UART Device is 66 MHz PCI 3.0 compliant .

Press Release Summary:



Providing PCI Bus Power Management 1.1 support, Model XR17V254 quad-channel UART device features 3.3 V supply, fractional baud rate generator, 16-bit programmable timer, and 64-byte FIFOs. Each UART channel includes programmable TX and RX FIFO level trigger, FIFO level counter, hardware and software flow control, IrDA encoder/decoder, and automatic RS-485 half-duplex direction control. Global interrupt source register speeds interrupt parsing of all channels within device.



Original Press Release:



Exar Introduces Industry's First Quad-Channel 66MHz PCI 3.0 Compliant UART; Complementing Dual and Octal Solutions



Fremont, California, August 22, 2006 - Exar Corporation (Nasdaq: EXAR), a leading provider of high-performance, mixed-signal silicon solutions for the worldwide communications infrastructure, today announced the industry's first quad-channel 66MHz PCI 3.0 compliant Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) device. The XR17V254 includes a baud rate generator with fractional divisor and offers PCI power management feature. This device supports the rapid market transition to higher speed interconnects found in emerging opportunities from computer and telecom server markets for applications such as remote access servers, instrumentation, storage, embedded systems, serial port expansion, factory automation and process control.

"Added to the already market-accepted 66MHz PCI 3.0 compliant eight channel (XR17V258) and dual-channel (XR17V252) versions, this new PCI-UART offers customers expanded options for a variety of design environments," said Levent Ozcolak, vice president of Marketing, Interface Products. "The XR17V25x comes with several value-added features such as higher bandwidth and a 32-bit 66MHz PCI interface; these capabilities are critical for the continuing market shift to applications requiring faster data transmission speeds, especially in embedded, point-of-sale and telecommunications."

"Exar continues to release innovative products for serial communications interface, which solidify its leadership role in this market," said Susie Inouye, research director, principal analyst, Databeans - a leading research firm providing intelligent market research to professionals in the electronics industry.

Seven Industry Firsts

The XR17V254 marks Exar's seventh industry-first offering in the last 16 months. In June 2006, Exar released the XR16V2x5x series of 16Mbps dual UARTs; in April 2006, Exar launched the UART and RS-232 combination, the XR19L2xx series; in February 2006, Exar released the XR17V252 a dual-channel 66MHz PCI 3.0 compliant UART; in December 2005, the Company introduced the industry's first 1.8V single-channel UART (XR16L570) in 24 and 32-pin QFN packages; in June 2005, Exar added the industry's smallest UART (XR16L580); lastly, in March 2005, Exar introduced the industry's first multi-channel 66MHz PCI 3.0 compliant UART family, the first in this series was an eight-channel (XR17V258) solution.

Product Details

The XR17V254 is a single chip multi-channel 66MHz PCI 3.0 compliant UART and features a
3.3V supply, fractional baud rate generator, PCI Bus Power Management 1.1 support, 16-bit programmable timer/counter, and 64-byte FIFOs. Support for 66MHz PCI is ideal for system management and administration of applications where continuous redundancy and Quality of Service at higher bus clock speeds are critical.

Each UART channel includes a fully programmable TX and RX FIFO level trigger, FIFO level counter, automatic hardware and software flow control, wireless infrared (IrDA) encoder/decoder, and automatic RS-485 half-duplex direction control output for hardware and software design simplification. The XR17V254 consists of four independent UART channels with a global interrupt source register for faster interrupt parsing of all the channels within the device. Its fifth generation configuration registers, and enhanced registers, meet the high bandwidth and power management requirements of communication systems. The XR17V254 also offers sleep mode with wake-up indicator feature that allows for lower power consumption. It is register-set, package and
pin compatible with Exar's existing 33MHz XR17C154 (5V) and XR17D154 (Universal) PCI
UART devices.

Tools and Support

All devices in the series are supported by standard serial port software drivers for popular operating systems including Windows CE 4.2 and 5.0, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, XP and Linux. With the availability of software drivers and Exar's application support hot line (uarttechsupport@exar.com) UART customers can greatly accelerate their product development cycle.

Packages, Prices, Availability and Additional Information

The four-channel XR17V254, is offered in a 100-pin TQFP package, and is priced at $17.00 in 1,000 piece quantities. The device is available for sampling now. Additional information on this product can be found at: www.exar.com/product.php?ProdNumber=XR17V254 and other UART Products at: www.exar.com/area.php?areaID=3.

Exar products are European RoHS compliant except for external lead finish or solder balls. Leadfree products are also available upon request.

About Exar

Exar Corporation, celebrating its 20th year on NASDAQ, designs, develops and markets highperformance, analog and mixed-signal silicon solutions for a variety of markets including networking, serial communications, clock and timing, and storage. Leveraging its industry-proven analog design expertise and system-level knowledge, Exar delivers to customers a wide array of technology solutions for their current as well as next generation products. The Company is based in Fremont, CA, had fiscal 2006 revenues of $67.0 million, and employs approximately 250 people worldwide. For more information about the Company visit: www.exar.com.

Contacts:
Greg Kaufman,
Marketing Communications
(510) 668-7000

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