New Cypress I2C Port Expander ICs Offer Non-Volatile Configuration, Eliminating Reconfiguration After Each Power-Up; New Devices Offer Highest I/O Counts and Lowest Price Per I/O.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:CY) today introduced three new I2C port expanders that store all user settings in non-volatile memory, eliminating the need to reconfigure the device after each power-up. The devices deliver up to 60 input/outputs (I/Os) - the industry's highest total - and offer more pulse-width modulators (PWMs) and more I2C-accessible EEPROM memory than competing devices. They are well suited for a wide range of applications, including computing, communications, and industrial. The new devices are optimized for port expansion without the need for user programming.

Cypress's new I2C port expanders use a proprietary "Extendable Soft Addressing" algorithm that allows flexible I2C configuration of up to 127 devices addresses per bus. This feature enables control of up to thousands of bi-directional I/Os in any application. The devices are based on Cypress's popular and flexible PSoC(R) (Programmable System-on-Chip(TM)) architecture, but do not require user programming, delivering an optimized solution for port expansion.

"Our solution offers more I/Os, more memory and better functionality than competing products, at the lowest price per I/O on the market," said Steve Gerber, director of marketing for Cypress's PSoC Business Unit.

The three new devices offer users varying amounts of I/Os, I2C-accessible EEPROM and PWM sources:

--The CY8C9520 has 20 expansion I/Os, 3 KB of EEPROM and 4 PWM sources.

--The CY8C9540 has 40 expansion I/Os, 11 KB of EEPROM and 8 PWM sources.

--The CY8C9560 has 60 expansion I/Os, 27 KB of EEPROM and 16 PWM sources.

Additional Features

Cypress's new port expanders employ the industry-standard I2C interface, offering easy migration from existing designs. The devices are offered in industrial temperature range of -40 degrees to +85 degrees, with operating voltage ranging from 3.0 V to 5.25 V. The new products include an optional EEPROM write disable pin input, an interrupt output that indicates input pin level and PWM state changes, and internal power-on reset. In addition, every I/O can connect to a PWM, and a single register command stores current configuration as non-volatile defaults.

Price and Availability

All three Cypress port expanders are available in production volumes today. The CY8C9520 is offered in a 28-pin SSOP package, the CY8C9540 comes in a 48-pin SSOP, and the CY8C9560 is offered in a 100-pin TQFP package. A high-resolution photo is available at www.cypress.com/portexpander-photo. The CY8C9520 is priced at $0.99 in high volumes.

About Cypress

Cypress solutions are at the heart of any system that is built to perform: consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar power. Leveraging a strong commitment to customer service and performance-based process and manufacturing expertise, Cypress's product portfolio includes a broad selection of wired and wireless USB devices, CMOS image sensors, timing solutions, network search engines, specialty memories, high-bandwidth synchronous and micropower memory products, optical solutions, and reconfigurable mixed-signal arrays. Cypress stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CY. More information about the company is available online at www.cypress.com.

Cypress, the Cypress logo and PSoC are registered trademarks and Programmable System-on-Chip is a trademark of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. I2C is a trademark of Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.