SAN JOSE, California, December 6 /PRNewswire/ --

- Fail-Safe Input (FSI) Family Eliminates Invalid Outputs in Hot Swap 
Applications

Micrel Inc., (Nasdaq: MCRL), an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth
communications, and Ethernet IC solutions, today added four new divide by
three and divide by five clock dividers to their clock divider product
family. The SY89228/229 are 1GHz LVPECL/LVDS dividers that feature Fail Safe
Input (FSI) circuitry and the SY89230/231 are 3.2GHz LVPECL/LVDS dividers.
Targeted applications include pre-scaling functions, PLL clock generation and
distribution, RF transmitters, and wireless base stations. All devices are
currently in volume production with pricing for 1K quantities starting at
US$2.69. In addition, free evaluation boards are also available.

"These new divide by three and divide by five clock dividers are the only
clock dividers that divide "odd" numbers and provide 50 percent duty cycle
currently on the market," said Thomas S. Wong, vice president high bandwidth
products, Micrel. "The SY89228/229 offer our very own FSI feature, which
provides a simple, integrated, transparent solution for hot swap or failed
input conditions. This is particularly important for the prevention of
unstable output conditions in rack-based equipment that must continue to
operate while servicing I/O cards."

The new devices are unique in that they are odd dividers, but provide a
50 percent duty cycle when the input clock has a 50 percent duty cycle. Most
dividers in the industry are even dividers, which require two times the
starting frequency in order to provide a 50 percent duty cycle at the output.
Moreover, the Micrel devices are offered in an ultra-small 16-pin MLF(R)
package that saves critical space while providing excellent performance.

The SY89228U and SY89229U, along with the rest of the FSI family of
solutions, are optimized to prevent unwanted oscillations and maintain output
stability when an input signal's swing collapses or disappears. Unlike
existing LVPECL or LVDS dividers currently on the market, Micrel's FSI family
prevents a metastable output condition when the input signal is removed or
the amplitude fails. This is especially crucial for rack-based equipment that
has many I/O cards requiring Hot Swap capability. In addition, the
SY89228-231 divider product family offers Micrel's patented 3-pin internal
input termination, which simplifies designs and interfaces to any
differential signal, AC- or DC-coupled, without any level shifting or
termination resistor networks in the signal path.

AC performance is guaranteed from DC through 1GHz, with rise and fall
times less than 270ps for the SY89228 and SY89229 LVPECL and LVDS outputs,
respectively. Additionally, AC performance is guaranteed from DC through
3.2GHz, with rise and fall times less than 200ps for the SY89230 and SY89231
LVPECL and LVDS outputs, respectively. The SY89228-231 divider product family
guarantees jitter performance to be less than 10psp-p over temperature and
voltage, operation over the full industrial temperature range (-40C to +85C),
and supply voltage operation from 2.5V to 3.3V. All solutions are available
in MLF(R) packaging, which features low inductance and capacitance, making
the SY89228-231 divider series ideal for today's high-speed, low jitter
designs.

About Micrel, Inc.

Micrel Inc., is a leading global manufacturer of IC solutions for the
worldwide analog, Ethernet and high bandwidth markets. The Company's products
include advanced mixed-signal, analog and power semiconductors; high
performance communication, clock management, Ethernet switch and physical
layer transceiver ICs. Company customers include leading manufacturers of
enterprise, consumer, industrial, mobile, telecommunications, automotive, and
computer products. Corporation headquarters and state-of-the-art wafer
fabrication facilities are located in San Jose, CA, with regional sales and
support offices and advanced technology design centers situated throughout
the Americas, Europe and Asia. In addition, the Company maintains an
extensive network of distributors and reps worldwide. 
Web: http://www.micrel.com.

Note: MLF is a registered trademark of Amkor Technology.

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