Analog Devices Introduces High-Voltage Linear Signal Conditioning Solutions for Industrial and Instrumentation Applications.

NORWOOD, Mass. -- Enabled by ADI's new iPolar(TM) trench isolation manufacturing process technology, suite of amplifiers features breakthroughs in size, performance and power consumption.

Analog Devices, Inc., a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal-processing applications, is introducing a suite of amplifiers designed to meet the demanding signal conditioning requirements of high-voltage industrial and instrumentation equipment. With operating voltages of up to +/-18 V, these breakthrough analog components increase performance relative to conventional bipolar amplifiers, while reducing package size by as much as 75 percent and power consumption by up to 50 percent. In many cases, this means industrial equipment designers can migrate from SOIC packaged ICs to much smaller TSOT-23 packages, generating a space savings that simplifies board layout or leaves room for other functions. Moreover, the devices' +/-18-V power supply dramatically reduces the additional signal conditioning, signal biasing and external components required to interface lower-voltage analog components to high-voltage industrial and instrumentation sensors and transducers, further reducing design complexity for industrial equipment developers.

Most Significant Re-engineering of 36-V Bipolar Technology in Nearly 20 years

The products are manufactured on a new process technology developed by Analog Devices expressly for the needs of high-voltage applications. The iPolar(TM) trench isolation process technology is the industry's most significant re-engineering of 36-V bipolar technology in nearly 20 years. iPolar is a stable, high-voltage manufacturing methodology that replaces the bulky diffusion layers of traditional bipolar processes with a deep trench technique that dramatically increases transistor density and performance.

New Amplifiers - Smaller, Higher Performance, Lower Power

Manufactured on Analog Devices' new +/-18V iPolar(TM) trench isolation process technology, the products being introduced today are:

--The AD8675 (http://www.analog.com/AD8675) is the industry's lowest-noise, 36-V precision amplifier. With voltage noise density of less than 3nV/rtHz and rail-to-rail output, the AD8675 features a 30 percent reduction in power, 75 percent lower input bias current and 65 percent less drift over temperature-all with three times the bandwidth and at half the cost and size of competing amplifiers.

--The AD8677 (http://www.analog.com/AD8677) operational amplifier packs improved OP07 performance into a tiny package, reducing board space by 75 percent. The AD8677 features 75-microvolts (maximum) offset voltage and 1.3-microvolts/degrees C (maximum) temperature drift while reducing bias current by 50 percent and power consumption by 40 percent with no loss of bandwidth. Offering improved precision over competing ultra-low, offset-voltage op amps, the AD8677 uses just 25 percent of the package area while increasing PSRR (power supply rejection ratio) and CMRR (common mode rejection ratio). High PSRR and CMRR greatly improve immunity to often-noisy industrial environments.

--The ADA4004-4 (http://www.analog.com/ADA4004-4) is the industry's lowest-noise quad bipolar precision amplifier. While achieving voltage noise of 2 nV/rtHz at just 1.7 mA/amp of supply current, the ADA4004-4 reduces package area by up to 70 percent compared with competitive amplifiers. The combination of reduced power and size allows the ADA4004-4 to maintain excellent dynamic range, without the cooling fans or heat sinks required by competing devices, and is ideal for applications that demand high-voltage precision performance at extended industrial temperature ranges.

iPolar -- Breakthroughs in Performance for Industrial

Analog Devices' iPolar process was preceded in 2004 by the introduction of iCMOS(TM), a semiconductor manufacturing process technology complementary to iPolar that enables the integration of modern digital logic with high-voltage analog components to achieve unprecedented levels of performance, design, and cost efficiencies in high-voltage industrial applications. The new iPolar process yields precision linear ICs that enhance analog signal processing, while the sub-micron 30-V iCMOS process is used to manufacture highly integrated mixed-signal devices.

"When we released 15 products based on the iCMOS industrial process last November, Analog Devices renewed its pledge to bring the right technology to bear against each application we support. With today's introduction of amplifiers using our new iPolar high-voltage process, we are again delivering on that promise," said Robbie McAdam, vice president, Analog Semiconductor Components, Analog Devices. "Thousands of customers in the industrial sector now have an unparalleled choice of small, low-power, competitively priced analog components that meet the specific power, integration, cost, and performance parameters for their entire signal chain."

The result of significant, multi-year R&D investments, both the iPolar and iCMOS processes enable a new category of high-performance analog components able to operate in electrically noisy, high-voltage environments such as process controls, factory automation systems, control loops, and other industrial electronic equipment and have increased performance in smaller packages at lower cost. The development of the iCMOS and iPolar process technologies by Analog Devices stemmed from recognition that there is a growing gap between the needs of industrial equipment, which continue to use high-voltage (+/-10 V) signals, and portable consumer and communications devices, where supply voltages are continuously declining.

About Analog Devices' iPolar High-Voltage Trench Isolation Process Technology

The +/-18-V iPolar process from ADI improves upon the best characteristics of precision bipolar and JFET processes by using a lateral dielectric isolated trench technique and completely re-engineered transistors optimized for speed, noise, matching, linearity and stability. iPolar is a stable, high-voltage manufacturing methodology that replaces the bulky diffusion layers of traditional bipolar processes with a deep trench technique that dramatically increases transistor density and performance.

Bandwidth of both the NPN and PNP transistors is at least 750 MHz, and a wide variety of other structures such as JFETs and thin film resistors are available. Tighter transistor density and improved transistor design also enable more precise matching of individual transistors, which, together with a new emitter-base-collector architecture, developed by Analog Devices, results in amplifiers with the best noise characteristics in their class.

"While other companies have warmed over their aging bipolar processes and increased wafer sizes, the iPolar process from Analog Devices has been redesigned from the ground up and represents the most compact, highest performing 36-V bipolar process in the industry," said Steve Sockolov, product line director for precision amplifiers for the Analog Semiconductor Components division of Analog Devices. "The exemplary performance, package size and power profile of the amplifiers we're introducing today reflect a 40-year commitment by Analog Devices to meeting and exceeding the needs of our industrial customers."

In addition to optimizing board layout by enabling smaller package sizes, the iPolar process uses poly-nitride-metal capacitors to improve linearity and reduce parasitics. This results in more stable analog circuits with less variation due to temperature and voltage. Users will experience improved performance predictability, cleaner board layout, and faster time to market.

For more information on ADI's iPolar process, please visit: http://www.analog.com/iPolar .

Analog Devices in Industrial

Analog Devices has a 40-year heritage of working in concert with its customers in the industrial manufacturing industry to define, develop and deploy complete signal chain solutions that are optimized for their applications. ADI's legacy of supporting the industrial sector's long product life cycles with multi-year manufacturing commitments is augmented by the company's educated sales force, knowledgeable field applications engineers and advanced design support tools that include evaluation boards and SPICE models.

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

About Analog Devices

Innovation, performance, and excellence are the cultural pillars on which Analog Devices has built one of the most long-standing, high-growth companies within the technology sector. Acknowledged industry-wide as the world leader in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, Analog Devices serves over 60,000 customers around the world, representing virtually all types of electronic equipment. Celebrating 40 years as a leading global manufacturer of high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing applications, Analog Devices is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, and employs approximately 8,900 people worldwide. The company has 30 product design centers around the world and manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland, and the Philippines. Analog Devices' common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "ADI" and is included in the S&P 500 Index. www.analog.com.

iPolar and iCMOS are registered trademarks of Analog Devices, Inc.