SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EDN Magazine selected National Semiconductor's precision operational amplifiers and VIP50 process from a field of hundreds as analog innovation of the year in its 16th Annual Innovation Awards. EDN announced the winners at a ceremony on April 3 in San Jose, Calif. Instituted in 1990, this awards program honors the outstanding electronic products that have shaped the semiconductor industry over the past year.
In a related announcement today, National released details of nine precision and low-voltage products based on its VIP50 process technology. National Semiconductor is the first company to develop a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) BiCMOS process optimized for precision amplifier products. This proprietary process dramatically improves the performance of the company's next-generation precision and low-power, low-voltage operational amplifiers. The op amps built on this new process feature significant improvements in accuracy, low power consumption and voltage noise for industrial, medical and automotive applications. These improvements, combined with the products' small size, also make them well-suited for portable applications.
"Winning the Innovation of the Year award from EDN recognizes National's continued leadership and creativity in developing advanced analog technologies," said Erroll Dietz, vice president of National's Amplifier Group.
Selection Criteria
Nominees within the Innovations of the Year categories must demonstrate innovation that resulted in a significant advance in technology or product development and have shipped in volume in the 2005 calendar year. EDN's worldwide audience of electronics engineers and engineering managers voted by online ballot to select the ultimate winners from among the finalists. EDN's editorial staff and the EDN Editorial Advisory Board also take part in determining the final winners.
About EDN/Reed Business Information
Known as the "voice of the engineer," EDN, based in Waltham, Mass., serves the vital information needs of design engineers and engineering managers worldwide. The EDN franchise includes EDN, EDN Europe, EDN Asia, EDN Australia, EDN China, EDN Japan and EDN.com.
EDN is published by Reed Business Information (http://www.reedbusiness.com/us), the largest business-to-business publisher in the United States and a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business- to-business industry sectors.
About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor, the industry's premier analog company, creates high-performance analog devices and subsystems. National's leading-edge products include power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers, communication interface products and data conversion solutions. National's key markets include wireless handsets, displays, PCs and laptops. The company's analog products are also optimized for numerous applications in a variety of electronics markets, including medical, automotive, industrial, and test and measurement. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $1.98 billion for fiscal 2004, which ended May 30, 2004. Additional company and product information is available at http://www.national.com/.
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