News & Events
Intersil First to Meet Intel’s Tight Tolerance Power Requirements

— Intersil’s Endura products continue to lead the industry in performance and cost-effectiveness

IRVINE, CA, September 4, 2001 – Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), a leading provider of power management solutions for PCs, file servers and portable information appliances, today announced the Endura™ HIP6311A, a multiphase power controller that is the world’s first ±0.5% tolerance product to meet the power requirements for Intel’s new microprocessors. This new chip provides extremely accurate control to power high-performance microprocessors, the heart of every computer. This precision control helps ensure stable operation and reliability.

With the HIP6311A, Intersil continues to lead the industry with the highest performance and the most cost-effective multiphase DC/DC converter solutions in full compliance with Intel’s Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) Specification 9.x and next generation processors.

"Industry confidence in our Endura power control products is clearly demonstrated with over 50 percent of the world’s Pentium 4 motherboard manufacturers using our power solutions," said Rick Furtney, vice president and general manager of Intersil’s Analog Business Unit. "The HIP6311A is part of our strategy to continue to gain market share by anticipating the next generation microprocessor power requirements and continuing to cultivate strong relationships with our customers."

Why High Precision Has Become So Important In Power Control

New and next-generation processors have smaller geometries (smaller features) and operate from lower voltages making them more susceptible to noise. This increased noise susceptibility demands greater precision in power control. The HIP6311A provides that precision offering the necessary voltage accuracy and stability to ensure glitch-free operation and longer life for the processor. Intersil’s Endura products provide the reliability manufacturers and customers demand for their desktop PCs, workstations and servers.

HIP6311A Technical Description
HIP6311A is a 2- to 4-phase synchronous buck pulse width modulation (PWM) controller featuring a 5-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that adjusts the core voltage from 1.100V to 1.850V with an unsurpassed, first in the industry, accuracy of ±0.5% over temperature. This tolerance is absolutely necessary for new and next generation processors. The tight tolerance of the HIP6311A puts it ahead of all other solutions.

Moreover, a combination of advanced features further differentiates the HIP6311A from other solutions. A precision channel-current balance that evenly distributes heat serves to conserve board space and reduce MOSFET costs. Costs and board space are further reduced because the HIP6311A uses no-loss current sensing without the need for sensing resistors. The programmable droop voltage and fast transient response serve to control supply glitching that affects processor operational reliability. System designers can use the available 2, 3 or 4 phases, providing design flexibility and scalability for next generation processors. High ripple frequency and low ripple voltage is the result of interleaved (do not switch on all at the same time) phase control which allows for smaller filter components saving costs in parts and board space. As are all Intersil Endura products, the HIP6311A is fully supported with reference designs, an evaluation platform and technical assistance that help ensure lower costs and short time to market.

Price and Availability
The HIP6311A is available now. Pricing, based on one and ten thousand piece quantities, is as follows:

About Intersil Power Management Technology
The Intersil Endura product family consists of leading power management solutions for desktop and mobile PCs, workstations, Internet appliances, RAID systems and high-availability servers. The Endura family includes high-efficiency solutions that are used in portable PCs and mobile information appliances as well as home gateway products. Intersil’s Endura DC-DC converters power nearly one-third of the world’s Pentium® III and Pentium® 4-class microprocessors and half of all AMD Athlonä microprocessors. The company is the first to introduce a complete cost effective power solution for next generation PCs that use a multiphase power configuration to achieve microprocessor speeds greater than 1GHz. Learn more about Intersil Endura products at www.intersil.com/endura.

About Intersil

Intersil is a leading supplier of semiconductors, reference designs and software for wireless access and communications analog markets. Intersil applies analog, mixed-signal and radio frequency (RF) expertise to products that: enable wireless and voice access to broadband media; provide reliable power management in PCs, file servers and portable information appliances; and perform analog and digital signal conversion for cellular and Internet infrastructure. For more information about Intersil, visit the company's Internet homepage at www.intersil.com.

This press release contains information relating to certain projections and business trends concerning the power management market that are forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are based upon management’s current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, and projections about our business and industry. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Furthermore, any forward-looking statements and projections made by others in this press release are not adopted by Intersil Corporation ("Intersil") and Intersil is not responsible for the forward-looking statements and projections of others. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors. Important risk factors that may cause such material differences for Intersil in connection with the power management market include, but are not limited to: the recent economic slowdown in the technology sector and the semiconductor industry; the rate at which consumers adopt small handheld Internet appliances and portable computing devices; the rate of purchases of PC’s and file servers; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Intersil’s power management technologies and products; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders; the loss of a key customer; the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; silicon wafer pricing and the availability of foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; the effectiveness of Intersil’s expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; intellectual property disputes, customer indemnification claims, and other litigation risks; Intersil’s ability to develop, market, and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a timely manner;; as well as other risk factors. Intersil’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, recent and forthcoming Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other Intersil filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") (which you may obtain for free at the SEC’s Web site www.sec.gov) discuss some of the important risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and Intersil undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements.

Endura is a trademark of Intersil Americas Inc.
Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.
Athlon is a registered trademark of Advanced Micro Devices.
All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.