MILPITAS, California, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Sipex Corporation (Nasdaq: SIPX), a leading supplier of high performance, analog integrated circuits (ICs), today announced the SP7653. This new device extends Sipex's industry-leading PowerBlox(TM) family of high current, high voltage, ultra-miniature DC/DC buck regulators. The SP7653 is a 3A, 1.3Mhz buck regulator that is ideal for compact solution sizes in applications such as cable and DSL modems, set top boxes, plasma TVs, LCD monitors, high-end desktops and servers as well as networking and communications equipment.

The SP7653 is capable of handling an input voltage as high as 20V and delivering output voltages as low as 0.8V. By integrating high efficiency switches with a resistance of only 40mOhm, the SP7653 outperforms all competing solutions offering up to 91% efficiency over a wide output voltage range of 0.8V to 19V.

Like other members of the PowerBlox family, the SP7653 features include programmable soft start, over-temperature protection, dual under-voltage lock-out (UVLO) thresholds, short circuit protection and power-up into a pre-charged output. PowerBlox ICs also have a proprietary chip-to-chip interface that enables designers to implement various power-up protocols, such as ratiometric, sequential and simultaneous.

The SP7653 is available in a 7mm x 4mm DFN package with three integrated heat sinks for outstanding thermal management and greatly reduced total solution size.

SP7653 Key Features (typical) -- 2.5V to 20V step down achieved -- Output voltage down to 0.8V -- 3A output current capability -- Built in low RDS(on) power switches (40 mOhm) -- 1.3MHz fixed frequency operation -- UVLO detects both VCC and VIN -- Built-in over temperature protection and short circuit protection with auto-restart -- Programmable soft start -- Asynchronous start-up into a pre-charged output -- Small 7mm x 4mm DFN package

Pricing and Availability

The SP7653 is available now and pricing begins at US$2.51 in 10,000 piece quantities. Samples are also available to help in the evaluation of the device. The part is rated over the industrial temperature range of -40 degrees C to +85 degrees C. The data sheet and additional information on the SP7653 and other Sipex product offerings may be found on the company web site at www.sipex.com.

About Sipex Power Management Products

Power management ICs deliver key benefits to portable power and distributed power applications, providing better power efficiency, increased miniaturization and more power at lower voltage levels. This product group includes low dropout linear regulators, DC to DC switching regulators, LED drivers, PWM controllers, charge pumps, and microprocessor supervisors. Applications for the Sipex power products include personal computers and peripherals, battery powered hand-held devices such as PDAs and cellular telephones, and data communications products.

About Sipex

Sipex Corporation is a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and markets high performance, value-added analog integrated circuits (ICs). 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, CA with additional offices in Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and the UK. Sipex sells products direct and through its distribution channels. For more information about Sipex, visit www.sipex.com.

CONTACT: Sharon Guerrand Phone: +1-408-934-7500 Fax: +1-408-935-7600

Web site: http://www.sipex.com

Sharon Guerrand of Sipex Corporation, +1-408-934-7500, or fax, +1-408-935-7600