Composed of 6 devices with either 16-, 32-, or 64-byte FIFO, XR16M and XR68M series 1.8 V UARTs feature fractional baud rate generator, automatic sleep mode, automatic hardware and software flow controls, wireless infrared encoder/decoder, and selectable TX and RX FIFO trigger levels. Series is compliant with Intel and Motorola bus interfaces, and devices are supported by serial port software drivers for various operating systems.

Series Addresses Customer Demand for Consumer and Networking Applications

FREMONT, Calif., July 31 / - Exar Corporation (NasdaqGM: EXAR), a leading provider of high-performance, mixed-signal silicon solutions for the worldwide communications infrastructure added a new family of high performance, low voltage (1.8V) Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitters (UARTs) to its rapidly expanding serial communications product portfolio. The XR16M and XR68M series is ideal for a variety of battery operated consumer products including portable devices, cellular data devices, and industrial applications such as factory automation/process control, telecommunications and routers, amongst others.

"Marking Exar's fifth UART launch this year, the XR16M and XR68M series continues Exar's focus on supplying industrial, telecommunications and consumer markets with enabling UART serial interface solutions," said Levent Ozcolak, vice president of Marketing, Interface Products. "With a robust set of features including a programmable fractional baud rate generator with prescaler, 16-byte, 32-byte, and 64-byte FIFO choices, and low voltage operating levels the series offers customers a wide variety of design options."

Fifth UART Launch in 2006

The XR16M and XR68M series marks Exar's fifth UART launch in 2006. In June of 2006, Exar launched the 16Mbps, low voltage XR16V2x5x series; in April 2006, Exar released an industry-first UART and RS-232 combination, the XR19L2xx series; in February 2006, was another industry-first launch with the XR17V252 a dual-channel 66MHz PCI 3.0 compliant UART; lastly, in January 2006, the Company introduced the high performance XR16V798.

"The XR16M and XR68M series further extends Exar's presence in sophisticated consumer and networking applications where support for faster data transmission speeds at very low voltage levels is required," said Rakesh Bhatia, strategic marketing manager, Interface Products. "The M generation of UARTs allows Exar to penetrate deeper into the communications markets and specifically in newer applications such as smart phones and handheld industrial devices."

Series Details

Composed of six different devices, the XR16M and XR68M series includes the XR16M2550, XR16M2551, XR16M2650, XR16M2651, XR16M752 and XR68M752. All the devices share a common set of features including a fractional baud rate generator, automatic sleep mode, automatic hardware and software flow controls, a wireless infrared encoder/decoder and selectable TX and RX FIFO trigger levels. The series is compliant with both the Intel and Motorola bus interface. The XR16M2550/51 series are 16-byte FIFO devices; the XR16M2650/51 series are 32-byte FIFO devices, and the XR16M752 and XR68M752 are 64-byte FIFO devices. The XR16M2551 and XR16M2651 have an additional PowerSave mode which reduces the sleep current to a minimum during sleep modes.

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, XP and Linux. With the availability of software drivers and Exar's application support hot line, UART customers can greatly accelerate their product development cycle.

Packages, Prices, Availability and Additional Information

The XR16M2550, XR16M2551, XR16M2650, XR16M2651, XR16M752 and XR68M752 are all available in 48-pin TQFP, and 32-pin QFN packages. All six devices are available now, operate over the industrial temperature range, and in 1,000 piece quantities are priced in the mid-$3.00 range. Additional information on all these new devices and other UART products can be found at http://www.exar.com/area.php?areaID=3 .

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

About Exar

Exar Corporation, celebrating its 20th year on NASDAQ, designs, develops and markets high-performance, 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: http://www.exar.com/ .