Cypress and Ramtron Announce World's Highest-Density SRAM.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2001

72 Mb NoBL(R) Burst SRAM Delivers Four Times Higher Density

and Four Times Lower Power than Current 6T Solutions;

Products Target High-Speed Switches and Routers

Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE:CY) and Ramtron International Corporation (Nasdaq:RMTR) subsidiary Enhanced Memory Systems, Inc. today announced the world's highest-density SRAM products. The 72 Mb NoBL (No Bus Latency(TM)) burst SRAM family targets the networking communications market, in particular switches and routers working at OC-48 (2.5 Mb/sec) and above. The new devices use the Enhanced Memory Systems patented one-transistor Enhanced SRAM (ESRAM) technology to achieve the same speed, four times higher density, and four times lower power than traditional six-transistor SRAM.

"Cypress's 72 Mb NoBL burst SRAM products continue our leadership in network communication memory," said Mario Martinez, director of Strategic Marketing for Cypress's Memory Products Division. "Our cooperative development with Enhanced Memory Systems has created a product that would normally not be available until 2004 using 6T technology. This is another first for the SRAM industry."

"The 72 Mb NoBL burst SRAM is the first of a series of products to use our patented one-transistor Enhanced SRAM technology," said Dave Bondurant, vice president of Marketing for Enhanced Memory Systems. "Our cooperation with Cypress Semiconductor will allow both companies to further expand the market for high-density SRAM." The 72 Mb NoBL burst SRAM was jointly developed by Cypress and Enhanced Memory Systems, and both companies will offer the product commercially.

The 72 Mb NoBL burst SRAM products are organized 2 Mb x 36, operate at up to166 MHz clock speed and deliver 100 percent bus bandwidth during four-word read/write/read transactions. The products are available with 2.5V or 3.3V power supply options and 100-pin TQFP and 119-pin PBGA packaging options. Power consumption is the same as leading 18 Mb SRAMs, resulting in one quarter the power requirement of a comparable 6T configuration. The products are pin, function, and timing compatible with the Cypress family of NoBL SRAMs, making them ideal upgrades in network systems that require larger SRAM buffer memories.

Availability

Samples of the 72 Mb NoBL SRAM are scheduled to be available in January 2002 from both Cypress Semiconductor and Enhanced Memory Systems with production volumes anticipated in 2Q02.

Product Photo

A high-resolution product photo is available at http://www.cypress.com/press/photo/72MbNoBL.html.

About Cypress

Cypress Semiconductor is "Driving the Communications Revolution"(TM) by providing high-performance integrated circuit solutions to fast-growing markets, including data communications, telecommunications, computation, consumer products, and industrial control. With a focus on emerging communications applications, Cypress's product portfolios include high-speed physical layer devices (PHYs), network search engines (NSEs), network coprocessors, datapath switching elements (DSEs), networking-optimized and micropower static RAMs; high-bandwidth multi-port and FIFO memories; high-density programmable logic devices; timing technology for PCs and other digital systems; and controllers for Universal Serial Bus (USB).

More than two-thirds of Cypress's sales come from fast-growing communications markets and dynamic companies such as Alcatel, Cisco, Ericsson, Lucent, Motorola, and Nortel Networks. Cypress's ability to mix and match its broad portfolio of intellectual property enables targeted, integrated solutions for high-speed systems that feed bandwidth-hungry Internet applications. Cypress aims to become the preferred silicon supplier for Internet switching systems and for every Internet data stream to pass through at least one Cypress IC.

Cypress employs approximately 4,000 people worldwide with international headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Its shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CY. More information about Cypress is accessible electronically on the company's worldwide Web site at http://www.cypress.com.

About Ramtron/Enhanced Memory Systems

Ramtron is the world leader in ferroelectric random access memories (FRAM(R)) products -- new high-performance nonvolatile memories that merge the benefits of many mainstream memory technologies into a single device. The company also develops and markets ultra-high performance memory products through its subsidiary Enhanced Memory Systems, Inc. Ramtron holds numerous international and U.S. patents covering its proprietary technologies.

Enhanced Memory Systems became the world's first specialty DRAM company when it announced the Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM) in January 1992. Enhanced was the first company to combine a fast DRAM and SRAM row register cache on one chip to minimize DRAM latency and increase real bandwidth in systems. Millions of EDRAM products have been delivered to leading communications, RAID disk controller, embedded computer, DSP, PC system, and 3-D graphics companies. As fab-less DRAM manufacturer, Enhanced develops unique, patented high performance products and manufactures them with leading DRAM wafer, packaging, and test sub-contractors world-wide.

For more information about Ramtron and its products, contact: Communications Department, Ramtron International Corporation, 1850 Ramtron Drive, Colorado Springs, Colo., USA, 80921. Telephone is 800/545-FRAM (3726); FAX is 719/481-9294; E-mail address is [e-mail]. Homepage is http://www.ramtron.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements herein that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" involving risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: the effect of global economic conditions, shifts in supply and demand, market acceptance, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and capacity and supply constraints. Please refer to Cypress's and Ramtron's Securities and Exchange Commission filings for discussions of such risks.

Note to Editors: No Bus Latency, NoBL and "Driving the Communications Revolution" are trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor. ESRAM is a trademark of Enhanced Memory Systems, Inc.