California Micro Devices Expands ``Signal Integrity Guardian'' Family for Embedded CompactPCI Board Designs.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2002

New Chip Solution Integrates 40 Analog FET Switches with

ASIP Resistor Network

California Micro Devices (Nasdaq:CAMD) today announced the latest addition to its Signal Integrity Guardian(TM) (SIG) family of chips, which are designed to ensure the protective interface/termination of data lines in embedded computing and communications applications. The new CMCPCI-102 chip, which integrates 40 analog FET switches with an Application Specific Integrated Passive(TM) (ASIP) network of 30 resistors, marks the third entry in the recently introduced SIG family.

Like previously announced SIG chip solutions (CMCPCI-100 and -101), the new entry meets the latest version of the CompactPCI bus specification while enabling 30% savings in board space and improved performance over the use of discrete components. Other SIG chip family benefits include higher reliability, reduced manufacturing costs, faster time to market, and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) due to reduced parts count in inventory.

"Offering the highest number of on-chip analog FET switches in our SIG family, our new entry enables redundant or `backup' CPU motherboards to interface easily and safely with a system's backplane," said Kyle Baker, VP of marketing for California Micro Devices. "Given the strong design momentum established by our initial two SIG chips, we expect our third and newest entry to enjoy the same popularity in embedded CompactPCI board designs."

The CMCPCI-102, targeted for redundant CPU motherboards, complements the CMCPCI-100 and CMCPCI-101, which are designed for single CPU system cards and non-system peripheral slot cards, respectively.

According to Michael Foley, a market analyst at VDC, a Natick MA based technology market research and strategy firm that follows the embedded hardware and software space, the market for embedded CompactPCI boards was valued at $ 695 million in 2001 and will grow to over $ 1 billion by 2006.

Ideal For Small Eurocard Form Factors

With the CompactPCI specification calling for small 3U or 6U Eurocard form factors, designers must confine their increasingly complex innovations to limited board space. Thanks to the new highly integrated SIG family, designers of 32-bit and 64-bit CompactPCI circuit boards can now reduce component count as they design in the protective interface/termination of multiple data lines.

Hot-Swappable Plus 5V/3.3V Operation

Fully complying with the CompactPCI specification, each SIG chip solution operates in both 5V and 3.3V systems and accommodates "hot swapping" of circuit boards (i.e. removal and replacement without turning off power) within each system. The CMCPCI-102 IC terminates 10 data lines, and like its -100 and -101 predecessors, accommodates hot swapping with a switched 10k Omega resistor connected to the 1V Precharge Supply. The new CMCPCI-102 chip offers the added capability to precharge two banks of data channels separately. In addition, the CMCPCI-102 differs from CMCPCI-100 by using a FET switch, instead of a 10 Omega resistor, to both terminate the series stub transmission line and to isolate the backplane side from the device side of the CPU board, a critical feature for redundant CPU boards.

Price and Availability

Pricing for the new CMCPCI-102 in a 28-pin TSSOP package starts at $6.45 each in 1,000 piece quantities. Pricing for the earlier two SIG family entries in 1,000-piece quantities are as follows: the CMCPCI-100 in a 28-pin TSSOP package starts at $5.15each, while the CMCPCI-101 in 28-pin QSOP and 28-pin TSSOP package formats starts at $3.30 and $3.00, respectively. Immediately available, all three chips in the SIG family are manufactured using advanced thin- film and CMOS technologies.

California Micro Devices Corporation

California Micro Devices Corporation is a leading supplier of Application Specific Integrated Passive (ASIP) networks and related analog semiconductors. Within the company's broad product line are highly integrated solutions that ensure signal integrity, EMI (electromagnetic interference) filtering, ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection and smart power management for a broad spectrum of computing, communications, consumer, medical and lighting applications. Detailed corporate and product information may be accessed at www.calmicro.com.