Chandler, Arizona and Hauppauge, New York, May 2, 2012 — Microchip Technology Incorporated [NASDAQ: MCHP], a leading provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, and Standard Microsystems Corporation [NASDAQ: SMSC] today announced that Microchip has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Standard Microsystems Corporation (“SMSC”) for $37.00 per share in cash, which represents a total equity value of about $939 million, and a total enterprise value of about $766 million, after excluding SMSC’s cash and investments on its balance sheet of approximately $173 million. The acquisition has been approved by the Boards of Directors of each company and is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar 2012, subject to approval by SMSC stockholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

“We believe SMSC’s smart mixed-signal connectivity solutions aimed at embedded applications are an ideal complement to Microchip’s embedded control business,” said Steve Sanghi, Microchip’s President and CEO. “This acquisition will expand Microchip’s range of solutions as SMSC contributes exciting new products and capabilities in the automotive, industrial, computing, consumer and wireless audio markets, significantly extending our served available market.”

“We are excited by the strategic possibilities presented by this acquisition,” continued Mr. Sanghi. “SMSC in its most recent fiscal year ending February 29, 2012 reported net sales of $412 million, non-GAAP gross margin of 54.4% of sales, and non-GAAP operating profit of 12% of sales. We expect this acquisition will be accretive to Microchip’s non-GAAP earnings in the first full quarter after completion of the acquisition. We look forward to completing this transaction in the third calendar quarter of 2012.”

“This transaction represents a compelling opportunity for SMSC employees, customers and stockholders by combining the leading market position and world class operational excellence of Microchip Technology with the world class smart mixed-signal connectivity solutions from SMSC,” said Christine King, President and CEO of SMSC. “We are pleased to become part of Microchip Technology, a premier company in the semiconductor industry.”

Conference Call Information:

Microchip will host a conference call today, May 2, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss this release. This call will be simulcast over the Internet at www.microchip.com. The webcast will be available for replay until May 10, 2012.

A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available at approximately 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on May 2, 2012 and will remain available until 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on May 10, 2012. Interested parties may listen to the replay by dialing 719-457-0820 and entering access code 2069664.

Microchip will also host a conference call today, May 2, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss its Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2012 financial results. This call will be simulcast over the Internet at www.microchip.com. The webcast will be available for replay until May 10, 2012. A telephonic replay of the financial results conference call will be available at approximately

11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on May 1, 2012 and will remain available until 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on May 10, 2012. Interested parties may listen to the replay by dialing 719-457-0820 and entering access code 8885745.

CHANDLER, Ariz., April 23, 2012 [NASDAQ: MCHP] — Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, today announced its next-generation energy-measurement analog front end (AFE), the MCP3911, which features two 24-bit, delta-sigma ADCs that operate at 3V with industry-leading accuracy of 94.5 dB SINAD and 106.5 dB THD. This provides better energy-meter and power-monitoring performance by accurately measuring from start-up to maximum current, and enables faster calibration during production. Four different power modes offers the flexibility of enabling either extremely low-power designs, to 0.8 mA per channel, or designs for higher-speed signals and harmonic content. The extended temperature range allows operation from -40°C to +125°C.

The MCP3911 also features 2.7 to 3.6V analog and digital operation, which simplifies the interface by running off of the same power rail as the microcontroller. An internal, low-temperature-coefficient voltage reference, along with PGAs on each channel, further enables metering and monitoring designs.

As the global energy-metering infrastructure is being upgraded and the power-monitoring market is growing, designers of energy-measurement and other signal-acquisition applications are looking for ways to increase performance while lowering costs. Microchip is meeting these needs with the industry’s most accurate AFEs, which reduce power consumption with their low-power modes and reduce costs by decreasing the number of required power rails and external components.

“With this expansion of our industry-leading line of energy-measurement analog front ends, Microchip is enabling the rapidly growing global adoption of high-performance smart meters,” said Bryan J. Liddiard, marketing vice president of Microchip’s Analog and Interface Products Division. “The combination of the world’s best accuracy with our extensive PIC® microcontroller portfolio provides designers with the tools they need to create the best performing energy meters and power monitors at the lowest cost.”

Development Support

Microchip also announced a tool that enables development with these new AFEs. The MCP3911 Evaluation Board for 16-bit MCUs (part # ADM00398, $79.99) is available today, via microchipDIRECT (www.microchip.com/get/VFFT).

Pricing & Availability

The MCP3911 is available today for samples and volume production, in 20-pin SSOP and QFN packages. Pricing ranges from $1.40 to $1.43 each, in 5,000-unit quantities. For additional information, contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor, or visit Microchip’s Web site at www.microchip.com/get/XA2A. To purchase products mentioned in this press release, go to microchipDIRECT or contact one of Microchip’s authorized distribution partners.

Fort Myers, FL – April 9, 2012 – Crystek’s CVCO55CC-2558-2575 VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) operates from 2558 MHz to 2575 MHz with a control voltage range of 0.3V~4.7V. This VCO features a typical phase noise of -120 dBc/Hz @ 10KHz offset and has excellent linearity. Output power is typically +8 dBm.

Engineered and manufactured in the USA, the model CVCO55CC-2558-2575 is packaged in the industry-standard 0.5-in. x 0.5-in. SMD package. Input voltage is 8V, with a max. current consumption of 29 mA. Pulling and Pushing are minimized to 2.0 MHz and 0.2 MHz/V, respectively. Second harmonic suppression is -15 dBc typical.

The CVCO55CC-2558-2575 is ideal for use in applications such as digital radio equipment, fixed wireless access, satellite communications systems, and base stations.

For pricing details, contact Crystek Corporation.

Family datasheets are available for download at www.crystek.com. For more information,

contact sales at Crystek Corporation, 12730 Commonwealth Drive, Ft. Myers, FL 33913.

Tel: 800-237-3061 or 239-561-3311; Fax: 239-561-1025; E-mail: sales@crystek.com;

Web: www.crystek.com.

Editor’s note: Crystek Corporation® has been providing frequency products since 1958, including quartz crystals, XOs (clock oscillators), TCXOs (temperature compensated oscillators), VCOs (voltage controlled oscillators), and VCXOs (voltage controlled crystal oscillators). Crystek operates two divisions dedicated to frequency control. Crystek Crystal is dedicated to the development and manufacture of frequency products using quartz-based resonators. Crystek Microwave develops of frequency control and support products for the microwave industry.

London, UK – 22th February 2012 – Sundance, a leading supplier and manufacturer of advanced digital signal processing and reconfigurable FPGA systems has introduced the SMT141, a PCIe/104 Type 2 card with two dual-channel analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). The latest addition to the Sundance line of PCIe/104 modules provides a quad channel ADC capable of 14-bit precision with sample rates up to 250 MHz. An optional dual fibre interconnect enables the SMT141 to be connected to other modules or data sources.

The SMT141 implements comprehensive clock circuitry that allows synchronization among the individual converters and the use of an external reference clock. 512MB of DDR2 storage/capture memory and a 4-lane PCI Express interface support the high speed transfer of captured data to a suitable host controller.

The F100T variation has 3 banks of QDRII memory and dual fibre optical transceivers for secure and long-distance transfer to remote non PC/104 controllers. The onboard Virtex-5 FXT100 FPGA with a PowerPC processing core can be combined with IP cores that can be implemented for down conversation, run-length encoding and FFT processing on the fly. A dual SATA interface provides a connection to disk drives for in-line storage.

“Data acquisition on a PC/104 platform has previously been restricted to sub-50 MHz sampling per channel due to limited bandwidth, up to 150 Mbytes/sec, on the 32-bit PCI/104 bus PCIe/104 Type 1 modules. The 4-lane PCIe104 Type 2 interface with Gen 2 PCI Express on the SMT141 has a theoretical peak-bandwidth of 800 Mbytes/sec giving it room to handle the 250 MHz samples from quad channels,” said Flemming Christensen, managing director of Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd.

The SMT141 is designed to operate in a host-free, stand-alone environment for more deployment options. Linux support is available for the on-board PowerPC® 440 core and host interface software is either Windows 7 (32/64-bit) or Linux.

Typical applications require high-speed data acquisition, where the data collection might be in a remote location or hazardous environment. The SMT141 can transfer collected data via fibre to a host PC in a control center. The SMT141 provides a complete conversion solution and stands as a platform that can be part of a transmit/receive communication system.

Pricing for SMT141 starts at US $5,490 quantity one. The SMT141 is available in most configurations from stock.

About Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd

Sundance designs, develops, manufactures, and markets internationally high performance signal processing and reconfigurable systems for original equipment manufacturers in the wireless and signal processing markets. Leveraging its multiprocessor expertise and experience, Sundance provides OEMs with modular systems as well as data acquisition, I/O, communication and interconnectivity products that are essential to multiprocessor systems where scalability and performance are essential. With over fifty different modules and carriers for PC/104, PCIe/104, PXI Express, and standalone platforms, Sundance is a solution provider to semiconductor, pharmaceutical and factory automation industries. Sundance, founded in 1989 by the current directors, is a member of the TI Third Party Program, Xilinx Alliance Partner, PXI Alliance and MathWorks’ Connection programs.

Sundance is a member of the PC/104 Consortium, the focal point for the entire PC/104 industry including manufactures and OEMs. It provides a place for information on current specifications, product offerings, news, and events and a place to advance and develop specifications that are consistent and stable for long-term use.

For more information visit www.sundance.com.

Details on the SMT141 can be found at: www.pci104.biz/product_info.php?products_id=37

The DesignCon panel agreed that analog EDA tools and methodologies may not have changed as much as digital, but I recall having exactly the same discussion 15 years ago. Back then I was just joining an EDA startup where our lofty mission was to bring the greatest innovation in digital methodology – automated circuit synthesis – to the world of analog design. We failed for many reasons, not the least of which was failing to ask what the problem was before we prescribed a solution. Looking at analog with a digital measuring stick is a mistake.

Some of the factors that may cloud the perception of the “digerati” can be gleaned from the Analog Subcommittee Chairs’ comments regarding the forthcoming International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). In the press kit description for the session “Analog Techniques,” the authors introduce their topic with the statement that “Analog technology continues to defy simple categories.” Advances in analog can’t be summed up simply by invoking Moore’s Law and a doubling of transistor density every two years, but they have continued at a similarly rapid pace and are no less impressive. Some might even say they are more so, but that could betray an analog bias (oh, another pun!).

Defying logic by exploiting it

With the focus shifted from tools to actual analog design, DesignCon panelists such as Harold Joseph, Marketing Director for Programmable Systems on a Chip (PSoC) at Cypress Semiconductor, provided several examples for how analog design has advanced to the point where functions that were previously available only in discrete devices are now being integrated into SoCs. Joseph pointed out that high-performance 16-bit Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) with 1-bit linearity are now available on-chip with a microcontroller (MCU).

Panelist Navraj Nandra, Senior Director of Marketing for Analog/Mixed Signal IP at Synopsys, provided some hard data as a reference point on the pace of analog innovation. He compared a 10-bit pipelined ADC from 12 years ago to the same architecture ADC fabricated in a 28 nm process today.  The 2012 version is 3.5x faster, 9.5x smaller, and consumes 11x less power than its predecessor. Engineers are challenged by more restricted design rules, said Nandra, but they have also developed new techniques that use digital functions to tune their circuits, overcoming the poorer analog characteristics of scaled transistors while simultaneously boosting performance. Analog designers have defied logic by exploiting it in their circuits.

Analog design breakthroughs to be presented at ISSCC

Attendees at ISSCC (February 19-23) will find advances in analog across a spectrum of applications from DC voltage references to 60 GHz RF circuits, with chips being fabricated in processes scaled as small as 22 nm CMOS to organic semiconductors with 1,000x larger 20 μm transistors. The use of organic transistors in wearable electronics will be a highlight of the ISSCC paper “Insole Pedometer With Piezoelectric Energy Harvester and 2V Organic Digital and Analog Circuits,” and in the session “Innovative Circuits in Emerging Technology,” presented by researchers from the University of Tokyo; the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, Germany; and the Japan Science and Technology Agency on Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO).

On the opposite end of the scaling spectrum at ISSCC, Intel will describe the use of bipolar transistors in their new 22 nm FinFET process in the presentation “Ratiometric BJT-Based Thermal Sensor in 32 nm and 22 nm Technologies” on the 21^st. According to the organizers of the session on Sensors and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), the thermal sensors are not just some of the smallest ever reported, but their 10-to-100 μs conversion times make them fast enough for use as hot-spot monitors in multicore microprocessors.

Demonstrating breakthroughs in RF design at ISSCC, engineers from Sony and the Tokyo Institute of Technology will present how they combined an RF front-end IC 65 nm CMOS chip with a 40 nm CMOS baseband IC to create the first complete 60 GHz CMOS transceiver. Groups such as the IEEE, with the development of 802.11ad Wi-Fi, are looking to utilize the bandwidth of the unlicensed 60 GHz band for short-distance, high-speed wireless transmission of high-definition video, a potential replacement for HDMI cables.

No end to the analog-digital divide

Discussions such as the one that took place at DesignCon will probably never end, as analog and digital design have evolved in such different ways, even into separate IC design disciplines. Few practitioners can remember when all IC design was circuit design, though the most advanced digital chips still rely on such skills.

But there is a critical factor that tends to get ignored in such discussions. Every step along the way of Moore’s Law starts with transistor engineering, which is fundamentally analog. This is followed by gate-level or memory cell circuit design and characterization, also analog. Now analog designers are also reaping the benefits of Moore’s Law through the ability to integrate advanced digital functions that compensate for much less than ideal transistors. It’s time to realize that both design disciplines have advanced together, and neither needs to “make a comeback.”

For more information, contact Mike at mdemler@opensystemsmedia.com.

GREENSBORO, N.C.– TE Connectivity has introduced a new Video Distribution System (VDS) that enables network managers to deliver true high-definition RF and IP video over an existing data cabling infrastructure without the need for coaxial cabling or any RF tuning.

VDS enables the delivery of video signals such as cable television, satellite, in-house video, digital signage, electronic bulletin boards or any other service normally delivered over coaxial systems – over a Category 6 or higher twisted-pair infrastructure. The VDS eliminates the need for a separate coaxial infrastructure or the need for an RF technician to install it.

“We’re finding that simultaneous access to data, video and other high-bandwidth services is becoming a necessity for many of our customers – especially in the financial services, healthcare, and education industries,” commented Kam Patel, product management director for emerging technologies at TE Enterprise Networks. “High-definition RF and IP video are becoming commonplace.”

Delivering rich content in the form of high-definition video has often been a challenge for network managers as it typically means overlaying their twisted-pair infrastructure with an additional, coaxial infrastructure.

Patel continued, “Now, with TE’s new video distribution system, we have effectively eliminated the time and expense associated with this additional layer of infrastructure. VDS allows anyone to access these services, including high-definition or IP video, wherever they have a network outlet.”

The TE Connectivity VDS solution is TIA-568/ISO 11801 compliant and delivers broadband RF signals over an existing structured cabling infrastructure. It supports full-spectrum video (862 MHz) for up to 295 feet or 550 MHz for up to 328 feet. VDS is a true “plug and play” system for greater ease of installation and maintenance and features automatic gain control. Using self-adjusting baluns to provide amplification and equalization, output and input levels are adjusted to provide perfect HD video at the TV set. The system automatically adjusts the head-end signal for proper system operation and thereby eliminates the need for manual tuning by solving equalization and balancing issues traditionally associated with coaxial systems.

Patel adds: “This is a significant addition to TE Connectivity’s Enterprise Networks portfolio. It solves one of the biggest headaches for network managers who are trying to integrate video distribution across an existing twisted pair infrastructure – and it provides a future-proofed solution for the longer-term migration to IPTV.” For more information about TE’s video distribution system, visit: www.te.com/en/general/video-distribution-system[...].

About TE Connectivity

TE Connectivity is a global, $14 billion company that designs and manufactures approximately 500,000 products that connect and protect the flow of power and data inside the products that touch every aspect of our lives. Our nearly 100,000 employees partner with customers in virtually every industry—from consumer electronics, energy and healthcare, to automotive, aerospace and communication networks—enabling smarter, faster, better technologies to connect products to possibilities. More information on TE Connectivity can be found at www.te.com.

TE Enterprise Networks infrastructure solutions connect people and technology across office networks and data centers. Many of the world’s most complex data networks run applications at speeds of up to 100Gbps over products from TE’s AMP NETCONNECT and ADC portfolios. More information can be found at: www.ampnetconnect.com

Analog Devices has introduced a series of single-channel digital potentiometers that provide a variety of resolution, interface and resistance options, allowing system designers to select the most suitable device for a wide range of consumer and instrumentation applications. The AD511x series of digital potentiometers offers excellent resistance tolerance, high current density and faster nonvolatile memory than competing devices. The new devices are also low power and easy-to-use.

AD511x Digital Potentiometer Series Key Features:

• Single channel, 128-/64-/32-tap digital potentiometers 

• 5k ohm, 10k ohm, 80k ohm nominal resistance options 

• I2C, Up/Down and Push-Button interfaces 

• Maximum ±8% nominal resistance tolerance 

• 5 ppm/°C Temperature Coefficient (potentiometer mode) 

• Low power: Idd = 750nA typical 

• –40°C to +125°C operating temperature range