Micrel and Zilog Announce Technology Partnership

SAN JOSE, CA -- Micrel Inc., (Nasdaq:MCRL), an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth communications, and Ethernet IC solutions, and Zilog, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZILG), a leading supplier of embedded solutions for consumer and industrial applications, announced that they are working together on a technology partnership. The collaboration involves developing subsystem level module products targeted at motion sensor, TV remote and RF point-to-point cable replacement markets. Micrel is expected to provide the RF chips with Zilog supplying the microcontrollers and system software.

"The technology synergy between Micrel and Zilog will enable us to jointly develop easy-to-use single board computer solutions that will allow system designers to quickly and cost-effectively enter targeted market segments," noted Scott Ward, vice president analog business unit, Micrel. "Zilog is well known in growing market segments including industrial control, remote control, and motion sensors/alarms, and has successfully developed key system software intellectual property for these markets. We are very pleased to be working with them."

"Micrel is an industry leader in the RF markets with its RadioWire and QwikRadio product lines," said Mike Speckman, vice president worldwide sales, Zilog. "The IC technologies that Micrel has developed, coupled with Zilog's application-specific solutions, such as our Z8 Encore! XP Flash Microcontrollers will prove a formidable solution for the global marketplace. In addition, we are delighted to have entered into this collaboration with Micrel, given the compelling synergy of our products."

The MICRF505 is a true single chip, frequency shift keying (FSK) transceiver intended for use in half-duplex, bidirectional RF links. The multi-channeled FSK transceiver is intended for UHF radio equipment in compliance with the North American Federal Communications Commission (FCC) part 15.247 and 249, as well as the European Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI) specification, EN300 220. The MICRF506, a true single chip FSK transceiver solution, is designed to operate in the unlicensed 433 MHz ISM band. The chip supports data rates up to 200 Kbps and is part of Micrel's recently launched RadioWire family covering the low UHF band. The chip is aimed at the automotive, alarm and security, telemetry and Personal Area Network (PAN) and advanced toy markets and is suited for a wide variety of applications including gas, water and energy meters; home, building and security monitors; industrial controls, wireless headset and sports equipment, and remote control and game pads.

The Z8 Encore! XP F1680 microcontroller series is a family of highly integrated, low voltage/low power, high performance 8-bit mixed-mode Flash microcontrollers designed for use in a variety RF solutions such as RFID readers, remote controls and automatic meter readers. The Z8 Encore! XP Z81680 Microcontroller Series, based on a 20 MHz register-based eZ8 CPU core with memory-to-memory arithmetic operation, includes up to 24 KB Flash memory with in-circuit programming capability, up to 2 KB register RAM and 256 Bytes EEPROM capability, a built-in internal precision oscillator with programmable output from 43.2 kHz to 11 MHz and multiple serial interfaces including two LIN UARTs, SPI, and I2C. This series is also a low power series, supporting 1.8–3.6 V operation with very low ACTIVE, HALT and STOP mode currents, and many power saving features.

About Micrel
Micrel Inc., is a leading global manufacturer of IC solutions for the worldwide analog, Ethernet and high bandwidth markets. The company's products include advanced mixed-signal, analog and power semiconductors; high performance communication, clock management, Ethernet switch and physical layer transceiver ICs. Company customers include leading manufacturers of enterprise, consumer, industrial, mobile, telecommunications, automotive, and computer products. Corporation headquarters and state-of-the-art wafer fabrication facilities are located in San Jose, CA, with regional sales and support offices and advanced technology design centers situated throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. In addition, the company maintains an extensive network of distributors and reps worldwide.

About Zilog
Zilog is a global supplier of application specific, embedded system-on-chip (SoC) and single board computer solutions for secured transactions, consumer electronics and industrial application and an industry leader in remote control and universal IR database solutions. From its roots as an award-winning architect in the microprocessor and microcontroller industry, Zilog has evolved to become a leader in production-ready and custom-built SoC solution sets. Zilog is headquartered in San Jose, CA, and employs approximately 500 people around the world, with sales offices in Asia, Europe, and North America.