News & Events
Intersil Unveils New Low-power, High-speed Dual Serial Data Transceiver</p>

— New transceiver IC meets both EIA/TIA-562 & 232 V.28/V.24 specifications
—Leap-frogs competition with superior performance while offering 15 kV ESD protection

IRVINE, Calif., May 3, 2001 – Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL), a leading provider of silicon technology for wireless access and communications analog markets, today announced a 3- to 5.5-volt, EIA/TIA-562/232 device specifically designed as an extremely low-power, high-speed dual serial data transceiver. The ISL8563E Dual Transceiver integrated circuit (IC) is the latest addition to the growing family of serial data transceivers from Intersil’s Communications Analog business unit.

The ISL8563E replaces current and older generation transceivers offering lower costs, superior performance, ESD protection and off-the-shelf delivery. This new dual transceiver is fully compatible with all 3- to 5.5-volt applications and provides very low operational power consumption with extremely low standby power. These features, combined with a minimum of 250 Kilobits-per-second (Kbps) data rate performance, enable wired serial data transfer for the next wave of PDAs, palmtops, laptops, digital cameras, barcode readers and other battery-powered devices.

"Newer portable devices demand leaner power requirements, solid ESD protection and specification flexibility while offering reliable high-speed data transfer in the 3-volt range," said Larry Sims, vice president and general manager of Communications IC Products at Intersil. "Low-power data connections found on laptop PCs and peripheral devices are susceptible to electrostatic charges that will cripple an unprotected interface device. Intersil has responded to the market’s demand for ESD protection in these devices which helps ensure the reliability of the latest portable computing and communications devices that employ EIA/TIA-562/232 interfaces."

The ISL8563E joins Intersil’s broad family of 3.0V and 5.0V serial data transceivers. The device delivers increased data communication speed, lower supply voltage, lower operational supply current drain and lower standby current drain, thus relieving battery drain and extending battery life. Compliance to EIA/TIA-562/232 and IEC1000 ESD standards provides design flexibility and product reliability.

Technical Features
Operating at a minimum guaranteed data rate of 250 Kbps, the ISL8563E converts TTL/CMOS signal levels both to and from serial EIA/TIA-562/232. Onboard charge pumps and voltage inverters generate the necessary positive and negative voltage levels from the single 3- to 5.5-V supply bus. Only four external 0.1uF capacitors are needed to complete the implementation.

The ISL8563E meets all of the EIA/TIA-232 and V.28/V.24 specifications. Suitable for portable applications where a single 3.0 V to 5.5 V power supply is available, the transceiver is fully compatible with mixed 3.0 V and 5.0 V and 5.0 V-only applications. Standby current is a miniscule 1 microamp (0.000001 A).

Intersil offers a wide variety of ESD protected and non-ESD protected serial data transceivers to accommodate a wide spectrum of applications in both commercial and industrial temperature environments. The devices deliver increased data communications speeds and low operational supply current drain to extend battery life in portable devices. To learn more about Intersil’s interface solutions, call 1-888-INTERSIL (1-888-468-3775) ext. 8009, or visit Intersil’s Interface website at www.intersil.com/rs232

Price and Availability
The ISL8563E is immediately available in industry standard, JEDEC, SOIC and PDIP package configurations. Pricing, based on one hundred piece quantities, is as follows: SOIC versions are also available in Tape and Reel.

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 access to broadband media; provide reliable power management for PCs, files servers and portable information appliances; and convert analog and digital signals in cellular and Internet infrastructure. For more information about Intersil, visit the company's Internet homepage at www.intersil.com

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