NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR OFFERS FREE "RADIATION OWNER'S MANUAL" TO GUIDE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS THROUGH RHA ENVIRONMENTS

March 29, 1999 -- National Semiconductor Corporation® today announced the availability of the "Radiation Owner's Manual" that guides application engineers, component buyers and OEM designers of radiation-hardened systems through radiation hardened assured (RHA) issues and environments. The free 120-page publication is a user-friendly, working resource manual that contains an overview of radiation types and environments, excerpts from published papers and standards, radiation test reports and more.

"Designing for the radiation environment requires much more insight than is available from the product specifications contained in a data book," said Mike Maher, principal engineer of radiation-hardened engineering and the RHA management program at National. "It requires knowledge of the types of radiation to which a system may be subjected, the environments where each can be found, the severity of the possible adverse effects on a particular type of semiconductor technology and the means to overcome these challenges. Our new resource manual includes discussions on all of these topics," he added.

In addition to a glossary of radiation terms, the manual contains sections on radiation design issues, environments and the effects of radiation testing, processing and flows. Radiation testing results for National's analog, interface and logic devices are also included. Published papers, applications notes and a listing of RHA-related documents, such as military handbooks, military test standards, ASTM standards and ESA test methods and guides, extend the value of this book as an industry resource.

For more information on the "Radiation Owner's Manual" or National Semiconductor's broad portfolio of Military/Aerospace products, visit the company's World Wide Web site at http://www.national.com/mil.

National Semiconductor provides system-on-a-chip solutions for the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of the-art digital technology, the company's chips lead many sectors of the personal computer, communications and consumer markets. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National has annual sales of approximately $2.5 billion and 11,500 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.