Mouser Electronics Now Stocking Catalyst Semiconductor's High-Efficiency 7W Buck LED Driver in TSOT-23 Package


CAT4201 - Innovative Buck Converter Optimized for Driving High-Brightness, 350mA LEDs At Up To 94 Percent Efficiency

Mansfield, Texas, USA - November 14, 2007 - Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it is stocking the CAT4201 Buck Converter from Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATS), a leading supplier of analog, mixed-signal, and non-volatile memory semiconductors.

"One of Mouser's core competencies is to rapidly stock and market new products for our design engineering customers," said Mike Scott, Mouser's Vice President of Active Products. "As the use of high-power LEDs continues to expand exponentially in many traditional and new lighting markets, products such as Catalyst Semiconductor's CAT4201 Buck Converter help our customers get the highest performance from their new product designs."

The CAT4201 incorporates Catalyst's patent-pending switching control algorithm which reduces system complexity and improves efficiency. The new architecture also allows an external RSET control resistor to preset a regulated LED current up to 350mA from supplies as high as 24 volts, providing better inductor control and eliminating the need for a dedicated heat sink. Designers can easily control the average current with a single external resistor, resulting in the extremely low internal power dissipation that allows the converter to be housed in a tiny, 5-lead TSOT-23 package.

The buck converter offers a more efficient and significantly smaller alternative to linear regulators for driving high-brightness LEDs in step-down applications. The built-in load dump protection allows transients of 40 volts to be safely handled, fully optimizing the CAT4201 for automotive indicator and illumination light applications, including turn signals, brakes, and map reading lights.

The CAT4201 can drive a 1W LED from a 6V supply or up to 7 LEDs in series from a 24V supply. A dedicated enable control using minimal input current allows the load to be disabled and placed into a zero current shutdown mode, eliminating battery drain when not in use. Protection against short-circuit and thermal overload fault protection is also included.

Mouser's broad-based product line, unsurpassed customer service, and streamlined warehouse operations make the distributor the design engineer's one-stop shop for all the components and associated development tools necessary for total project design.

Mouser Electronics is the only major distributor to publish a new 1,900+ page print catalog every 90 days. In addition, its website with interactive online catalog is updated daily, contains more than 890,000 products for easy online purchase, provides over 1.5 million cross-references, as well as more than 677,000 downloadable data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, and other technical design information.

About Mouser

Mouser Electronics, Inc. is an electronic component distributor, focused on the rapid introduction of new products and technologies to electronic design engineers. Mouser.com features over 890,000 products online from more than 335 manufacturers. Mouser's 1,900+ page catalog is published every 90 days, providing designers with up-to-date data on the components now available for the next generation of electronic devices. Mouser ships globally to over 280,000 customers in 170 countries from its 432,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility in Mansfield, Texas. For more information, visit www.mouser.com.

About Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Catalyst Semiconductor designs and markets analog, mixed-signal and non-volatile memory products, including Digitally Programmable Potentiometers (DPP(TM)), white and color LED drivers, DC/DC converters, LDO regulators, voltage supervisors, I/O expanders, parallel EEPROMs, Flash and NVRAM. Many of Catalyst's products incorporate the Company's Quantum Charge Programmable(TM) technology to deliver Adaptive Analog(TM) products, which offer a new level of customer flexibility, lower power and smaller die size. Catalyst products are used in telecommunications, computer, automotive, industrial and consumer markets. Typical applications include LCD displays, automotive lighting, optical networks, printers, modems, wireless LANs, network cards, DIMM modules, cellular telephones, navigation systems, set-top boxes and Internet routers. www.catsemi.com.

Ellie Rovai
Marketing Manager
Mouser Electronics, Inc.
1000 North Main Street
Mansfield, TX 76063
Direct: 817-804-3857
Fax: 817-804-3803
e-mail: ellie.rovai@mouser.com

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