New TrueStore™ read-channel ICs address key performance requirements for SoCs aimed at a broad range of hard disk drive applications
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR.A, AGR.B) today announced that it has shipped more than 100 million systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) for storage hard disk drives, an industry first. The development of SoCs, which integrate multiple core chip functions on a single silicon device, is a key technology trend in the storage market aimed at delivering superior performance and high data reliability for hard disk drives (HDDs) deployed in desktop, mobile and consumer electronic devices.
In addition, Agere has developed its next generation of TrueStore™ read-channel integrated circuits (ICs), with segment-specific versions that target the unique performance and power requirements for desktop and mobile HDD markets and serve as the core technology for its industry-leading SoCs. These chips provide the essential technology to move to the next levels of areal density, including 120-Gigabyte-per-platter desktop drives and 80-Gigabyte-per-platter mobile drives, by delivering industry-leading signal integrity and innovative design features.
Hard disk drive ICs control the transfer, manipulation, recording and retrieval of data in storage devices. Systems-on-a-chip solutions incorporate multiple drive functions - including read-channel technology, an embedded microprocessor, memory and hard disk controller - into a single integrated device to simplify drive design and ease manufacturing without increasing drive costs. Agere is the world leader in hard disk drive IC solutions with a 63 percent market share in storage SoCs, according to industry analyst firm IDC.* Agere was the first company to deliver SoCs to the market in volume, and its read-channel IP is in more than 50 percent of HDDs shipping today.
"Reaching this system-on-a-chip shipment milestone is clear evidence that Agere continues to lead the SoC evolution taking over the hard disk drive market," said Joe O'Hare, vice president of Agere's Storage division. "Our success with customers is driven by our continuous innovations in signal integrity, and Agere is committed to delivering unparalleled reliability and value in our read-channel and system-on-a-chip solutions."
Agere's new TrueStore RC6600 and RC6600LP read-channels provide the design capabilities needed specifically for high-performance desktop, mobile and consumer electronics drives. The RC6600 targets HDDs for desktop PCs, personal video recorders, game consoles and other consumer applications with data rates of up to 1.2 gigabits-per-second, delivering high storage capacity and speed for 3.5-inch drives. The RC6600LP meets the requirements for low power consumption in storage devices used in portable applications, such as notebook PCs, MP3 players, handheld personal digital assistants, and digital still and video cameras. Designed for compact 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch mobile drives, this read-channel offers multiple power modes that significantly reduce battery drain by up to 50 percent over previous generation Agere solutions.
Read-channels are the essential component to ensure the accuracy of all the data read from or written to a disk drive, and offer numerous benefits for hard disk developers to improve capacity, ensure signal integrity and lower manufacturing costs:
Continued innovations in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) performance. Agere's read-channels enhance a drive's ability to detect extremely weak signals under very noisy conditions without compromising signal integrity and drive performance. Agere's new ICs offer an on-chip self-adaptation scheme in which the channel learns the distinct noise statistics for different write patterns and can cancel media and electronic noise during normal data read-back. Using this technique, the read-channels can provide a 0.5- to 1.0-decibel improvement over other noise-predictive methods.
Servo enhancements. Hard disk drive servo systems guide the drive's heads across a storage platter to new data tracks during seek operations. Servo enhancements in Agere's new read-channels can reduce servo errors during seeks by a factor of ten. This order of magnitude improvement in servo performance enables faster seeks and tighter track pitch, giving HDD designers the ability to pack even more data on a disk drive platter.
Improvements in perpendicular recording support. Perpendicular recording will significantly increase storage capacity for data-hungry applications -- such as digital multimedia and advanced computer operating systems - as areal densities expand beyond 200 gigabits-per-square-inch in future generations of disk drives. Agere's read-channels were the first in the industry to support this revolutionary recording technique, and the RC6600 series delivers 10 times the SNR improvement of previous generation Agere solutions.
High-performance process technology and packaging. These read-channels are manufactured using the industry-standard 130-nanometer complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process technology, allowing Agere to add more signal processing capabilities while maintaining small chip sizes and low power consumption. Agere's read-channels are available as discrete devices in low-cost, thermally enhanced 56- and 68-pin MLCC packages, and as IP cores for use in HDD SoCs.
Engineering samples of Agere's RC6600 and RC6600LP read-channels will be shipped to key customers in October, with production quantities expected in early 2004.
For more information, customers may visit Agere's Web site at www.agere.com or contact one of Agere's regional sales offices. Customers in the U.S. may also call the Agere Systems Customer Response Center at 1-800-372-2447. Customers in Canada may call 1-800-553-2448. Customers outside those countries may call 1-610-712-4323. Fax inquiries may be directed to 1-610-712-4106, or e-mail queries to docmaster@agere.com. Written inquiries should be sent to Agere Systems, Room 10A-301C, 1110 American Parkway NE, Lehigh Valley Central Campus, Allentown, PA, 18109, USA.
Agere Systems is a premier provider of advanced integrated circuit solutions for wireless data, high-density storage and multiservice networking applications. Agere's wireless data portfolio enables seamless network access and Internet connectivity through its GPRS offering for data-capable cellular phones, as well as Wi-Fi/802.11 solutions for wireless LANs and computing applications. The company is the market leader in providing integrated circuits for the hard disk drive market, with number one positions in sales of system-on-a-chip solutions and preamplifiers. Agere also provides custom and standard multiservice networking solutions to move information across wired, wireless and enterprise networks.
Agere's customers include the leading PC manufacturers, wireless terminal providers, network equipment suppliers and hard-disk drive providers. More information about Agere Systems is available from its web site at
http:/www.agere.com.
Source: Agere Systems
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