Marvell Semiconductor Adds 240 Mb/s User-Switchable EPR-4/PR4 PRML Read-Channel Devices, Improves Density; Marvell's Digital CMOS Designs Continue to Push Bandwidth Higher While Reducing Error Rates, Cutting Production Costs

Business Wire, Sept 15, 1997

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 1997--Marvell Semiconductor Inc. raised the PRML performance standard yet another notch as first samples of its 88C2020 were announced, offering 240 Mb/s user-selectable EPR4 and PR4 with a Viterbi detector and a choice of 16/17 or 8/9 Endec functionality.

The 88C2020 is the first device to offer the density advantages of a full 8-state EPR4 at this speed. Marvell's 88C2020 is a single robust, low-cost, low-power solution, capable of supporting drive speeds from 40 to 240 Mb/s. The 88C2020, like all Marvell chips, takes advantage of the company's proprietary MSP(TM) (Mixed-Signal Processing) technology, which is at the core of its line of high-performance, robust, reliable, low-cost PRML and pre-amp devices for disk drive manufacturers.(a)

"The disk drive industry needs consistently higher performance at the same or lower price to satisfy the demands of their customers," said Sehat Sutardja, Marvell president and CEO. "Marvell continues to set new standards in performance and price for PRML read-channel devices and support products, by taking the time to really look at the requirements of disk drive manufacturers and offering complete and integrated solutions."

The disk drive market is forecasted to experience an annual growth rate of 15-20 percent through the year 2000. Manufacturers are expected to ship 230 million drives in the year 2000, up from an anticipated 140 million hard drives in 1997. Almost all of these drives will require PRML read-channels.

In the highly competitive disk drive industry, manufacturers are expected to offer 60 percent more capacity each year at the previous year's price. The read channel has been the major bottleneck. Component manufacturers such as Marvell are called upon to provide innovative approaches to achieve higher densities, higher performance and lower price.

Marvell offers the speed of analog PRML ICs with the functional richness of digital PRML designs, while taking advantage of digital CMOS technology to provide a small form factor, rapid, reliable production, low cost and low power. The company's techniques for optimizing FIR filters, cutoff filters and precomp circuitry allow Marvell to offer PRML chips that have some of the lowest error rates in the industry, based on customer tests.

The 88C2020 uses standard digital 0.5 um CMOS and is designed with self-calibration circuits that can adjust for normal CMOS process variations, which eliminates the need for cherry-picking for high performance devices. Marvell design rules ensure ease of migration to 0.35 and 0.25 um processes, where performance of 350-500 Mb/s is anticipated, while remaining backward compatible with earlier Marvell devices. Marvell 's mixed-signal CMOS architecture makes it possible to design components such as the 88C2020 with automated test coverage of more than 98 percent.

Price and Availability

Samples of Marvell's 240 Mb/s 88C2020 are available in September, with production quantities scheduled for Q4 1997. Marvell has set OEM pricing in an 80-pin TQFP package at less than $6.00.

Marvell Semiconductor Inc. is a privately held company with expertise in the design, development and marketing of MSP-based high-performance, high-value-added, mixed-signal integrated circuits for computer, data storage and multimedia systems markets, using world-class semiconductor foundries to manufacture its products. MSP, or Mixed-Signal Processing, is Marvell's breakthrough technology that offers high-bandwidth mixed-signal components in CMOS technology.

The company is currently focusing on the disk drive storage market with a line of PRML read-channel chips and matching pre-amp products. Marvell targets high-performance and mainstream disk drive applications with a single robust, low-cost, lower-power solution capable of supporting speeds from 40 to 240 Mb/s. Marvell is headquartered at 525 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086. Phone: 408/524-2488; fax: 408/524-6880; Website: http://www.marvell.com .

(a) Note to Editors: Request Marvell's white paper, "MSP -- Technology for the Next Century." -0-

Note to Editors: MSP is a trademark of Marvell Semiconductor Inc.

CONTACT: Marvell Semiconductor Inc.

Weili Dai, 408/524-6878

weili@marvell.com

or

Breakthru Communications

Barbara Kline, 408/777-9364

bkline@breakthrucom.com