December, 2004 - HALO is Pleased To Announce A New Series of GR1089 Ethernet FastJacks™ GR1089 Fastjacks

HALO Electronics, Inc. is a leading global supplier of communication magnetics for the LAN and WAN industries. HALO, through technology leadership, is providing next generation solutions today

November 9, 2004 - Ramtron Previews 1-Mbit FRAM Memory At Electronica 2004 Trade FairColorado Springs, Colorado, USA –   Ramtron International Corporation (Nasdaq:RMTR), the leading developer and supplier of nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) products, today announced that it will preview its new FM20L08, a one-megabit (Mbit), 3-volt, nonvolatile FRAM product, at the 2004 Electronica Trade Fair in Munich, Germany.  Electronica is a semi-annual event that attracts up to 70,000 leading electronics professionals from Europe and around the world.  The FM20L08 is Ramtron’s highest-density FRAM memory to date and offers an unlimited number of read/write cycles.  The product has been designed as a drop-in replacement for standard asynchronous static random access memory (SRAM) and is targeted for systems that collect and store data, such as set-top boxes, automotive telematics and industrial applications.“Electronica is an ideal forum to preview our new one-megabit FRAM to a large number of design engineers and trade press editors,” said Mike Alwais, vice president, FRAM Products.  “The FM20L08 is currently being sampled to select customers, who have been evaluating it with great enthusiasm.”FRAM Product BenefitsAll data written to the FRAM memory is immediately nonvolatile, without the delays often associated with older nonvolatile memory technologies.  All FRAM products are nonvolatile, allowing data to be retained after power is removed.  FRAM provides nonvolatile data retention comparable to that of other nonvolatile memory technologies, while eliminating the reliability concerns, functional disadvantages and system design complexities of battery-backed SRAM (BBSRAM).  In addition, FRAM’s fast write capability and unlimited write endurance make it superior to other types of nonvolatile memory, such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).For more information about Ramtron products, go to www.ramtron.com

November 8, 2004 - PMC-Sierra Announces Multi-Service Processor Family for Voice-over-IP Gateway Applications  -  MSP System-on-a-Chip Devices Enable Low Cost Broadband Customer Premises Equipment Supporting VoIP servicesSANTA CLARA, Calif.

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2004-- PMC-Sierra, Inc. (NASDAQ:PMCS) today announced a family of integrated devices to reduce the cost of Voice-over-IP (VoIP) enabled broadband Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). The Multi-Service Processor(R) (MSP) family, including the MSP2015, MSP2020, MSP4000 and MSP5000 devices, adds PSTN quality Voice-over-IP capabilities to Residential and SOHO broadband gateways, Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA) and small enterprise class IP based PBXs (see Figures 1 to 3). VoIP service deployment is experiencing rapid growth as competitive service providers target voice revenues and incumbent carriers introduce bundled triple play services (voice, data, and video) to retain customers and maximize average revenue per user."The VoIP assets that we have acquired have given us a leap forward into the broadband Customer Premises Equipment market," said Greg Aasen, Vice President and General Manager, Communication Products Division at PMC-Sierra. "The MSP family is truly synergistic with our MIPS-Powered processor family and positions PMC-Sierra in the forefront of the triple play service revolution.""The MSP products were engineered from the start with the latency and QoS requirements of packet voice in mind," said Sanjay Iyer, Senior Analyst at The Linley Group. "The resulting architecture easily scales to address multiple real-time media streams to meet the requirements of the emerging class of triple play capable subscriber premises equipment."Integrated VoIP Products Handle Multiple Lines and High Speed Data Connections

Utilizing a 32-Bit MIPS(R) architecture microprocessor core and up to 2 Dual-MAC DSP cores, the MSP products integrate both the routing function and the VoIP CODEC (Encoder/Decoder) into a single device while providing the necessary performance to handle voice channels and high speed data connections. Covering the span of residential and small business applications from ATA to IP PBX, the MSP family includes the following devices

  Product                Key Features                 Application
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------
              MIPS-Powered multi-service processor, Residential ATA
   MSP2015     1-2 voice channels, 3x10/100
               Ethernet MAC, PCI
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------
              MIPS-Powered multi-service processor, Residential / SOHO
   MSP2020     1-2 voice channels, VPN security      ATA
               engine, 3x10/100 Ethernet MAC, PCI
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------
              MIPS-Powered multi-service processor, Residential / SOHO
   MSP4000     1-4 voice channels with DSP core,     voice gateway /
               VPN security engine, 3x10/100         router
               Ethernet MAC
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------
              MIPS-Powered multi-service processor, Small Enterprise
   MSP5000     1-16 voice channels, two DSP cores,   IAD (Integrated
               VPN security engine, 2x10/100         Access Device)
               Ethernet MAC                          with IP PBX
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------

Superior Voice Quality Benchmark Results AchievedSupporting standard VoIP protocols, the MSP products are complemented by a comprehensive, field-proven voice-processing software suite, which provides best-in-class end-to-end latency, packet-loss tolerance, and robust echo-cancellation. The suite also provides support for advanced call features such as 4-way conferencing, fax relay, and intelligent signal classification. Using systems built around the MSP products, customers were able to achieve an industry leading voice latency of just 87.6ms and a MOS (Mean Opinion Score -- voice quality measurement for both PSTN and VoIP) of 4.1 in benchmark testing by Telecommunications Technology Association of Korea. This outstanding voice quality is achieved while simultaneously handling the high performance broadband routing function."PMC-Sierra's MSP4000 enabled us to rapidly develop a low cost, integrated broadband router and voice gateway with exceptional voice quality together with high data throughput. This has enabled our OEM customers to bring cost-effective, voice-enabled gateway products to market and fulfill the demand for toll-quality consumer VoIP services," said Mr. Dai Hwan Kim, CEO at Fromus Technologies, a Korean telecommunications CPE manufacturer.Availability and Customer Support

PMC-Sierra's MSP2015, MSP2020, MSP4000 and MSP5000 devices are available now. A comprehensive support package, including an evaluation/development platform, software development kit, board layout and design documentation as well as application notes, is available. Software development kits are available to support VxWorks, Linux, or proprietary operating systems. For more information, contact a PMC-Sierra sales representative at www.pmc-sierra.com/contactsales or visit www.pmc-sierra.com/voip.

November 2, 2004 - TDK Semiconductor Introduces a New Family of Low-Power Smart Card Interface ICs

Villepinte, France, November 2, 2004 – At the smart card industry trade exhibition, Cartes 2004, TDK Semiconductor Corp., a leader in the design and manufacture of mixed-signal semiconductor ICs for world markets, debuted three new smart card interface circuits: the TDK 73S8023C, 73S8024C and the 73S8010C. These chips possess very-high efficiency (85%) and a small size step-up/step-down converter that provides the highest card current capability for such card interfaces, with up to 100mA supplied to the card. Additionally, a power down mode is implemented that allows the host to place the smart card interface function in a mode that will only draw a couple of micro-Amps. Such features make these new TDK circuits well suited for battery powered and power sensitive applications, such as portable Point-of-Sales terminals, PIN-pad readers, and payphones, as well as any portable smart card based payment or indentation devices, such as cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).The 73S80xxC devices all comply with ISO-7816-3 and EMV4.1 standards. Differences between these three new TDK circuits reside in the host interface: The 73S8010C is controllable through I2C, whereas 73S8024C and 73S8023C devices exhibit parallel I/Os compatible with the industry standards TDA8004 and TDA8002. Control of multiple smart card interfaces in parallel through the same host control bus is possible without additional external circuitry with the 73S8010C and 73S8023C.The 73S8024C is firmware compatible with current industry-standard devices. Consumer applications such as Set-Top-Boxes, DVD / HDD recorders, LCD TVs, and such can take advantage of the low-voltage operating mode of the 73S8024C to remove the 5V system power supply from their conditional access functions, dramatically lowering the overall bill-of-materials costs. Significant reduction of power dissipation is possible with the TDK 73S80xxC, which displays more than 500mW of savings compared and measured under EMV conditions.“The TDK 73S80xxC new family of card interface ICs is dedicated to low-voltage, low-power, and battery-operated applications," said Jean-Christophe Doucet, Sr. Product Line Manager at TDK Semiconductor. "With a built-in step-up/step-down converter that shows top-of-class performance in terms of efficiency, power consumption and card current capability, these TDK circuits are ideal for integration of card reader slots in cell-phones, PDAs and Personal Video recorders, and of course in traditional applications like Point-of-Sales terminals, PIN-pad readers, and payphones. With these three advanced new circuits addressing the payment, conditional access and digital identification segments, TDK Semiconductor offers the widest active range of ICs for smart card readers."Availability
Samples of TDK 73S8024C, 73S8023C and 73S8010C are available now. These ICs are available in SO28 and in QNF32 packages making them idea for applications that need to save board space. Like all other TDK Semiconductor products, these new circuits are also available in lead-free and green material. Production volumes will be available in Q1 2005. Pricing starts at $2.00 each in 1k quantities. Demo boards are available now. Contact TDK Semiconductor’s authorized distributors – Nu Horizons (http://www.nuhorizons.com) and All American (http://www.allamerican.com) for further information in the US, and Micropuissance (http://www.micropuissance.fr) in France. Authorized distributors for other countries can be found by visiting the company’s web site at http://www.tdksemiconductor.com.

October 4, 2004 - PMC-Sierra Unveils 1.8 GHz Dual CPU 64-Bit MIPS-Powered Multiprocessor; The RM11200, PMC-Sierra's Third Generation Multiprocessor, Adds New CPU Core, PCI Express and DDR2

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct 4, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Nasdaq:PMCS) today announced its third generation highly integrated 64-bit MIPS-Powered(TM) multiprocessor at the Fall Processor Forum. Using both PMC-Sierra's proven System-on-Chip (SoC) platform design methodology and 90 nm CMOS process technology, the RM11200(TM) integrates two newly designed 1.8 GHz E11K(TM) CPU cores with multiple high-speed memory and I/O interfaces, including dual DDR2, dual PCI Express(TM), quad Gigabit Ethernet ports, and HyperTransport(TM) (see Figure 1). The RM11200 was designed to provide customers with the highest level of processing performance, low power and leading edge integration for high performance networking, storage and communications applications such as enterprise routers, storage systems and DSLAMs."PMC-Sierra has always been regarded as a master in delivering high operating frequency embedded processors, and they've done it once again with this new E11K core. Furthermore, PMC-Sierra has matched this 1.8GHz embedded processor core with peripherals designed to meet the needs of next generation embedded systems, including the DDR2-800," said Markus Levy, industry analyst and president of the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmarking Consortium (EEMBC). "The RM11200 will clearly be the MIPS-based performance leader.""System designers face multiple challenges when developing high performance equipment, which include balancing the need for high I/O bandwidth, low memory latency, high processing performance and low power," said Steve Perna, vice president and general manager for the Microprocessor Products Division at PMC-Sierra. "The RM11200 uniquely addresses these critical challenges to provide our customers with optimal system performance and low power."Next Generation Memory and I/O Deliver Ultra High BandwidthThe RM11200 addresses the high bandwidth requirements for next generation networking, storage and communications equipment by providing multiple memory and I/O interfaces such as DDR2, PCI Express, Gigabit Ethernet and HyperTransport. The dual 64-bit DDR2 memory controllers support frequencies up to DDR2-800, and support 8-bit ECC. The PCI Express interfaces support either dual 4-lane interfaces or a single 8-lane interface. The quad Ethernet interfaces support automatic assignment into 8 queues per port and perform HW checksum assist. The HyperTransport interface runs up to 600 MHz link frequency, providing up to 10 Gbs of full duplex bandwidth. All of the I/O interfaces support Direct Deposit(TM), which allows external peripherals to write directly into the L2 cache, avoiding costly external memory accesses and greatly increases system performance.E11K Cache Optimized for Performance and ReliabilityBuilding on the proven performance of the E9K(TM) CPU, each E11K core quadruples the Icache to 64KB, doubles the Dcache to 32KB, and delivers a total of 1 MB of on-chip L2 cache, with ECC in both the L1 and L2 for maximum data reliability. The dual 7-stage, symmetric superscalar E11K cores support full hardware processor-to-processor cache coherency using the 5-state MOESI cache coherency protocol, as well as full hardware I/O coherency over each of the I/O interfaces.Non-Blocking XBAR Provides High Bandwidth and Low PowerThe XBAR connects the processor cores, memory and I/O interfaces together and can support an aggregate bandwidth of over 1 Tbit/s, with a very low 3 nsec port-to-port latency. The XBAR uses a clockless technology, which cuts power by eliminating the need for a global clock. As a result, power consumption in the XBAR is proportional to the amount of data the XBAR is switching (see block diagram, Figure 1).Pricing, Availability and Customer SupportInitial samples of the RM11200 device will be available in Q2, 2005 with volume pricing estimated at $450. The RM11200 is fabricated in 90 nm CMOS process technology and is available in an 1152-pin Flip Chip BGA package. A comprehensive support product package including datasheets, application notes, reference design, and software is available. Please contact PMC-Sierra applications support for more information at apps@pmc-sierra.com or visit www.pmc-sierra.com/processors.Three Generations of Highly Integrated MultiprocessorsThe RM11200 multiprocessor expands PMC-Sierra's successful portfolio of highly integrated dual processor solutions, which includes the RM9000x2(TM) and RM9000x2GL(TM) (see Figure 2). Utilizing PMC-Sierra's proven SoC design methodology, the RM9000(TM) and RM11000(TM) families of dual- and single-core microprocessors provide the highest levels of processing power, high bandwidth I/O integration, and low power required for high performance networking, storage, industrial control, laser printers, and high-end consumer applications. The RM11200 is 100% compatible to the MIPS Instruction Set. For more information on the RM9150(TM), RM9000x1(TM), RM9000x2, RM9000x1GL(TM), RM9000x2GL and RM11200 highly integrated microprocessors visit www.pmc-sierra.com/processors.About PMC-Sierra

PMC-Sierra(TM) is a leading provider of high-speed broadband communications and storage semiconductors and MIPS-Powered(TM) microprocessors for Enterprise, Access, Metro Optical Transport, Storage Area Networking and Wireless network equipment. The company offers worldwide technical and sales support, including a network of offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the PMCS symbol and is included in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation. For more information, visit www.pmc-sierra.com.

August 26, 2004 - TDK Semiconductor Introduces World's First True Industrial Power Meter System-on-Chip

“With more than sixteen years of industry experience and four previous generations of custom metering ICs, TDK’s engineers have now developed the optimal architecture for the rapidly evolving solid-state metering market. Utilizing TDK’s patent pending Single Converter Technology™ and digital temperature compensation, the 71M6513H achieves 10 PPM/ºC accuracy only previously possible with multiple chips and costly external components,” according to Kourosh Boutorabi, product line manager for metering products.

The 71M6513H can perform many standard and custom functions including active energy, apparent energy, voltage rms, current rms as well as waveform samples data for optional external processing. It consumes less than 30 mW in mission and 13 microwatts in battery modes, and it includes 64KB of MCU program/data storage, 7KB RAM, RTC, 5V LCD boost, 2+ UARTs, and an I²C interface.

Availability
Pricing for the new 71M6513H power meter IC starts at $4.95 in 10,000 unit quantities. The device can be produced in FLASH and ROM versions and is now available for sampling in a 100-pin epLQFP package. Additional product information and the name of a local TDK representative can be obtained by visiting the company’s web site at http://www.tdksemiconductor.com, sending an e-mail to support@tdksemiconductor.com or by calling (714) 508-8800.

About TDK Semiconductor Corp.
TDK Semiconductor, part of $5.8 billion TDK Corporation (NYSE: TDK), provides advanced analog and mixed-signal integrated circuit products for consumer, telecom, and industrial applications worldwide. Additional company and product information can be found at http://www.tdksemiconductor.com.

May 17, 2004 - Marvell breaks power consumption barrier with the World's Lowest Power Gigabit Transceiver Technology

Sunnyvale, California, (May 17, 2004) — Marvell^® (NASDAQ: MRVL), a technology leader in the development of extreme broadband communications and storage solutions, today announced that it has achieved an industry milestone with the introduction of the world’s lowest power and most advanced Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) copper PHY technology.  The new AlaskaTM GbE PHY family is also further enhanced with advanced proprietary Mixed-Signal, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and power management techniques, which enables the highest density and most compact form-factor Gigabit switches on the market today.  The new family includes single, quad and octal port products, which are optimized for next-generation infrastructure and client applications. 

The Alaska family has broken through a significant technology barrier by achieving under 0.5 watt per port power dissipation in actual, real world, full-duplex Gigabit operating conditions.  This new level of ultra-low power consumption provides substantial system benefits by eliminating the need for fans and other cooling mechanisms such as heat sinks.  In addition, the size of the system power supply “brick” is substantially reduced due to lower overall power consumption.  The reduced size of the power supply and the elimination of fans significantly lower the overall cost of the system.  Removal of fans provides an added benefit of reduced noise, resulting in quieter working areas

The Pletronics Forum will be up and running in mid June, 2004. An interactive site monitored daily by Pletronics’ technical staff, the Pletronics Forum will offer personal guidance and practical advice to assist design engineers in crafting the best and most cost effective application solutions. “The Pletronics Forum will be an extension of our highly trafficked Application Notes section of the site (www.pletronics.com),” said Bob Gubser, Chief Technology Officer. “Application Notes includes a Quartz Resonator and Oscillator Slide Show Tutorial, along with HTML docs and PDFs dealing with all aspects of jitter, a very popular article explaining EMI, and many more free downloads.” The next step, Bob thought, should be an interactive forum where more technical information could be available, together with a secured section assigned to each client to keep all communication proprietary. Sensitive design questions could be privately posted and answered by Pletronics employees. “Originally, I thought that the Pletronics Forum would be for clients only – but our Sales Department had other ideas,” Bob said, smiling. “They thought that opening it up to everyone in the industry would be great public relations.” While Pletronics clients will automatically have IDs and passwords sent to them via email, any other company or individual interested in logging on and being assigned a proprietary area will be able to obtain a username and password with a simple email to ple-forum@pletronics.com. The Pletronics Forum will have application examples and solutions covering but not limited to:

• Phase noise and jitter
• EMI issues and RF emissions
• What are the available technologies and their advantages
• How to apply the advantages of PECL and LVDS
• System clock distribution suggestions
• Suggestions for on-chip oscillator designs
• Tutorials about crystals and oscillators
• Precision timing sources, TCXOs and OCXOs
• Shock, vibration and other environmental impacts
• Packaging and manufacturing information

“For example,” Bob explained, “a chip set designer could get information about clock distribution, minimizing ringing, minimizing cross talk (jitter issues) and more. The Pletronics Forum will provide IC designers information about the characteristics of crystals and assist in the design of ‘on chip’ oscillators. Information about drive level, load capacitance, optimum start up are just some of the examples of information that will be available. The forum will permit further discussions about the users specific application while keeping this information proprietary to the user.”

Established in 1979, Pletronics Inc. is a USA based manufacturer of high quality frequency control products in thru-hole and surface mount packages. The Pletronics product line includes crystals (for microprocessors and communication equipment),

crystal filters, and crystal oscillators (clock, PECL & LVDS oscillators, OCXO, VCXO, TCXO, and TCVCXO). Pletronics welcomes both crystal and oscillator challenges - meeting them with high quality products, reasonable prices and USA based production and test facilities.

March 30, 2004 - PMC-Sierra's RM5261A 64-Bit MIPS-based RISC Processor Receives Outstanding Certified Benchmark Scores

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2004--Based on benchmark results from the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC®), PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Nasdaq:PMCS - News) today announced that the RM5261A(TM) has received the highest out-of-the-box scores ever recorded for a MIPS-based(TM) embedded microprocessor without L2 cache. EEMBC Certification Labs (ECL) tested the RM5261A 64-bit MIPS-based processor at 400 MHz using benchmark suites that measure the expected device performance in networking and office automation systems.

"For the past decade, PMC-Sierra has steadily proven our ability to meet the high performance, low-power, and cost-sensitive requirements of our networking and printer customers by delivering the RM5200(TM) and RM7000(TM) families of processors," said Tom Riordan, vice president and general manager of PMC-Sierra's Microprocessor Products Division. "The results of the EEMBC certification tests on our RM5261A 64-bit MIPS-based microprocessor demonstrate the efficiency of our products as well as the strength and capabilities of the MIPS® architecture in embedded applications such as networking and printing."

The five-stage pipeline RM5261A microprocessor demonstrated the highest performance and lowest power for any microprocessor in its class. The RM5261A achieved a score of 6.8 Netmarks(TM) while running the EEMBC Networking benchmark tests, which measure processor performance in OSPF/Dijkstra, Route Look-up Patricia, and Packet Flow tests. The RM5261A achieved a score of 328.3 OAmarks(TM) while running the Office Automation benchmark tests including dithering, image rotation, and text processing. The open-source GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) version 3.3-MIPS64Linux-030509 was used for all tests, which demonstrates typical performance results rather than selecting different compiler optimizations for each specific application. The detailed network and office automation benchmark scores as well as other reports for the RM5261A are now available from EEMBC at www.eembc.org.

Webinar on Effective Microprocessor Benchmarking

PMC-Sierra will be hosting a webinar on Effective Microprocessor Benchmarking on Wednesday, April 28, 2004, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Topics of discussion will include an introduction to current microprocessor benchmarking standards, strengths and limitations of Dhrystone versus EEMBC benchmarking, and a case study showing how to select the best microprocessor for an embedded application using EEMBC certified benchmarking results.

About PMC-Sierra's RM5200 Family

PMC-Sierra's 64-bit MIPS-based processors power a broad range of communications applications from network router control planes and enterprise switches to enterprise printers and advanced consumer electronics devices. The RM5200 class processors are ideal in multiple applications such as in IP-based Layer 3 switches, edge and core routers, laser printers, digital video recorders (DVRs), high-definition televisions (HDTVs), and set-top boxes (STB). They are also used in emerging applications such as storage, multi-service access platforms, DSLAMs, RAIDs, and automotive telematics. For more information, visit www.pmc-sierra/processors.

About EEMBC

EEMBC, the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium, develops and certifies real-world benchmarks and benchmark scores to help designers select the right embedded processors for their systems. Every processor submitted for EEMBC benchmarking is tested for parameters representing different workloads and capabilities in communications, networking, consumer, office automation, automotive/industrial, embedded Java, and microcontroller-related applications. With members including leading semiconductor, intellectual property, and compiler companies, EEMBC establishes benchmark standards and provides certified benchmarking results through the EEMBC Certification Labs (ECL) in Texas and California.

February 2004 - Halo Announces Their New SIP Tele-Pro

HALO is pleased to announce now the new SIP Tele-Pro™ series of high density T1/E1 modules. These devices have been designed to provide the Network Engineer a complete UL/EN60950 recognized solution meeting the requirements of GR1089 for lightning and power line cross.

The SIP Tele-Pro™ module contains a complete protection circuit including Isolation Transformers, CMR Chokes, Surge Suppression as well as Lightning Strike and Power Line Cross Protection. The SIP Tele-Pro™ is easy to use and will increase the board density by up to 50%. Solutions are available for all popular LIU devices.

The Tele-Pro™ family is a proprietary product. Complete technical data is available under NDA¹s (non-disclosure agreements) only. Please contact your local HALO Representative for additional information.

HALO Electronics is a technology leading, manufacturer of communications magnetics providing next generation solutions today for the LAN and WAN industries.

February 2, 2004 - PMC-Sierra Demonstrates 6.25 Gigabit SERDES Technology and Evaluation Platform for Next Generation Networking Backplanes

The QuadPHY 6G Device is Compliant with the Optical Internetworking Forum's Common Electrical I/O Specification to Ensure Industry Interoperability

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2004-- Today at DesignCon, PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Nasdaq:PMCS - News) announced that it is showing the PM8359 QuadPHY® 6G SERDES transceiver technology and evaluation platform at Molex, Inc.'s Booth #200. The QuadPHY 6G is the industry's first multi-gigabit serial backplane transceiver to be compliant with the Optical Internetworking Forum's (OIF) 6 Gbit/s long-reach specification. The device's low power CMOS technology provides superior signal integrity to enable greater system reliability for high-speed backplanes in next generation Ethernet switches, networked storage systems, performance computers and service provider equipment (see Figure 1). PMC-Sierra's QuadPHY 6G evaluation platform enables networking equipment manufacturers to develop and test next generation backplane designs and thereby reduce OEM system development time and cost (see Figure 2).  

6 Gigabit SERDES Compliant with OIF Industry Specification

The QuadPHY 6G is the industry's first device to be compliant with the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) Common Electrical I/O (CEI) 6+ Long Reach specification (Draft 4.0). CEI 6+ defines the requirements for driving gigabit-serial signals across a backplane at extended distances and at higher data rates.

"The OIF, recognizing the market acceptance of the High Speed Backplane Initiative (HSBI) mission to support legacy backplanes, realized that specifications for 6+ Gigabit per second electrical signaling were necessary. Its industry importance and commercial implications are being recognized by our membership, as shown by PMC-Sierra's announcement," said Steve Joiner, OIF Technical Committee Chair.

"PMC-Sierra's QuadPHY 6G enables customers to upgrade their current backplanes to support higher data rates while maintaining backward compatibility with installed line cards," said Mark Stibitz, vice president and general manager of PMC-Sierra's Enterprise and Storage Division. "PMC-Sierra's CMOS SERDES products are designed to meet or exceed networking reliability standards by achieving market leading signal integrity over an industry standard interface."

Innovative Low Power Design Enables Improved System Reliability with Industry Compatibility The QuadPHY 6G multiplexes and demultiplexes eight 3.125 Gbit/s serial links into four 6.25 Gbit/s serial links (see Figure 3). To achieve system reliability at these speeds, design focus on bit error rate performance is required. Utilizing an innovative adaptive decision feedback equalization (DFE) design ensures robust serial link operation designed for a market leading bit error rate as low as 10E-18. PMC-Sierra's adaptive DFE allows the QuadPHY 6G to deploy industry standard NRZ binary signaling at 6.25 Gbit/s data rates. With half rate and quarter rate operation modes, the QuadPHY 6G provides electrical signaling as well as rate compatibility to connect to customer's install base of legacy line cards.

PMC-Sierra's Evaluation Platform and Molex's Reference Backplane Demonstrator Support Multiple Industry Applications

PMC-Sierra's QuadPHY 6G evaluation platform and Molex's GbX(TM) reference backplane demonstrator (see Figure 4) enable a wide variety of network equipment applications, including:

• Ethernet switches for 3.125 Gbit/s XAUI multiplexing
• Storage switches and systems including Fibre Channel, iSCSI, SATA and SAS gigabit serial storage
• Servers and performance computing including multiplexing of emerging serial bus standards such as PCI-Express, serial RapidIO, and Infiniband
• SONET/SDH service provider equipment

"Molex is delivering evaluation backplanes with 6+ Gbit/s GbX connectors," said David Brunker, Technical Fellow Molex, Inc. "PMC-Sierra's evaluation platform and Molex's reference demonstrator backplane enable rapid 6 Gbit/s backplane technology and interoperability testing to prove the robustness of next generation backplane solutions."

Pricing, Availability and Customer Support

January 21, 2004 - Marvell^®  Enters Power Management Market with Revolutionary Solutions. Breakthrough DSP based Mixed-Signal Technology Delivers Unprecedented Benefits to Electronic Devices

Sunnyvale, California, (January 21, 2004) — Marvell^®  (NASDAQ: MRVL), a technology leader in the development of extreme broadband communications and storage solutions, today announced that it is entering the power management market with the world’s most advanced, integrated Digital Signal Processing (DSP) based mixed-signal solutions.  This industry breakthrough revolutionizes performance, form-factor and battery life in a wide range of electronic devices including PCs, Consumer and Portable products.