Epson Licenses Sarnoff's TakeCharge ESD Design IP For High-Voltage Driver ICs Used In LCD Panels

Epson Expects 50% Smaller Chip I/O Areas, Faster Time-To-Market

PRINCETON, NJ, USA/GISTEL, BELGIUM/TOKYO, JAPAN, June 8, 2005 - Sarnoff Europe (www.sarnoffeurope.com) and Seiko Epson Corporation (www.epson.co.jp/e) today jointly announced that the Epson Semiconductor Operations Division has licensed Sarnoff Corporation's TakeCharge® on-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) design IP portfolio. Epson will use TakeCharge for its high-voltage CMOS (HV-CMOS) integrated circuits, which are used as drivers for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels.

Epson is the world market leader for LCD driver ICs. The company will use TakeCharge to achieve a 50% reduction in chip I/O area while maintaining robust ESD protection with the technology's "first-time-right" design capabilities.

"By utilizing TakeCharge in designing the I/O area of our HV-CMOS devices, we will be able to offer new ICs with improved capabilities even faster than before," said Yoshiyuki Miyayama, General Manager of the IC Design Technology Department in Epson's Semiconductor Operations Division. "We expect to achieve a substantial reduction of the on-chip I/O area, and the first-time-right feature means we can reduce our costs by saving time in engineering, and eliminating the need for additional masks."

According to Koen Verhaege, Senior Director of Sarnoff's Integrated Circuit Systems & Services Business Unit and Executive Director of Sarnoff Europe, TakeCharge has been licensed to leading semiconductor companies in Japan and around the world.

"We are especially gratified that an industry leader such as Epson has chosen our technology for its HV-CMOS design projects," said Verhaege. "High-voltage chips are a very promising field, and we believe TakeCharge can make a significant contribution there."

TakeCharge® has been silicon proven in advanced processes down to 65nm CMOS including SOI. In addition to Epson, licensees include Toshiba, Sony, OKI, JRC, Hynix, Infineon, Altera, PMC-Sierra, Renesas, Ricoh, Matsushita, and Scintera.

Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, projectors and LCDs. With an innovative and creative culture, Epson is dedicated to exceeding the vision and expectations of customers worldwide with products known for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency.

Epson is a network of 85,647 employees in 115 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Group had consolidated sales of 1479.7 billion yen in fiscal 2004.

About Sarnoff

Sarnoff Corporation (www.sarnoff.com) produces innovations in electronic, biomedical and information technology that generate successful new products and services for clients worldwide. Founded in 1942 as RCA Laboratories, it develops breakthroughs in ICs, lasers, and imagers; drug discovery, manufacture and delivery; digital TV and video for security, surveillance, and entertainment; high-performance networking; and wireless communications. Its history includes the development of color TV, the liquid-crystal display, and the disposable hearing aid, and a leadership role in creating the new U.S. digital and HDTV standard. Sarnoff also founds new companies to bring its technologies to market. It is a subsidiary of SRI International.

About Sarnoff Europe

Sarnoff Europe (www.sarnoffeurope.com) located in Gistel, Belgium, is a subsidiary company of Sarnoff Corporation. Sarnoff Europe assumes worldwide responsibility for the development and commercialization of the TakeCharge® on-chip ESD protection IP portfolio.