Alvand Technologies Announces Industry's Lowest Power, Smallest Die-Area Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) Intellectual Property (IP) Solution in Advanced 65nm Process Node

Best-in-class, production-ready ADC technology from Alvand Technologies is ideally suited for cost-effective, energy-efficient Digital TV, digital imaging and wireless LAN applications

Santa Clara, Calif. – March 5, 2009 – Alvand Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of mixed-signal ASIC and IP solutions, today announced the production-readiness of the industry’s lowest power, smallest die-area analog-to-digital converter (ADC) intellectual property (IP) for advanced digital TV (DTV), digital imaging and wireless LAN applications.  Designed in UMC’s leading 65nm manufacturing process node, the ALVADC10_205M65U IP solution from Alvand is a robust 10-bit, 205 Mega-samples-per-second (MSPS) pipeline ADC that features excellent dynamic range performance, with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 58.5 dBFS, and high immunity to substrate noise.

Alvand’s ALVADC10_205M65U IP solution features the industry’s lowest power consumption of 30mW at 205MSPS, which represents a 200% to 500% power savings over competitive offerings.  In addition, Alvand’s ADC solution features the industry’s smallest die area of 0.12mm2 in 65nm, which is up to 10X smaller than competitive solutions, as well as having small pitch of about 200um.  The combination of ultra low-power and small die area enables customers to develop high-performance systems that require a high density of multi-channel ADCs on chip, as well as highly energy efficient solutions for power-sensitive portable and mobile devices. 

Based on Alvand’s patented ADC technology, the best-in-class ALVADC10_205M65U IP solution has successfully been integrated by a worldwide leading provider of digital multimedia and digital television semiconductor solutions, whose products are ramping into production this month.  The ALVADC10_205M65U IP complements Alvand’s existing portfolio of high-performance, ultra low-power ADC and analog front end (AFE) IP solutions that are shipping in volume production by multiple customers.

“We’re excited to have again raised the bar of innovation for the industry in high-performance, ultra low-power and small die-area A/D converter technology,” said Mansour Keramat, president and chief executive officer at Alvand Technologies.  “This is the fourth consecutive process node (180nm, 130nm, 90nm and now 65nm) in which we have demonstrated clear market and technology leadership in advanced ADC solutions, as evidenced by multiple industry recognitions we have received, and we expect our leadership to continue into the 40nm node this year.”

Alvand provides a complete design kit to its customers for fast and reliable integration of the IP into customers’ design flow.  The design kit includes datasheet, integration guideline, physical design database, LVS netlist, behavioral model, timing model, silicon validation report and evaluation board.

About Alvand Technologies

Alvand Technologies is a leading analog IC company that specializes in high-performance data converters (ADC/DAC) and Analog Front End (AFE) for a broad range of applications, such as wireless (Wi-Fi, WiMax, LTE) and wireline (10GBASE-T) communication systems, ultrasound, mobile TV and advanced semiconductor inspection equipment. Alvand offers a full line of high-speed, low-power ADC/DAC and AFE solutions, ranging from best-in-class IP cores to full turnkey mixed-signal ASICs. Alvand's solutions are based on patented ADC/DAC and AFE technologies; Alvand currently has over 10 issued and pending patents. Alvand’s seasoned team of analog and mixed-signal IC designers has extensive experience in high-performance analog and mixed-signal IC design with particular emphasis on ultra low power applications. Our team has a successful track record of delivering high-quality products and IP cores that are shipping in mass production. Founded in 2005, Alvand Technologies has experienced significant sequential revenue growth and has been profitable since inception. The company has received a number of industry recognitions, including the KLA-Tencor “Developer Achievement Award”, the UMC “Special Achievement” Award, and the UMC “Best Partnership” Award. Alvand Technologies is privately held and is located in Santa Clara, California. For more information about Alvand Technologies, please call +1-408-988-8902 or visit the Alvand website at http://www.alvandtech.com.