MILPITAS, California, January 7 /PRNewswire/ --

- Innovative ESD Architecture and New Website Launched

California Micro Devices (Nasdaq: CAMD). Facing the challenge of providing improved protection for small geometry, high speed semiconductor devices that are increasingly susceptible to electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage, California Micro Devices today unveiled XtremeESD, a new family of protection devices developed with a radically new architecture designed to meet today's most challenging ESD requirements. The first XtremeESD product, the CM1231-02SO, uses CMD's revolutionary new Picoguard XP(TM) architecture. The Picoguard XP architecture is an innovative double clamping architecture that integrates multiple stages of ESD protection into a single device. This architecture provides robust protection for sensitive high speed ICs by significantly reducing the clamping voltage and the amount of residual current that passes through to the protected ASIC, achieving significantly better performance than the best ESD diode arrays on the market.

XtremeESD Protection

As silicon manufacturing geometries shrink, integrated circuits are becoming increasingly susceptible to ESD damage. Traditional ESD protection architectures including single stage, dual rail clamp diode arrays are no longer adequate to protect the latest system ICs. The voltage and residual current levels that pass through them will cause gate oxide failures and junction burnout for system ICs designed in the latest silicon processes. CMD has developed the XtremeESD family of devices, including the new PicoGuard XP, to address these new requirements.

"The critical factor in improving ESD protection is reducing the residual current and clamping voltage seen by the system IC during an ESD strike," stated Joe Salvador, director of marketing for digital consumer and computing products at California Micro Devices. "CMD's newly developed PicoGuard XP architecture significantly reduces both the residual current and the clamping voltage, while simultaneously preserving the signal integrity of high speed data. It is an ideal solution for protecting sensitive USB, HDMI(TM) and DisplayPort(TM) data interfaces."

CMD's PicoGuard XP Architecture

The PicoGuard XP architecture uses a unique dual stage design that places two ESD devices and a resistor in series within the same package. The first ESD circuit absorbs the largest portion of the strike, while the second provides additional clamping and a secondary shunt path to steer current away from the system IC being protected. The CM1231 provides dramatic improvements compared to the best protection devices currently available including:

-- 40 percent reduction in peak clamping voltage -- 40 percent reduction in peak residual current -- Greater than 65 percent reduction in total power reaching the ASIC

CMD Launches XtremeESD Website

This new website provides relevant information about ESD protection to designers of personal computer and digital consumer electronics applications who want to design more reliable systems by understanding the real issues involved in ESD protection, and learn about new ESD architectures such as PicoGuard XP. The site contains technical white papers, product specifications, articles and presentations on various ESD protection topics. Go to: http://www.XtremeESD.com.

Pricing and Availability

The CM1231-02SO is available in a SOT23-6 package to protect two data lines. It is currently in full production, and is priced at US$0.38 each at 1,000 units.

About California Micro Devices Corporation

California Micro Devices Corporation is a leading supplier of application specific analog and mixed signal semiconductor products for the mobile handset, digital consumer electronics and personal computer markets. Key products include protection devices for mobile handsets, digital consumer electronics products such as digital TVs, and personal computers as well as analog and mixed signal ICs for mobile handset displays. Detailed corporate and product information may be accessed at http://www.cmd.com.

XtremeESD and PicoGuard XP are trademarks of California Micro Devices Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Web site: http://www.cmd.com

Richard Haas of California Micro Devices, +1-408-934-3108, richardh@cmd.com