News & Events
Intersil Introduces Industry-Leading VR11 Processor Power Solutions

-- ISL6326/26B/27 Deliver Substantial Cost and Board Space Savings through Output Capacitor Reduction on Intel Dual Core Platforms

MILPITAS, CA, May 9, 2006 – Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog solutions, today introduced a new family of PWM (pulse width modulation) controllers that control microprocessor core voltage regulation by driving 4-6 synchronous-rectified buck channels in parallel.

Microprocessor loads can generate load transients with extremely fast edge rates. The ISL6326, ISL6326B and ISL6327 utilize Intersil’s proprietary active pulse positioning (APP™) and adaptive phase alignment (APA™) modulation scheme to achieve the industry’s fastest transient response with the fewest output capacitors over competitive designs. APP and APA are pulse width and positioning modulation techniques designed to speed up load transient response, reducing the need for external bulk output capacitors required to supply stored energy to the CPU (central processing unit) during load transients. A unity gain, differential amplifier is provided for remote voltage sensing. Any potential difference between remote and local grounds can be completely eliminated using the remote-sense amplifier. Eliminating ground differences improves regulation and protection accuracy.

“Intersil’s ISL6326/26B/27 family provides the highest-performance VR11 multiphase voltage regulator at the lowest possible BOM cost, “said Steve Rivet, Director of Intersil's Desktop/Server Power Management Products Group. “Our APP and APA technology enable the elimination of several bulk capacitors vs. competitive solutions, representing huge savings in total solution cost. There are numerous OEM/ODM and reference designs in the market using our controllers.”

Precision, Accuracy and Protection
Intersil’s ISL6326 and ISL6326B are 4-phase PWM controllers with an 8-bit DAC code for precision dedicated current sense resistance (DCR). The ISL6326B offers an output current pin that enables continuous power monitoring. The ISL6327 is a 6-phase PWM controller with an 8-bit VID (voltage identification) code and differential inductor DCR or resistor current sensing. The ISL6327 also offers an output current pin. The ISL6326 family is optimized for desktop and industrial PCs and the ISL6327 is optimized for Server platforms. Microprocessors require a tightly regulated output voltage position versus load current (droop). The ISL6326/26B/27 sense the output current continuously by utilizing patented techniques to measure the voltage across the dedicated current sense resistor or the DCR of the output inductor. Current sensing provides the needed signals for precision droop, channel-current balancing, and overcurrent protection. A programmable integrated temperature compensation function is implemented to effectively compensate for the temperature coefficient of the current sense element. The current limit function provides the overcurrent protection for the individual phase.

The threshold sensitive enable input is available to accurately coordinate the start up of these devices with any other voltage rail. Dynamic-VID™ technology allows seamless on-the-fly VID changes. The offset pin allows accurate voltage offset settings that are independent of VID setting.

Key Features

• Proprietary active pulse positioning (APP) and adaptive phase alignment (APA) modulation scheme
• Precision multiphase core voltage regulation
  • Differential remote voltage sensing
  • ±0.5 percent system accuracy over life, load, line and temperature
  • Adjustable precision reference voltage offset
• Precision resistor or DCR current sensing
  • Accurate load line programming
  • ccurate channel current balancing
  • Differential current sense
• Microprocessor voltage identification input
  • Dynamic VID technology
  • 8-Bit VID input with selectable VR11 code and extended VR10 code at 6.25mV Per bit
• Thermal monitoring
• Integrated programmable temperature compensation
• Overcurrent protection and channel current limit
• Overvoltage protection
• 2, 3 or 4-phase operation (ISL6326 and ISL6326B)
• 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6-phase operation (ISL6327)
• Adjustable switching frequency up to 1MHz per phase

Target Applications

• VR11 CPU core multiphase buck DC/DC converters on desktop, workstation, server and industrial PC motherboards
• VRMs (voltage regulator modules)
• Point-of-load (POL) applications
• DC/DC converters

About Intersil’s Power Management Portfolio
Intersil is a recognized global leader in power management solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products that simplify a variety of power designs. Intersil’s family of power management ICs ranges from building blocks such as charge pumps, to highly-integrated, multiple-output and multiphase PWMs, to quad-voltage hot-swap controllers. As a leading supplier of PWM controller ICs with over 2 billion units shipped, Intersil addresses a broad range of power management needs for applications that include computing, communications, peripherals, display, networking, telecommunications, industrial, instrumentation and battery-powered products. To learn more, visit Intersil’s Power Management Web site at http://www.intersil.com/power.

Pricing and Availability
The ISL6326 and ISL6326B are available now in 40-lead QFN packaging and are priced at $3.81 and $4.03 respectively. The ISL6327 is available now in a 48-lead QFN package and is priced at $4.58. All pricing is in 1,000-unit quantities. More information on the ISL6326 is available at http://www.intersil.com/cda/deviceinfo/0,1477,ISL6326,0.html, more information on the ISL6326B is available at http://www.intersil.com/cda/deviceinfo/0,1477,ISL6326B,0.html and more information on the ISL6327 is available at http://www.intersil.com/cda/deviceinfo/0,1477,ISL6327,0.html. A large selection of power products is supported by Intersil’s iSim™ online design tool. To explore these solutions, visit http://www.intersil.com/isim/. To view a broad range of application block diagrams, visit Intersil’s Application Design Center at http://www.intersil.com/apps.

Note to editors: To view a high-resolution downloadable photo of the ISL6326, ISL6326B and ISL6327, visit Intersil’s photo room at: http://www.intersil.com/pressroom/photoarchives.asp. About Intersil
Intersil Corporation is a leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog semiconductors. The Company's products address some of the industry's fastest growing markets, such as, flat panel displays, cell phones, other handheld systems, and notebooks. Intersil’s product families address power management functions and analog signal processing functions. Intersil products include ICs for battery management, hot-swap and hot-plug controllers, linear regulators, supervisory ICs, switching DC/DC regulators and power MOSFET drivers; optical storage laser diode drivers; DSL line drivers; video and high performance operational amplifiers; data converters; interface ICs; analog switches and multiplexers; crosspoint switches; voice-over-IP devices; and ICs for military, space and radiation-hardened applications. For more information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit the Company's web site and career page atwww.intersil.com.

Dynamic-VID, APP, APA and iSim are trademarks of Intersil Americas, Inc. All other brands or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.