National Semiconductor Named EDN Innovation Awards Finalist in Four Categories

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM) today announced it has been named a finalist in the 20th Annual EDN Innovation Awards in four categories. Instituted in 1990, EDN's Innovation Awards honor the people, products and technologies that have shaped the semiconductor industry over the past year.

The following National analog products and online design tool were selected from hundreds of nominations to be an EDN Innovation Award finalist:

• ADC16DV160 16-bit, 160 MSPS (Analog Converters Category): The industry's first dual-channel 16-bit, 160 mega-samples per second (MSPS) pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC). With two high-speed channels, the ADC16DV160 offers system designers the world's best dynamic performance and smallest footprint (10 mm by 10 mm) to reduce system size, design complexity and development costs. The ADC16DV160 is targeted at multi-carrier, multi-standard GSM/EDGE, WCDMA, LTE and WiMAX wireless basestations. For more information, visit www.national.com/pf/DC/ADC16DV160.html.
• WEBENCH® Visualizer (Power Special Category): A powerful comparison and selection tool that enables engineers to rapidly select an optimal power system design. WEBENCH Visualizer creates a graphical snapshot of options across multiple criteria, such as power efficiency, footprint and system bill of materials (BOM) cost. Drawing from 25 different switching power supply architectures and 21,000 components, engineers can navigate through billions of power supply design alternatives in seconds. Design criteria can be modified and the real-time effects observed, allowing engineers to select the best DC-DC power supply based on their unique needs. For more information, visit www.national.com/visualizer.
• LM3445 TRIAC Dimmable-LED driver (Power Lighting Category): This constant-current controller enables off-line, uniform, flicker-free dimming of high-brightness light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a conventional TRIode for Alternating Current (TRIAC) forward or reverse phase-control wall dimmer. The LM3445 TRIAC dimmable LED driver enables a full 100:1 range of dimming capability and can maintain greater than 1A of constant current to large strings of LEDs in a variety of residential, architectural, commercial and industrial applications. For more information, visit www.national.com/pf/LM/LM3445.html.
• SolarMagic™ Power Optimizer (Power Supplies Systems Category): A module-level solution that employs advanced electronics that extract the maximum energy available from each module until a string optimum is achieved, enabling greater energy harvest. In a variety of field trials worldwide, SolarMagic was able to recoup up to 71 percent of energy that would otherwise be lost. For more information, visit www.solarmagic.com.

Selection Criteria

Nominees for the Innovations of the Year category must demonstrate innovation that resulted in a significant advance in technology or product development and have shipped in volume in the 2009 calendar year. EDN's worldwide audience of electronic engineers and engineering managers are invited to cast online ballots at www.EDN.com/innovation20 through March 19 for the winners in each category. A combination of ballots cast by readers, EDN's editorial advisory board and editorial staff will determine the ultimate winners for announcement at an awards ceremony on April 26, 2010 in San Jose, Calif.

About EDN and EDN.com

EDN serves the vital information needs of design engineers and engineering managers worldwide. EDN.com delivers a three-dimensional view of the electronic industry via news coverage, strategic business information, and in-depth technical content. (www.edn.com). EDN is published by Reed Business Information (www.reedbusiness.com/us), the largest business-to-business publisher in the United States and a member of the Reed Elsevier Group Plc (NYSE: RUK and ENL) – a world-leading publisher and information provider.

About National Semiconductor

National Semiconductor is a leader in analog power management technology. Its products include easy-to-use integrated circuits, PowerWise products that enable more energy-efficient systems, and SolarMagic products which improve the energy output of solar arrays. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary last May. Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., National reported sales of $1.46 billion for fiscal 2009. Additional information is available at www.national.com.

WEBENCH and PowerWise are registered trademarks, and SolarMagic is a trademark of National Semiconductor Corporation. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE National Semiconductor Corp.