*****For immediate use February 26th, 2002
NEC Develops Serial ATA Macro for Physical Storage Interface Demonstrates Industry Leadership with Next-Level Storage Solution
TOKYO, Japan, and SANTA CLARA, Calif., February 26, 2002-NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) (TSE: 6701) and NEC Electronics Inc., NEC's wholly owned subsidiary in the United States, today announced the development of its Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) Macro, an intellectual property (IP) core that implements a physical layer, link layer, and transport layer storage interface and is an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical storage interface. As the next-level solution for storage interfaces, NEC's Serial ATA Macro enables the building of smaller and lower-voltage large-scale integrated (LSI) systems sought by the industry.
The evolution of the Internet and wireless mobile systems has introduced a wide range of storage applications, including enterprise systems and mobile computing devices that require high-capacity, high-performance storage. Serial ATA technology will provide the performance, simplicity, and cost advantages needed for these applications.
"NEC's Serial ATA Macro will show that the new era of storage interface technology has arrived," said Takatoshi Koga, assistant general manager, 3rd System LSI Division, NEC Corporation. "With our Serial ATA Macro, customers now have the opportunity to create high-performing, distinctive products for the next generation of systems. The Serial ATA Macro dramatically expands the storage interface both in size and speed; customers using the Serial ATA Macro will benefit from a proven, robust design and the extensive manufacturing capability of a world leader in this advanced technology."
Product Highlights
With this development, NEC has achieved an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical storage interface. The Serial ATA Macro development was based on NEC's latest mass production process, UX4, a CMOS process that has a 0.13-micron (
m) gate width, enabling smaller and lower-voltage LSI systems.NEC has a variety of libraries associated with its CB-12 cell base, which uses the UX4 technology. Serial ATA technology can be highly leveraged by integrating with these libraries. In addition, NEC's Serial ATA technology adopts spread spectrum clocking (SSC) to both the transmitter and receiver sides to minimize disturbance in the system and to offer optimal features for the configuration of external systems.
Pricing and Availability
The Serial ATA Macro is now available in test chips with confirmed multi-channel functionality and in an evaluation board with PCI buses, a bridge function, and the Serial ATA Macro. The first products incorporating the Serial ATA Macro are expected in summer 2002. Products implementing second-generation Serial ATA Macro and delivering 3.0 gigabits per second (Gbps) are expected to be in production in the fourth quarter of 2002.
About Serial ATA
The Serial ATA is the interface that connects the hard disk drive (HDD) and the enterprise or mobile computing device. A Serial ATA interface can transfer data up to 1.5 Gbps and will enable better cost, performance, connectivity, and reliability in PC, server, and storage applications.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.1) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer, network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs approximately 150,000 people worldwide and saw net sales of 5,409 billion Yen (approx. US$43 billion) in fiscal year 2000-2001. For further information, visit the NEC home page at http://www.nec.com.
About NEC Electronics Inc.
NEC Electronics Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., is one of the leading developers, manufacturers and suppliers of semiconductor products in the United States. Committed to meeting customers' cost, performance and time-to-market requirements, the company offers solutions ranging from standard products, including electron components, to system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions, as well as customized products for next-generation designs. NEC Electronics also offers customers the benefits of a local manufacturing facility in Roseville, California, and the global manufacturing capabilities of its parent company, NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY). For more information about products offered by NEC Electronics Inc., visit the NEC Electronics website at www.necel.com.
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