Cirrus Logic Wins EDN 1998 Innovation of the Year Award; Hard Disk Drive System-On-Chip Recognized as Outstanding Mixed-Signal Achievement.

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 1999--

Cirrus Logic Inc. (Nasdaq:CRUS) today confirmed that its 3Ci(TM) system-on-chip (SOC) hard disk drive platform was selected as the EDN 1998 Innovation of the Year for Digital ICs.

This prestigious award, sponsored by EDN Magazine, is dedicated to honoring truly outstanding engineering products in the electronics industry.

"We are indeed honored to be chosen by EDN readers for this distinguished award," said Steve Dines, vice president and general manager of Cirrus Logic's Magnetic Storage Division. "This recognition highlights the expertise of our engineering team in creating breakthrough mixed-signal system-on-chip solutions for disk drive manufacturers."

Dines noted that the 3Ci platform was chosen from a field of hundreds of candidates by a panel of EDN editors, and that the winners -- selected by the magazine's readers -- were announced at a black-tie awards banquet at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose last night.

"We believe our 3Ci platform sets the standard for what truly is a system-on-chip implementation," asserted Dines. By integrating the functions of up to 5 chips, Cirrus Logic's 3Ci solution delivers a nearly complete electronics system for hard disk drives -- the only functions needed to complete a disk drive design are the pre-amp, motor drivers and buffer memory. Specifically, 3Ci integrates a partial-response-maximum-likelihood (PRML) read channel, an Ultra DMA 66 hard disk controller, and a 32-bit ARM core processor -- all on a single cost-effective CMOS process chip. Moreover, Dines pointed to 3Ci's successful integration of sensitive analog circuitry with noisy and complex digital functions as a mixed-signal achievement that defied conventional wisdom.

"Our engineers overcame tremendous technical challenges in integrating a state-of-the-art analog read channel with the large-scale digital functions used in a disk drive. This unprecedented level of integration significantly reduces the overall drive cost, and establishes an architecture that will improve disk drive performance, and manufacturers' return on investment," he added.

Cirrus Logic reports that it will begin shipping its highly integrated 3Ci chip solution to a major disk drive manufacturer during the second half of the year.

Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of precision linear circuits and advanced mixed-signal chip solutions. The company's products, sold under its own name and the Crystal product brand, enable system-level applications in mass storage, audio and precision data conversion. Additional information about Cirrus Logic is available at http://www.cirrus.com.

Note to Editors: Cirrus Logic is a registered trademark and 3CI is a trademark of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.