Renesas and Quantum Partner to Develop Innovative Capacitive Touch Sensing Solutions


TOKYO and DUBLIN - September 18, 2007 - Renesas Technology Corp., the number one microcontroller (MCU) supplier globally*1, and Quantum Research Group (QRG), supplier of the world's leading capacitive touch sensing technology, today announced that the two companies are collaborating to develop innovative capacitive touch sensing solutions. This agreement gives customers the benefits of QRG's expertise and innovative QProx(TM) technology on Renesas' MCU families, backed by their high quality, production capacity and supply chain reliability.

With no moving parts and the ability to implement sealed surfaces, capacitive touch sensing makes products more reliable and easier to manufacture than the electro-mechanical controls it replaces, as well as allowing more innovative product designs.

Capacitive touch sensing allows designers the freedom to create compelling user interfaces that would otherwise not be possible. Examples include buttons, wheels and sliders on curved control surfaces, and touch screens or panels that enhance product functionality and appeal. Demand for touch controls is growing rapidly in a wide range of applications, including mobile phones, white goods and automotive systems.

Hideharu Takebe, board director and general manager, MCU business group, Renesas Technology Corp., commented, "Renesas chose to partner with QRG as leaders in the field of capacitive touch sensing, with easily deployable technology that has already been demonstrated on our R8C family of MCUs. The technology will soon be extended to our H8 and M16C families."

QRG has worked with Renesas to deploy its QTouch technology on the R8C family of devices; a 2 button demonstrator is available using the R8C/29 MCU. QRG and Renesas are working together on a number of end customer applications worldwide.

"Quantum selects strategic partners very carefully. Renesas is the world's leading supplier of MCUs with high quality devices and an emphasis on supply chain trust and stability. Collaborating with Renesas is a major benefit to us and our customers," said Hal Philipp, CEO of Quantum Research Group. "The wide range of devices from Renesas across their MCU product families gives us the ability to address a broad range of applications with devices appropriate to each market segment," he added.

QRG will work with end customers to create compelling user interfaces, selecting the most appropriate device based on the application and market segment needs. Renesas will provide the silicon and the supply chain management.

Note 1: Source: Garter (March 2007) "2006 Worldwide Microcontroller Vendor Revenue" GJ07168

About Renesas Technology Corp.

Renesas Technology Corp. is one of the world's leading semiconductor system solutions providers for mobile, automotive and PC/AV (Audio Visual) markets and the world's No.1 supplier of microcontrollers. It is also a leading provider of LCD Driver ICs, Smart Card microcontrollers, RF-ICs, High Power Amplifiers, Mixed Signal ICs, System-on-Chip (SoC), System-in-Package (SiP) and more. Established in 2003 as a joint venture between Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, NYSE:HIT) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TSE:6503), Renesas Technology achieved consolidated revenue of 953billion JPY in FY2006 (end of March 2007). Renesas Technology is based in Tokyo, Japan and has a global network of manufacturing, design and sales operations in around 20 countries with about 26,500 employees worldwide. For further information, please visit www.renesas.com

About Quantum Research Group

Quantum, founded in 1996 is a leading provider of capacitive touch sense products and technologies. The company's award winning QTouch(TM) and QMatrix(TM) technologies are embedded in over 30 dedicated touch sense controllers from Quantum as well as licensed to silicon partners, addressing various applications in the mobile communication and entertainment markets as well as in PC, appliances and automotive applications. Quantum's sensing technology is based on its patented charge-transfer methodology and addresses applications with multiple buttons, wheels, sliders, track pads and touch screens. The company is privately held and based in Hamble, England with offices in Ireland, Germany, Japan, China, Korea and the United States. Additional company and product information is available at www.qprox.com

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