EL SEGUNDO, CA. February 2001 - International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE: IRF) has expanded its engineering capabilities and DC-DC power management integrated circuit (IC) product lines with the acquisition of Unisem, Inc., completed on January 5, 2001.

Demand for more functionality and speed in end products, plus the trend to lower operating voltages, are driving explosive growth for DC-DC power technology and distributed-power architectures in advanced computing systems and wide-bandwidth Internet backbone equipment.

IR’s newly acquired control ICs and low dropout (LDO) linear regulators complement the company’s line of industry-leading HEXFET^® MOSFETs. The expanded product mix makes IR the premier source of power management solutions for multiple output, on-board DC-DC converters for distributed power architecture (DPA) systems used in information technology (IT) applications.

Walt Lifsey, Vice President of Corporate Development, said, “International Rectifier’s corporate mission is to deliver the most efficient and cost-effective power management components and systems in the world. Our expanded portfolio of DC-DC technology allows IR to offer customers value-added power management solutions for the world’s most demanding and rewarding applications. With our complete solutions, customers get to market faster with more competitive products.”

An Overview of the New Family Members
The switching control ICs and LDO regulators meet or exceed voltage and power requirements recommended by major microprocessor manufacturers for desktop, notebook and mobile applications.

Next-generation microprocessors and chip sets have power requirements with extreme dynamic load conditions. IR’s control ICs, such as the IRU3004, are designed with a patented architecture enabling a fast transient response time (less than 100 nanoseconds) while maintaining stability without increasing circuit complexity.

IR’s wide variety of LDO regulators includes the industry’s first single-die, dual regulator device (the IRU1260), as well as low- and very-low dropout regulators.

Extremely efficient silicon die in each control IC and LDO regulator enables packaging flexibility. The devices are offered in a wide selection of industry-standard packages as well as the UltraThin-Pak™, a low-profile, single in-line package, and the “power SO-8,” which has three times more power dissipation than the standard SO-8 package.

Trademark Notice
IR^® and HEXFET^® are registered trademarks of International Rectifier Corporation. All other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.