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28th July 2003

US : Catalyst Semiconductor announced entry into a new market segment with its first White Light Emitting Diode (LED) driver integrated circuit, the CAT32.

INSET _the CAT32 powers the white LEDs that backlight LCD color displays in cell phones, PDAs and cameras.

Designed for Li-Ion battery powered systems such as cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players and digital cameras, the CAT32 boosts a low-level DC battery voltage to the high voltage needed to drive high-brightness, series connected white LEDs. The CAT32 operates as a switch-mode, 1.2MHz fixed-frequency, constant-current boost regulator that has been crafted to drive white LEDs efficiently and at low cost. The CAT32 was developed as the first product in a new business area for Catalyst Semiconductor. Additional driver products are expected to be introduced quarterly.

"White LEDs, made by such suppliers as Nichia, are the choice backlighting source for the color liquid crystal displays (LCDs) found in digital cameras, cellular phones, GPS systems and PDAs. Color purity and brightness are a function of LED current. By driving a series string of LEDs, each LED has the same brightness and light spectrum. A white LED has a typical voltage drop of 3.5 volts to 4 volts. When placed in series they cannot be driven directly from a low-voltage battery. The CAT32 boosts a low voltage and automatically regulates drive current for up to four series LEDs. Drive current is customer selected with a single resistor," said Catalyst Director of Marketing and Applications David Gillooly. "We have lowered the quiescent current by a factor of two over competitive solutions, which increases efficiency and is important at lower drive currents, and added open load protection at the request of early part evaluators. With cell phone unit volumes projected to be over 500 million units, the rugged, low power CAT32 is priced for high-volume cell phone and PDA markets in China, Korea and the Far East."

Mr. Gillooly added, "Catalyst Semiconductor provides low-cost EEPROMs to many of the market segments that also need White LED drivers. Built on the same low-cost CMOS processes as our EEPROM products, we intend to bring multiple driver products to market that offer increased integrated functionality and that set new price points for the industry over the next 12 months."

CAT32 White LED Driver Applications

Target applications for white LED drivers include backlighting of LCD displays in PDAs, MP3 players, Cell Phones, GPS terminals and digital cameras. In addition, white LEDs are used for backlighting keypads, camera flash equipment and illumination in automotive markets.

CAT32 Features

The CAT32 features include:
- Load-fault protection against an open circuit:
- Efficiency over 80%:
- Single resistor LED current programming:
- PWM and DC level brightness control:
- "Zero" power shutdown:
- Current limiting:
- 1.2MHz fixed-frequency switching:
- Packages with 0.8mm maximum thickness

Price, Packages and Availability

The CAT32 is available in thin packages, as often required by the cell phone and PDA markets it targets. The 6-lead SOT23 package has a maximum thickness of 1mm. The 3 mm by 3 mm, and 3 mm by 4.9 mm footprint TDFN packages have a maximum thickness of 0.8mm. Prices start at $0.55 in 10,000 piece quantities. Devices are available for sampling now and production is scheduled for the third quarter of 2003.

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