SANTA CLARA, CA -- March 9, 2011 – Kilopass Technology Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor logic non-volatile memory (NVM) intellectual property (IP), and Vimicro International Corporation (NASDAQ:VIMC – News), a leading multimedia semiconductor and solution provider that designs advanced mixed-signal multimedia products and solutions, today announced that Vimicro is using Kilopass NVM IP in a line of notebook PC-camera processors. The Kilopass NVM is ideal for firmware storage and allows developers a flexible update path while supporting Vimicro’s high-performance requirements.
Vimicro’s PC-camera solution used by Tier-1 global notebook original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) features low-power consumption and high performance, including HD-quality image processing and best-in-class system flexibility. By deploying a system-level integration approach, Vimicro reduces overall product costs while delivering industry-leading performance features for the notebook marketplace. The Kilopass NVM IP is a field-programmable solution, enabling flexible and custom firmware updates, shorter time to market, and a significantly reduced bill of materials (BOM).
John Fan, general manager of Product Lines at Vimicro, commented, “By utilizing Kilopass technology, we are able to design cost effective, market-leading PC-camera processors with flexible upgradeability. Combined with Vimicro’s innovative Firmware Patch technology, Kilopass NVM IP provides Vimicro customers the ability to easily upgrade firmware without a requirement for external memory modules.â€
“We are pleased Vimicro has chosen Kilopass’ NVM solution for next-generation PC-camera products,†said Kilopass CEO Charlie Cheng. “This technology supports the aggressive performance and power requirements of Vimicro’s products while reducing BOM cost and delivering maximum usability to their end customers.â€
Kilopass’ 2T one-time programmable (OTP) technology can be implemented in standard CMOS without additional masks or processing steps and is available from 180nm down to 40-nanometer (nm) process nodes, with 28nm available in the second quarter of 2011. Extremely dense and reliable, Kilopass’ OTP technology has been used in a wide variety of applications including digital trimming, calibration, security key and code storage. With the recently announced Gusto™ family of single instance 512kbit, 1Mbit, 2Mbit and 4Mbit OTP macros, Kilopass’ continues to lead the embedded NVM market with innovative, cost-conscious solutions.
About Vimicro International Corporation
Vimicro International Corporation is a leading multimedia semiconductor and solution provider that designs, develops and markets mixed-signal semiconductor products and system-level solutions that enable multimedia capabilities in a variety of products for the consumer electronics and communications markets. Vimicro is also expanding business into the surveillance market with system-level solutions and semiconductor products. Vimicro’s ADSs, each of which represents four ordinary shares, are currently trading on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol “VIMC.â€
About Kilopass
Kilopass Technology, Inc., a leading supplier of embedded NVM intellectual property, leverages standard logic CMOS processes to deliver one-time programmable (OTP) memory. With 57 patents granted or pending and more than 800,000 wafers shipped from a dozen foundries and Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDM), Kilopass has more than 90 customers in applications ranging from storage of firmware and security codes to calibration data and other application-critical information. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information, please visit www.kilopass.com or email info@kilopass.com.