With Accuracy of +/- One Percent, Intersil’s Patent-Pending ISL22317 Digitally Controlled Potentiometer (DCP) Enables Performance Breakthroughs in Many Types of Critical Care Patient Monitoring Systems

MILPITAS, CA, September 1, 2009 — Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: ISIL), a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors, announced that it has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious e-Legacy Awards competition sponsored by Electronic Product Design magazine. Intersil’s ISL22317 DCP is one of six finalists for the coveted Medical Advances award.

Many medical applications, such as O2 sensors, need highly accurate calibration. Introduced by Intersil in June, 2009, Intersil’s ISL22317 is a true low-voltage, precision DCP with typical +/- one percent tolerance. Previously, DCPs have had +/-20% of Rtotal accuracy, and the technological leap to +/- one percent represents a major breakthrough. The ultra-low tolerance allows the ISL22317 to be used as a true variable resistor, enabling users to set standard and non-standard resistor values for open-loop applications.

The ISL22317 is particularly applicable to medical equipment such as pulse oximeters, which are regarded as one of the greatest advances in patient monitoring in recent years. Pulse oximeters (O2 sensors) are used in a variety of hospital situations and are of particular value for monitoring oxygenation and pulse rates throughout anaesthesia. They are also widely used during post-operative recovery. The oxygen saturation should always be above 95 percent.

Designed around a new, patent-pending architecture, the ISL22317 allows for modularity and consistency of measurements. Once the ideal start up value is determined for one O2 distribution system that also has a sensor feedback mechanism, this value can be programmed across other modules.

For example, a child’s dose will most likely be less than an adult’s, you can determine settings for both adult and child and program each unit to the initial value in the production line. At start-up, each unit will now be within one percent of the ideal value, and can then be further tuned by the end user.

By using the ISL22317, the customer has the ability to save test time, money—and greatly increase accuracy—by knowing the initial value within one percent.

Finalists for the e-Legacy Award were chosen by a panel of industry experts, and the winners will be selected by the readers of Electronic Product Design magazine. Readers are invited to vote online or in print. Online voting continues through October 30 and is available at http://www.epdonthenet.net/awards_vote.aspx.

For more information about the eLegacy event which takes place in London on November 4, please visit http://www.epdonthenet.net/awards_event.aspx.

To view a high-resolution downloadable photo of the ISL22317 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 and mixed-signal semiconductors. The Company's products address some of the industry's fastest growing markets, such as, flat panel displays, cell phones, notebooks and other handheld systems.  Intersil’s product families address power management functions and analog signal processing functions.  Intersil products include ICs for battery management, hot-plug controllers, linear regulators, power sequencers, supervisory ICs, bridge drivers, PWM controllers, switching DC/DC regulators, Zilker Labs Digital Power ICs and power MOSFET drivers; optical storage laser diode drivers; DSL line drivers; D2Audio products; video and high-performance operational amplifiers; high-speed 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 at www.intersil.com.