News & Events
Intersil Announces Family of Line Card Access Switches

— Surface Mount High Voltage Technology Replaces Relays on Subscriber Line Cards

IRVINE, Calif. — June 22, 2000 — Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL), a leading supplier of specialized circuits for integrated communications equipment, today announced the availability of its family of Line Card Access Switches (LCAS). The ISL5571, ISL5572 and ISL5573 are relay replacement integrated circuits (ICs) for use in a broad range of voice-band communication products, including Digital Loop Carrier and Pairgain Remote Terminals, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) cards and Central Office and PABX switches.

The convergence of traditional analog telephony and new broadband digital information applications mandates the use of integrated circuits (ICs) with higher density and lower power, due to the competition for board space between the two technologies. The small surface mount LCAS Devices consume less space than electromechanical relays, and less than 10 percent of the operating power.

"The advantages of solid state relay replacements over electromechanical switches has been established over a long period of time," said Chris Ludeman, product marketing manager at Intersil. "Intersil brought together multiple switches in a small outline package at a competitive cost, and greatly improved reliability. Almost 20 years of design, manufacture and application experience with high-voltage Subscriber Line Interface Circuits (SLICs) for traditional voice-band switching products has allowed Intersil to develop a solid state relay function that has better breakdown voltage characteristics and ‘contact resistance’ than the only other volume supplier of these products."

Intersil has a significant patent portfolio covering trenched Bonded Wafer processing that has enabled the company to perfect a reliable latch-up-immune family of subscriber line card products that provide a greater level of quality and reliability to the customer’s line circuit.

Latch-up is a phenomenon associated with junction-isolated circuit designs that can result in the destruction of the device. Latch-up can be triggered by surge conditions on the subscriber line, or by incorrect power supply or input voltage sequencing to the integrated circuit device.

Intersil’s LCAS devices provide connections between ringing or test signal generators and the subscriber line or line circuit, and include secondary protection circuitry to divert hazardous voltages to ground and, together with the SLIC, protect the other line circuit electronics. The three Intersil devices include the ISL5571, a ringing access switch; the ISL5572, which is a ringing access switch with one test access switch; and the ISL5573, a ringing access switch with two test access switches. Versions of these products with additional internal secondary protection are also available.

Electromechanical relays consume up to 150mW for one relay coil, while the Intersil patented bonded-wafer high voltage processing of the LCAS devices results in extremely low power consumption, using less than 10mW when switches are activated.

The bounce-free switching function results in low impulse noise for mixed voice and high speed data lines, lower bit error rates on connections, and non-degrading switch contacts during inductive load switching. Optional secondary protection circuitry on the LCAS devices saves additional board space, shortens design cycles and lowers component count and cost.

Availability
The ISL5571, the first devices in the Intersil LCAS device family, is sampling now. Samples of the ISL5573 are expected in September, followed by samples of the ISL5572 60 days later. Intersil is currently in discussion with several major Central Office and Digital Loop Carrier product manufacturers concerning the use of Intersil LCAS devices. For more information about the ISL557x family, visit the Intersil’s Web page at www.Intersil.com, or call 1-888-INTERSIL ext. 7988.

About Intersil
Intersil uses its semiconductor expertise to enable highly integrated voice, data and video communications. Intersil's integrated communications portfolio includes PRISM^® Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) chip sets that enable mobile connectivity products for the home and office; analog, mixed-signal and digital integrated circuits for broadband access to wireless and wired Wide Area Networks (WANs); and power management products that enable 24x7 reliability in network servers, next generation PCs and information appliances. For more information about Intersil, visit the company's Internet homepage at www.intersil.com.