Sipex Enters the High Definition DVD Market with State-of-the-Art Optical Signal Processing Components

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Sipex Enters the High Definition DVD Market with State-of-the-Art Optical Signal Processing Components
 SP8029 Completes the Sipex Chipset Required in Optical Pickups for HD DVD
                            and Blu-ray Formats

    MILPITAS, Calif., June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sipex Corporation
(OTC: SIPX.PK) today announced its state-of-the-art SP8029 Automatic Laser
Power Control IC, which provides unmatched precision control and speed for
laser diode power required by state-of-the-art High Density DVD (HD-DVD) or
Blu-ray (BD) optical recorders and players. This precision and speed is
necessary to extend operating life of the laser diode and guarantee an
acceptable bit-error rate during "write-mode" operations.
    A single SP8029 provides the power level control of all three laser
wavelengths, 780nm, 650nm, and 405nm, used in CD, DVD, and both high
density formats, HD-DVD and BD, respectively.
    Key to the performance of the SP8029 is a fully-integrated
photodetector with extremely low parasitics and excellent sensitivity, at
all three wavelengths through a Sipex proprietary detector structure
design. This embedded optoelectronic technology, in combination with a
20GHz BiCMOS process, results in a circuit with pulse response settling
times of less than 5ns and bandwidths well in excess of 100MHz, critical to
high speed writing operation.
    The SP8029 enables the support of full length high definition movies
for HD-DVD and Blue-ray when used in combination with a family of Sipex
advanced optical signal processing circuits. The combined technology
utilizes the 405nm wavelength blue laser diode to increase the recording
density of an optical disk to 30 Gigabytes, sufficient capacity to
accommodate more than 2-1/2 hours of high definition video.
    The photodetector-based signal processing circuit, known as the PDIC,
is located on the optical pickup head and consists of an array of up to
twelve photodetectors which, in combination with >200MHz bandwidth
amplifiers and buffers, are used to convert optical signals reflected from
the disk to equivalent voltages representing digital data, disk tracking
data and laser focus control data. Several previously released custom Sipex
PDICs for Blu-ray and HD-DVD are in systems currently on the market.
    The principal challenge of PDIC design is achieving wide signal
bandwidth (>200MHz) at high gains while maintaining a high signal-to-noise
ratio. The high signal-to-noise ratio enables the high data storage rates
required for HD-DVD RW and Blue-Ray RW. Similar to the SP8029, Sipex
utilizes a proprietary photodetector process and geometry which results in
optical responsiveness of 0.23A/W at 405nm and 0.5A/W at 650nm and 780nm.
This high responsiveness combined with high accuracy IC processing, results
in a performance level unparalleled in the industry.
    "With the release of the SP8029 we now have the best total performance
optical chipset solution for our HD-DVD and Blu-ray customers," said Dr. Gi
Young Lee, Optical Business Unit VP at Sipex. "These new circuits will be
incorporated into a number of high definition recorders and players being
introduced into the marketplace this fall for both consumer and computing
applications."
    Pricing and Availability
    The SP8029 is available in a 16-pin, OLCC lead-free packaging
compatible with JEDEC reflow cycle specifications for lead-free process.
Pricing and technical information is available by contacting
customersupport@sipex.com.
    About Sipex Corporation
    Sipex Corporation is a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures
and markets high performance, value-added analog integrated circuits (IC).
Sipex serves the broad analog signal processing market with interface,
power management and optical storage ICs for use in automotive, portable
products, computing, communications, and networking infrastructure markets.
The company is headquartered in Milpitas, California with additional
offices in Billerica, MA, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Japan and
Taiwan. Sipex sells products direct and through its distribution channels.
For more information about Sipex, visit http://www.sipex.com.
     For additional information, contact:
     Dr. Gi Young Lee, VP Optical Business Unit
     Tel: 408-934-7500
     Fax: 408-935-7678
     Email: gylee@sipex.com
SOURCE Sipex Corporation
http://www.sipex.com/
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/111683.html/
CONTACT:
Dr. Gi Young Lee, VP Optical Business Unit,
of Sipex Corporation, +1-408-934-7500, Fax: +1-408-935-7678, or
gylee@sipex.com