NEC Electronics Samples Small Form Factor PCI Express Bridge Chip

PCI Express to PCI/PCI-X Bridge Offers Ultra-Low Power and Thin Profile for Storage and Networking Applications

NEC Electronics Corporation and its subsidiaries in the Americas and Europe, NEC Electronics America, Inc. and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, today announced the availability of samples of its very low-power, single-port PCI Express-to-PCI®/PCI-X® bridge chip, introduced June 2006. The µPD720405 bridge application-specific standard product (ASSP) features a dual power supply that eliminates the need for special power-up sequencing. The very small form factor is also ideal for networking and storage applications that have stringent space limitations, such as workstation and server motherboards and low-profile cards (LPCs). NEC Electronics America will demonstrate this PCI Express technology in the PCI Express Community, booth number 532, at the Intel Developer Forum, September 26-28, at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco.

"NEC Electronics' low-power, small form factor PCI Express solution provides an easy migration path from native PCI/PCI-X devices and ensures compatibility of previous generations of PCI standards with the emerging PCI Express standard," said Kugao Ouchi, general manager, digital consumer and connectivity strategic business unit, NEC Electronics America. "The combination of a small form factor with a very low-power device make the µPD720405 bridge chip perfect for designs where size, speed and reliability are factors in the design criteria."

The µPD720405 ASSP supports x4 PCI Express lanes and a single PCI/PCI-X domain, and operates at 133 megahertz (MHz) in single-data-rate PCI-X mode or 66 MHz in 64-bit PCI mode. The ASSP also supports standard PCI Express power management states, as well as optional active power management states such as Link (from L0, L0s, L1 and L3) and Device (D0, D1 and D3). This support allows designers to minimize power consumption while complying with PCI specifications. The new bridge device also supports advanced error reporting and has a very low power consumption level of 2 watts (W), which eliminates the need for heat sinks in most applications. NEC Electronics' µPD720405 ASSP is available in a 17 x 17 millimeter (mm) ball-grid array (BGA) package that enables the device to fit into LPCs with heights as low as 64.41 mm, compared to the 106.88 mm height in standard PCI form factors.

More information about NEC Electronics' PCI Express products can be found at www.necel.com/pci_express.

NEC Electronics' PCI Express ASSP Solutions
NEC Electronics is committed to PCI Express technology and provides complete solutions. In 2002, NEC Electronics America was the first company to demonstrate a PCI Express PHY chip and endpoint controller core based on NEC Electronics' proven serializer/deserializer (SerDes) technology. PCI Express ASSPs include various switch and bridge chips.

Pricing and Availability
Samples of NEC Electronics' µPD720405 PCI Express bridge ASSP are currently available for US$22 each. Mass production is scheduled to begin in Q1 2007. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

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About NEC Electronics

NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) specializes in semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the high-end computing and broadband networking markets, system solutions for the mobile handset, PC peripheral, automotive and digital consumer markets, and multi-market solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC Electronics Corporation has 26 subsidiaries worldwide including NEC Electronics America, Inc. (www.am.necel.com) and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH (www.eu.necel.com). For additional information about NEC Electronics worldwide, visit www.necel.com.

NEC Electronics is either trademarks or registered trademarks of NEC Electronics Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. PCI-SIG, PCI Express, PCI-X and PCI are trademarks or registered trademarks of the PCI-SIG. Other product or brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.