Semtech Unveils Industry's First Single-Chip Vcore Power Controller for Intel Mobile Pentium 4 Processors.

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

NEWBURY PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2002

Efficient, Space-Saving Power Controller Complies With

Intel's IMVP and Enhanced SpeedStep Technologies;

Features Dynamic Current Sharing to Relax Layout Constraints

Semtech Corp. (Nasdaq: SMTC) a leading supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors for communications, computers, and industrial equipment, today announced the SC1474 Dual-Phase Power Supply Controller, the industry's first fully-integrated single-chip controller to supply both Vcore and VID voltages for the latest Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Processors. Replete with advanced power saving, space conserving, and design enhancing features, the SC1474 multiphase controller delivers the 0.600V to 1.750V core voltage at up to 40A, and the 1.2V, 300mA VID power to run Intel's newest Pentium 4 processors for notebook computers. By comparison, competing products require as many as five chips to supply the Vcore and VID rails.

"As the first single-chip answer to the Vcore and VID requirements of Intel's Mobile Pentium 4 processors, the SC1474 offers a compelling list of features that no laptop computer designer can afford to ignore," said Eddie Yeow, Director of Portable Power Management Products at Semtech. "The SC1474 embodies the best of Semtech's proven expertise in multiphase power controllers, giving designers the breathing room they need for working under tight space and power budgets."

Among the SC1474's many power saving features for stretching battery life is its compliance with the Intel Mobile Voltage Positioning (IMVP-III) specification and the Enhanced Intel(R) SpeedStep(TM) Technology. As load current increases, IMVP linearly lowers the core voltage to an optimum point within its tolerance window. Besides saving power, IMVP improves the supply's margin for load transients, reducing bulk capacitance requirements.

SpeedStep technology cuts both the core voltage and clock rate when under battery power, restoring both when power is supplied by an AC power source (performance mode). The SC1474 automatically detects changes in the VID and adjusts the core voltage accordingly for battery or performance mode operation. SpeedStep is further enhanced by implementing a "Deeper Sleep" low voltage state that dramatically reduces power when the CPU is idle. The SC1474 also features an automatic "Power Save" mode to maximize efficiency under light loads by preventing negative current flow in the low-side MOSFET. This feature is particularly important for extending battery life since the processor can spend as much as 60 to 70 percent of the time operating in a low power state.

The SC1474 harnesses its multiphase switching-regulator topology to deliver up to 40A at the required core voltage, which is set by a 5-bit DAC accurate to 0.85 percent. The dynamic current-sharing feature automatically balances the average current in each phase, eliminating hot spots caused by mismatched trace impedance and component tolerance variations. This key feature helps the designer successfully deal with challenging layout constraints.

To further simplify design, the two phases operate 180-degrees apart from each other; helping to cancel input ripple and, therefore reduce the required input capacitance. Other advantages of multiphase operation include high efficiency with a minimum of external components, smaller inductors, fewer input and output capacitors, and tight regulation at the point of load for high-current, high-transient applications.

Yet another key feature of the controller is its use of hysteretic regulation. This approach does away with the error amplifier needed in conventional regulators. This eliminates time lags, allowing the SC1474 to deliver superior transient response and greater stability regardless of the equivalent series resistance of the output capacitors.

A linear regulator controller built into the SC1474 delivers the VID's 1.2V, 300mA power. Use of an external pass transistor supports future requirements up to 600mA.

By integrating Semtech's SmartDriver(TM) technology, the SC1474 precludes the need for external MOSFET drivers, further reducing cost, space, and component count. Still other features of the SC1474 include programmable soft-start operation, an open-drain power good flag with blanking during VID changes, and an enable input. In addition, the SC1474 is protected against thermal overloads and Vcore overvoltage, has a programmable current limiting feature that shuts the chip down after 32 overcurrent pulses, and sports an undervoltage lockout feature on all VCC inputs.

Key Features

-- Industry's only single-chip controller to supply Vcore and VID voltages for
advanced Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processors

-- Supports Intel Mobile Voltage Positioning and Enhanced SpeedStep
technologies

-- Automatic power-saving mode improves efficiency at light loads

-- Automatically detects performance- and battery-mode VIDs

-- Multiphase operation with dynamic current sharing avoids hot spots

-- Hysteretic regulation eliminates error amplifier to improve transient
response

-- Integrated MOSFET drivers and space saving TSSOP-38 package

-- Incorporates power-good signal with blanking; programmable soft-start
operation; and undervoltage, overvoltage, and programmable overcurrent
protection

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation is a leading supplier of high-quality analog and mixed-signal ICs for power management, overvoltage and transient protection, human interface devices & system management, high-performance applications, and advanced communications. Publicly traded since 1967, Semtech is listed on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol SMTC. For more information, contact Semtech Corp. at 652 Mitchell Road, Newbury Park, CA. 91320; phone [phone]; email to [e-mail]; or visit its Web site at www.semtech.com.

Note to Editors: Semtech, the Semtech logo and SmartDriver are trademarks of Semtech Corporation.

Intel, Pentium and SpeedStep are trademarks or registered marks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All trademarks utilized in this release are the sole property of their respective owners.