Xicor Expands Real Time Clock Family with Integrated 256K bit of Embedded Memory and System Management Functions.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2002 Xicor, Inc. (Nasdaq:XICO) today announced a three member family of Real Time Clock (RTC See real time clock. ) products that combine advanced real time clock/calendar, high density (32K x 8-bit) embedded EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) A rewritable memory chip that holds its content without power. Although EEPROMs spawned flash memory, EEPROMs are byte addressable at the write level, whereas flash chips must erase a block of bytes before rewriting. memory and advanced System Management building block functions. The X1205 is the basic member of the family with advanced clock/calendar functions. The X1286 offers the same clock/calendar functions and combines 256K bit of embedded EEPROM memory. The X1288 is the premier member of the family combining advanced clock/calendar functions, 256K bit of embedded EEPROM memory and CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. Supervisory functions. These products operate from 1.8-5.5V, making them ideal for a wide range of embedded timekeeping applications. In addition, they include a battery switchover switch·o·ver n. A complete shift, as from one system to another. function that supports automatic switching from the main power supply to a battery backup See UPS. in the event of power failure. Time is a commonly measured environmental parameter in embedded systems Embedded systems Computer systems that cannot be programmed by the user because they are preprogrammed for a specific task and are buried within the equipment they serve. . Accurate time & date monitoring is required in almost all systems: -- Set top boxes need to monitor "pay per view" events for billing, and need to monitor "loss of signal" events for maintenance. -- Industrial utility meters need to time stamp meter readings for billing. -- Medical equipment needs to time and date stamp critical readings to insure accurate diagnosis. -- Routers need to time and date stamp message packets to meet quality of service levels. -- All-in-one printers and fax machines need to time and date stamp fax transmissions and receptions. The X1205, X1286 and X1288 have a variety of advanced features that facilitate control of time-based events, such as: Flexible Alarm Structure The X1205, X1286 and X1288 feature a flexible alarm architecture that allows designers to preset time or calendar driven alarms. Alarms can be set with resolutions of sub-second, second, minute, hour, day, or month, or can be programmed for a specific day of the week. On-chip Oscillator oscillator Mechanical or electronic device that produces a back-and-forth periodic motion. A pendulum is a simple mechanical oscillator that swings with a constant amplitude, requiring the addition of energy at each swing only to compensate for the energy lost because of air Compensation These new products have the "On-chip Oscillator Compensation" feature that eliminates the need for an external RC circuit, improves the accuracy of the RTC, and provides ease of use for design engineers. Additionally, these products feature a user-selectable frequency output option. The output provides designers the flexibility of getting a square wave of 32.768kHz, 100Hz or 1Hz out of the real time clock. Industry Standard Interface The integrated real time clock products support the industry standard two-wire interface for direct control and communications to the real time clock/calendar and memory from a microcontroller. High Density Embedded Memory Both the X1288 and X1286 contain 32K by 8-bits of EEPROM memory. This memory array can be used for phone book functions, calibration parameters, serialization se·ri·al·ize tr.v. se·ri·al·ized, se·ri·al·iz·ing, se·ri·al·iz·es To write or publish in serial form. se , general user memory, or any other function requiring byte addressable Refers to random access memory (RAM) that can be accessed at the byte level such as the common DRAM and SRAM chips used in all computers. A single character can be read from or written into any memory byte. Byte addressing is essential to working on individual items of data. nonvolatile storage Noun 1. nonvolatile storage - computer storage that is not lost when the power is turned off non-volatile storage flash memory - nonvolatile storage that can be electrically erased and programmed anew . The embedded EEPROM memory can replace standalone memory and reduce overall component count and system cost. Integrated CPU Supervisory Functions The X1288 products have a complete set of integrated CPU supervisory functions, including watchdog timer A clock circuit that keeps counting from a set number down to zero. If the event it is monitoring occurs before it reaches zero, it resets to the starting number and starts counting down again. , programmable low voltage Low voltage is an electrical engineering term that broadly identifies safety considerations of an electricity supply system based on the voltage used. While different definitions exist for the exact voltage range covered by "low voltage", the most commonly used ones include "mains detection circuits, and power-on-reset circuits. The watchdog timer supports several user-selectable timeout intervals, ranging from 250 milliseconds to 1.75 seconds. "Real time clock functions are standard building blocks required in laptop computers, cellular telephones, fax machines, utility meters and many other applications requiring time and date stamping of random events," said Venkatesh Shan, Xicor's General Manager of Power & System Management Products. "These applications stand to benefit from system level integration and the flexibility the On-Chip Compensation feature offers to improve clock accuracy without additional external components thereby saving board space and cost." Product Availability and Pricing
Part Number Sample Production Price
Availability Availability 1000+
X1205S8 Now Now $1.60
X1205S8I Now Now $1.68
X1205V8 Now Now $1.60
X1205V8I Now Now $1.68
X1286A8 Now Now $2.90
X1286A8I Now Now $3.05
X1286V14 Now Now $3.05
X1286V14I Now Now $3.20
X1288S16 Now Now $3.36
X1288S16I Now Now $3.52
X1288V14 Now Now $3.36
X1288V14I Now Now $3.52
About Xicor Xicor designs, develops and markets a wide variety of programmable mixed-signal integrated circuits A mixed-signal integrated circuit combines analog circuits with digital signal processing (DSP) circuits on a single semiconductor die. An integrated circuit that includes both analog and digital circuitry (but no DSP), like a 555 timer, is generally not considered a mixed-signal and nonvolatile memory See non-volatile memory. products used in networking, computing, communication and industrial applications. The Company's products include digitally controlled potentiometers and system management ICs that allow system designers to digitally control analog functions in signal processing See DSP. , microprocessor monitoring and power management. Xicor product, corporate and financial information is readily available on the World Wide Web at http://www.xicor.com. Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. Statement Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks may include the impact of competing products and pricing, timely design acceptance by our customers, timely ability to ramp new products into volume production, industry wide shifts in supply and demand for semiconductor products, and other risks detailed from time to time in Xicor's SEC filings. "Xicor" is a registered trademark and "XDCP" is a trademark belonging to Xicor Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion