SAN JOSE, CA -- February 2, 2005 -- For the second year in a row, a programmable analog device from Summit Microelectronics has won top honors for outstanding design and functionality. AnalogZONE, an online design engineering resource, has named Summit's SMB120 nine-channel programmable power management integrated circuit the "Best Consumer Advance in Power Management" for 2004. Last year, Summit's SMM665 programmable six-channel controller won the 2003 award for what AnalogZONE termed its "extremely clever power management technology".

"In the design cycle of all products, the exact power requirements are rarely known until the remainder of the design is complete; then there is an almighty rush to get the power supply designed," noted Paul McGoldrick, editor-in-chief of AnalogZONE. "An off-theshelf programmable solution is the ideal. And here it is with the SMB120."

Bill Thomas, acting CEO of Summit, said, "Communication equipment manufacturers have utilized our programmable power management technology for years. We now have leveraged our expertise in that area for implementation in consumer electronics. The AnalogZONE award acknowledges the importance of the functionality we bring to the consumer market.

The SMB120 is the first in a line of devices to power consumer electronics products running from a single- or dual-cell Li-Ion battery where the voltages needed for different functions of the product must be individually tailored to increase battery life. Using what AnalogZONE calls Summit's "already proven programmable technology", the SMB120 lets designers digitally program a product's entire multiple output power supply and the associated power management functions with a few clicks of a mouse. This simple process replaces the tedious iterative hardware design of conventional analog power solutions.

The benefit to product manufacturers is a drastically reduced development time and engineering investment. This allows OEM's and ODM's to bring products to market faster and more reliably to satisfy the demanding global consumer electronics market. Additionally the flexible control afforded by the programmable technology contained in the SMB120 can yield gains in battery efficiency and lifetime, which is attractive in an increasing mobile product mix for most consumer electronics OEM's.

Summit's device is ideal for a vast array of consumer products, including digital camcorders/cameras (DCC/DSC), portable media players (PMP), automotive DVD players, global positioning systems (GPS), and LCD TVs.

Introduced in November 2004, the device is being shipped now in production quantities.

Programmable Analog for a Digital World
Summit's products are programmable. They provide the user with a rich set of configuration options to optimize them for particular applications. They are platform solutions because they are designed into several sockets across a manufacturer's product lines. Designers can rapidly tailor Summit devices to meet their requirements by using a high-level graphical user interface (GUI) supplied by Summit.

Once a user completes design and prototyping, the GUI automatically generates a hexadecimal data file that can be sent to Summit for review and approval. Summit then assigns a unique customer identification code to the file and programs the customer's production devices prior to production final electrical test. This ensures that the device will operate properly in the end application. The design kit software can be downloaded today from Summit's website at www.summitmicro.com.

About Summit Microelectronics -- "Programmable analog for a digital world".
Summit Microelectronics supplies semiconductors that manage and provide power functions in networking/communications, storage/computing, industrial, military, and consumer products. Customers can very rapidly tailor Summit's programmable analog technology to multiple applications by programming the same part.

Founded in 1997, Summit is headquartered in San Jose, California. The Company is ISO 9001 certified.
 

About analogZONE
Found online at http://www.analogzone.com, analogZONE offers timely content tailored to the needs of design engineers specializing in analog applications. Regular weekly features include product reviews, technical notes, guest articles, news items, and more; and the publication has a reputation for incisive product understanding as well as a broad worldwide readership. Proposals for technical papers and columns are welcomed: send inquiries to the editor at . Site sponsorships may be arranged at .

Summit Microelectronics, Inc.
1717 Fox Drive
San Jose, CA 95131
Tel: +1.408-436-9890
www.summitmicro.com