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California Micro Devices Launches New PicoGuard(R) Device for Antenna Protection in Mobile Handsets

Posted on: Monday, 9 March 2009, 08:30 CDT

CM1282 Provides Robust ESD Protection for FM Radio, GPS, Bluetooth and WLAN Applications

MILPITAS, Calif., March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --California Micro Devices (Nasdaq: CAMD) today announced the PicoGuard CM1282, a single channel ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection device for the FM radio, GPS, Bluetooth and WLAN antennas used in today's most advanced mobile handsets. The CM1282 is based on CMD's PicoGuard line of low capacitance ESD protection products, providing industry leading levels of dynamic resistance, clamping voltage and insertion loss. Low insertion loss is a critical consideration because of the very low power signals received from FM transmitters and GPS satellites. These performance characteristics and a space efficient, small form factor package make the CM1282 the ideal ESD solution for antenna protection in mobile handsets.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090309/SF80211)

Growing Demand for Multimedia and Wireless Internet Capabilities

"In spite of the current contraction of the handset market, consumers are showing increased demand for handsets featuring advanced multimedia and wireless Internet connectivity. Feature phones and smart phones that incorporate FM receivers, GPS, Bluetooth and WLAN are expected to grow as a category at a 62% CAGR from 2008 through 2011, a rate 22 times faster than handset market growth for this same period," said Tina Teng, Senior Wireless Communications Analyst for iSuppli Corporation. In addition to the mobile handset market, location based services using GPS are also becoming increasingly popular in today's latest laptop, PDA and netbook designs. The internal antennas that are required are highly susceptible to ESD strikes that can damage the handset's internal baseband and application processors.

PicoGuard Defines Robust ESD Protection

When selecting ESD protection devices, mobile handset designers need to consider capacitance, standard ESD ratings, and, most importantly, clamping voltage and dynamic resistance. The amount of dynamic resistance determines the amount of residual current and voltage that the device being protected is subjected to during an ESD event. The lower the dynamic resistance of the ESD protection diode, the greater the portion of the current and voltage that is diverted away from the device being protected.

"PicoGuard solutions, including the CM1282, feature industry leading low levels of dynamic resistance, residual current and clamping voltages, offering our customers assurance that they are getting the most effective ESD protection available," said Kyle Baker, vice president of marketing for California Micro Devices.

CM1282 Main Features

• Very low capacitance (0.5 pF) antenna port protection
• Very low insertion loss (<-0.25 dB) through 1.8 GHz
• Dynamic resistance more than 30% lower than competing solutions
• Clamping voltages 20% lower than competing solutions
• 8kV contact discharge protection per IEC 61000-4-2 Level 4
• Low leakage current, important for battery operated devices
• Meets the linearity mask for 802.11 protocols

Packaging, Pricing and Availability

The CM1282-01D1 is available in an industry standard, compact SOD-882 lead free, RoHS compliant package. Samples are available now and are priced at $0.06 each at 3,000 units. Mass production is planned for April 2009.

About California Micro Devices Corporation

California Micro Devices Corporation is a leading supplier of application specific analog and mixed signal semiconductor products for the mobile handset, digital consumer electronics and personal computer markets. Key products include protection devices for mobile handsets, digital consumer electronics products such as digital TVs, and personal computers as well as analog and mixed signal ICs for mobile handset displays. Detailed corporate and product information may be accessed at http://www.cmd.com.

The CMD logo is a trademark of California Micro Devices Corporation. PicoGuard is a registered trademark of California Micro Devices Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SOURCE California Micro Devices

Source: PR Newswire

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