September 9, 2002 - National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:NSM), powering best-in-class technology, packaging and performance for next-generation thermal management products, today announced the LM63, a +/- 1 degree C accuracy remote diode temperature sensor with integrated fan control. The pulse width modulated (PWM) signal output of National’s LM63controls the fan speed based on the temperature of the remote diode sensor. The flexibility in fan control programming in this device enables the same design to be used with different fans and processors, which will reduce design cost for systems providers. The LM63 temperature sensor, designed for applications in PC notebooks, desktops, workstations and servers, will be on display at the Intel Developer Forum this week in booth #109 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California.
“National Semiconductor has one of the industry's broadest portfolios of thermal management products, and to continue this trend, we are adding products with integrated fan control, like the LM63, to our portfolio, “ said Zaryab Hamavand, marketing manager for National’s thermal solutions products. “As a leader in temperature sensor innovation, National continues to drive the market by developing products with the highest accuracy, lowest power and smallest packaging in the industry.”
National’s LM63 is targeted for applications in PC notebooks, desktops, workstations, servers, and other CPU-based systems such as Thin Clients. It can also be used in base stations, routers, fan modules, or any system that requires fan control based on the temperatures. The LM63 has a local and remote diode temperature sensor, which senses the temperature of an integrated diode in a target IC, such as a Pentium III or IV processor, or a discrete transistor, such as 2N3904, and its own location. It has +/-1 degree C accuracy including the quantization error and features a programmable PWM output, which controls the fan speed based on the remote diode temperature. This device also has an 8-step look-up table, which can be programmed to create a non-linear transfer function fan control based on the temperature. This allows designers to avoid the resonant frequency of the fan and achieve better acoustic performance in their systems.
This product contains a fan tachometer-monitoring system that monitors the fan tachometer correctly when the fan voltage is modulated by either low- or high-frequency PWM output. The LM63 also has an offset register, which helps designers maintain accuracy while using CPUs with different non-ideality factors or different trace lengths by simply adjusting the register. The LM63 also incorporates a programmable digital filter to reduce the noise in thermal measurement of integrated diodes.
Pricing and Availability
The LM63 is sampling now in SO-8 packaging and is priced at $2.10 in 1000-unit quantities. More information on the LM63 is available at http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM63.html. For more information on National’s temperature sensor products, visit http://www.national.com/appinfo/tempsensors/. To view a high-resolution downloadable photo of this product, visit National's photo gallery at http://www.national.com/company/pressroom/gallery/temp.html.
About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor is the premier analog company driving the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of-the-art digital technology, the company is focused on the fast growing markets for wireless handsets; displays; information infrastructure, and information appliances. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $1.5 billion for its most recent fiscal year and has about 10,000 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.
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