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Elantec Semiconductor Develops Industry's First CD/DVD Recordable Dual Laser Driver Architecture And New Family Of CD/DVD Recordable ICs

Breakthrough architecture enables faster write 'X-speed' laser driver engines for all CD/DVD recordable multi-standard disk formats

MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, November 14, 2001 -- Elantec Semiconductor, Inc., a world leader in laser driver IC technology, today introduced a series of new dual laser driver ICs that deliver an innovative industry breakthrough for next-generation CD and DVD recordable optical disk drives. Elantec's new EL629xC architecture is the industry's first recordable write strategy architecture to enable two laser diodes to be driven from a single laser driver IC. The EL629xC lets OEMs and system designers build high performance combination CD-R/W and DVD-R/RW or DVD+R/RW drives for all disk formats more cost effectively than ever before.

The new architecture integrates standard DVD and CD write-strategy capability into the laser driver. It significantly improves performance by reducing write-strategy timing signal noise and distortion. Incorporating high-speed laser write waveform generators inside the laser driver device eliminates the need to drive high-speed timing signals over flex cables from the controller IC to the OPU, thus increasing the 'X' write speed performance dramatically. The EL629xC will enable up to 40X CD-R/W and 6X DVD-R drives speeds, significantly greater than performances achievable with current generations of laser diode drivers.

Ideal Technology to Serve New Market Trends
The market for recordable optical disk drives is expected to grow as much as 80 percent over the next several years. CDs have become the media of choice for data backup, downloadable music and other functions, and DVDs are increasingly used for video storage and downloadable movies. All major PC OEMs are shipping desktop models with a single optical recording drive -- known as a super-combo drive -- for recording all CD and DVD standard formats, and the consumer products industry has adopted the DVD recorder optical drive as a replacement for the aging tape-based VCR. Both these trends are fueling the need for a higher write- performance, cost-effective dual laser driver.

"This is a significant innovation for the optical drive market," said Stephen Sacarisen, Elantec's Director Strategic Marketing, Optical Products Group. "The EL629xC architecture allows optical drive OEMs to design a single product for all industry CD and DVD formats with a longer lifecycle and a higher value than any products currently available. This is a major breakthrough enabling the write-performance, flexibility and cost of CD and DVD dual writer drives to be improved over existing architectures. The EL629xC architecture has advanced the limits to increasing the write 'X-speeds', and will enable continued improvement in write performance and system solutions."

Three Versions in New EL629xC Series

Initially, the new EL629xC series includes three new devices-- the EL6291C, EL6293C and EL6296C -- which are single monolithic programmable laser driver engines that enable direct laser writing to both a CD and DVD laser. These ICs support the industry standard formats for CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-R/W for 650MB formats, and all DVD formats: DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-R/W, DVD-RAM, DVD+R, DVD+R/W for 2.6GB and 4.7GB formats. The EL6291C, EL6293C and EL6296C are dual outputs and contain two high current outputs for reading or writing the DVD, 650nm and/or the CD, 780nm lasers.

The EL6293C contains an additional single channel sample-and-hold (S/H) amplifier so that the sample signal can be programmed under register control.

The EL6291C is available now in both the 32-pin LPP and 32-pin QFN packages, the EL6293C comes in the 32-pin LPP package, and the EL6296C comes in a 24-pin QSOP package. Contact Stephen Sacarisen at Elantec Corporate Headquarters for more information: (408) 945-1323 x 345.

Elantec designs, manufactures and markets high performance analog integrated circuits primarily for the video, optical storage, communications and power management markets. The Company targets high growth commercial markets in which advances in digital integrated circuit technology are driving increasing demand for high speed, high performance and low power consumption analog circuits.

Certain matters discussed in this press release pertaining to the market trends, market growth rate, product performance, and cost effectiveness are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include product introductions by the Company's competitors, competitive pricing pressures, fluctuations in manufacturing yield, changes in the mix or markets in which products are sold, availability and cost of raw materials and other risks discussed in the Company's most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.