TAIYO YUDEN Announces World's Smallest Filter and Balun for Ultra-Wide Band Applications.

SAN DIEGO -- Company's High-Frequency Design Capability Drives Development of Miniaturized UWB Band Pass Filter and Balun in Standard Case Sizes for Better Mounting Efficiency

TRDA Inc., the US-based R&D arm of TAIYO YUDEN CO., LTD., today announced two significant new achievements that will continue to speed integration of Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology into a variety of consumer applications. These achievements center around the successful development of the company's UWB band pass filter and balun components in standard EIA case sizes, a major forward step in improving the manufacturability and efficient mounting of UWB technology components in next-generation designs. At "Ultrawideband World 2004" in San Jose, CA, on September 28-29, 2004, TRDA Inc. will present the technical aspects of the world's first:

1.UWB ceramic band pass filter in 1206 case size. The industry's smallest UWB ceramic band pass filter measures just 3.2 x 1.6 x 1.15 mm, representing a 70% reduction in both size and mounting area compared to the world's previously smallest device (4.8 x 3.0 x 1.35 mm) introduced by TAIYO YUDEN in October 2003.

2.UWB broadband balun in 0805 case size. Rated at 3.1-5 GHz, the industry's smallest UWB broadband balun measures only 2.0 x 1.25 x 0.85 mm. This represents an almost 70% size reduction versus the company's 1210 case size (3.2 x 2.5 x 0.85 mm) balun introduced in June 2004.

Rated at 3.1-8 GHz, the wider bandwidth 1210 device is joined by the new 0805 size balun, which provides the optimized electrical characteristics required by the first generation of silicon operating in the 3.1-5 GHz frequency band.

UWB requirements for passives are quite different from other wireless applications in that they utilize extremely wide bandwidth. The design challenge of developing a broadband balun is significant since it requires converting the wide-bandwidth balanced and unbalanced signals without sacrificing key parameters such as phase imbalance, amplitude imbalance and insertion loss.

In parallel to the UWB silicon and passive component solutions now being developed, TAIYO YUDEN is focusing its own efforts on remaining the industry's leading-edge provider of new solutions in industry-standard case sizes to facilitate manufacturability, shorten development cycles and speed time to market of next-generation components. To this end, the company will provide engineering samples mainly to silicon manufacturers toward the end of this year for the further optimization of UWB performance characteristics. TAIYO YUDEN led the industry with the development of its revolutionary UWB chip antenna in March 2003, followed by its UWB band pass filter, band elimination filter and balun in October of that year.

Editors Please Note: Further details pertaining to the new RF devices, including pricing and specifications, are not available at this time.

About UWB Technology

Widely recognized as the next-generation short-range wireless communications technology offering simultaneous high data rate and low power consumption, UWB utilizes a data transmission frequency band of 3.1GHz to 10.6GHz. Traditionally used in military applications, UWB technology was released for commercial use by the FCC in February 2002. UWB guidelines are currently being formulated under the auspices of the IEEE802.15.3a standardization process, as well as undergoing development in a number of countries.

About TAIYO YUDEN

Now in its 54th year, Tokyo-based TAIYO YUDEN CO., LTD. is a worldwide manufacturer of surface-mount and leaded passive components, Bluetooth modules, power electronics modules, power supplies, and recordable digital media. With approximately 50% of the worldwide market in high-frequency multilayer chip inductors used in cellular phone applications, the company reports annual sales of nearly US$1.5B. Worldwide, TAIYO YUDEN employs more than seventeen thousand people, and the company's North American affiliate, TAIYO YUDEN (U.S.A.), INC., operates sales and engineering offices in: Chicago, IL; Raleigh, NC; Irving, TX; San Jose, CA; and San Diego County.

About TRDA

TRDA (TAIYO YUDEN R&D Center of America), the independent, U.S.-based research and development arm of TAIYO YUDEN, was established in January 2002 to accelerate the development and commercialization of emerging technologies. TRDA is headquartered in San Diego, Calif.