NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR?S FAST LVDS DEVICES SUPPORT AN ARRAY OF HIGH SPEED DATA TRANSMISSION APPLICATIONS

April 7, 1998 -- National Semiconductor Corporation® today announced two new high-performance members of its growing family of low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) chips. The DS90LV031A and the DS90LV032A are a 3V quad driver/receiver chipset that can move large amounts of data, such as video and photo-realistic 3-D graphics, at data rates up to 400 megabits per second. The chipset is based on the LVDS technology which provides high speed data transfer while maintaining low noise and EMI (electromagnetic interference), low cost and minimal power consumption. These devices are ideal for applications requiring fast data transmission such as PDAs, camcorders, laser printers, central office switches and cellular phone base stations.

The DS90LV031A driver converts the TTL signals commonly used to communicate between digital chips into an LVDS signal, and the DS90LV032A receiver converts the LVDS signal back into TTL. The characteristics of LVDS signaling allow transmission of the converted data over cable or PCB trace at rates far in excess of those possible with other technologies and at significantly lower power than PECL.

The combination of high data transmission rate and low-voltage operation provides an ideal, cost-effective solution for a wide range of today?s applications, including moving video data between boards or boxes in a system.

Even the large amounts of data inherent in full-motion video and 3-D graphics can be moved at high frequencies without requiring large amounts of power or creating noise and EMI problems. Furthermore, the very low noise and EMI generated by LVDS can help the designer meet both FCC and European electromagnetic compatibility standards because the fields created by LVDS signaling tend to cancel, reducing field strength typically another 15db.

Device Features
The DS90LV031A and the DS90LV032A are compatible with the ANSI/ TIA/EIA-644 LVDS standard. The devices? combined dynamic power dissipation of less than 40 mA at> 400 Mbps (200) MHz makes them ideal for telecom, portable and mobile system applications. Other key benefits include +/- 350 mV differential signaling, 0.1 ns typical differential skew, and 2.0ns MAX propagation delay for the driver and 3.3ns MAX for the receiver. Lastly, the power off high impedance on the LVDS pins protects the receiver against unwanted currents.

Price and Availability
The DS90LV031ATM and the DS90LV032ATM are packaged in 16-pin SOIC packages and are available now. The devices are priced at $3.55 each in quantities of 1,000.

National Semiconductor Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, produces system-on-a-chip silicon solutions for the information highway, based on its leadership in analog and mixed signal technologies. National is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and focuses on the communications, personal systems and consumer markets. National has annual sales of approximately $2.5 billion and 13,000 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.