOS industrial process technology enables a new category of high-performance analog components that are able to operate in electrically noisy environments but without the cost of additional ICs that are required by other CMOS process technologies. The iCMOS process technology enables devices that can withstand as much as 30 V across a chip with submicron geometry. An optional drain extension allows operation at up to 50 V. Among iCMOS's chief attributes is its ability to fully isolate components from the substrate or each other. That means a single chip can mix-and-match 5-V CMOS with higher voltage 16-, 24- or 30-V CMOS circuitry, with multiple voltage supplies running to the same chip.

Analog components manufactured on the Analog Devices' iCMOS industrial process allow industrial equipment developers to integrate modern digital logic with high-speed analog circuitry in the space of a submicron monolithic integrated circuit, a footprint that no other generation of high-voltage ICs has been able to achieve. Designers specifying ADCs, for example, will find that iCMOS-based components offer a higher level of performance, lower power consumption and require less board area than ADCs manufactured on existing high-voltage CMOS processes. Similarly, Analog Devices' iCMOS DACs are able to incorporate amplifiers to drive a wide range of signals, eliminating the need for discrete amplifier chips. Multiplexers manufactured on Analog Devices' iCMOS industrial process will feature on-resistance of only 3 to 4 Ohms and a reduction of on-resistance (RON) flatness to 0.5 ohm in a 16-pin TSOP (thin small-outline package), which, at nearly 85 percent less than industry standard RON, reduces the distortion introduced into the signal from the switching process.

Moreover, the ability of Analog Devices' iCMOS-based analog components to accommodate multiple voltages on the same chip enables designers to quickly integrate memory in devices that may require post-fabrication configuration. By allocating on-chip memory for digital calibration, for instance, ADCs can be quickly and easily adjusted to account for integral non-linearity, offset gain or other parameters. Additionally, Analog Devices' iCMOS industrial process technology supports software switching. By defining input-voltage ranges in software, for example, industrial systems manufacturers can design a single iCMOS component into multiple products, changing the input-voltage range according to each application to reduce inventory costs and simplify production design.

"ADI's iCMOS process is the right step in a technology roadmap that enables high-voltage industrial applications such as instrumentation, and process controls that in the past were relegated to older technologies and processes," said Charles Mantel, vice president of research at Selantek, Inc., a semiconductor market research firm in Mountain View, California. "Process technologies such as iCMOS are necessary to deliver products that combine both high performance and high-voltage tolerance in a single submicron modular process. Traditionally, processes in the industrial sector have lagged behind those in other markets. However, the development of processes such as iCMOS by leading suppliers like ADI will allow the industrial marketplace to benefit from the same technology expertise that is used in other high volume applications."

For more information about the Analog Devices iCMOS industrial manufacturing process and products, please visit http://www.analog.com/icmos.

About Analog Devices

Analog Devices, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of precision high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing applications. ADI is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, and employs approximately 9,000 people worldwide. It has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland, and the Philippines. Analog Devices' common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and ADI is included in the S&P 500 Index.

iCMOS is a trademark of Analog Devices, Inc.