STMicroelectronics Passes Shipment Milestone for Single-Chip Car Radio Tuner IC

STMicroelectronics Passes Shipment Milestone for Single-Chip Car Radio Tuner IC

ST reaffirms leadership in analog AM/FM car radio market with shipments of 15 million tuner ICs in less than two years

GENEVA, July 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), a world leader in automotive semiconductors, today announced it has shipped more than 15 million units of its TDA7540 high-performance single-chip tuner IC used in analog AM/FM car radio applications, reaffirming its position as one of the leading players in automotive entertainment. ST's broad portfolio of silicon chips for analog and digital car radios ensures the delivery of outstanding reception under both normal and difficult reception conditions as well as producing high-quality audio for Hi-Fi sound from all loudspeakers.

Launched less than two years ago, the TDA7540 AM/FM analog tuner IC reached high-volume production in a remarkably short time, led by strong demand from leading automotive OEMs and broad success in the automotive aftermarket, largely due to the ICs excellent performance/cost ratio.

Analog AM/FM radios still comprise the majority of car radios on the market today, even with the rapid growth of digital broadcast radio, in which ST is the world leader, and also the emergence of hybrid analog/digital AM/FM broadcast technologies, in which ST is also a strong presence, such as DRM(TM) (Digital Radio Mondiale) and HD Radio. The analog AM/FM market is still very strong worldwide with robust growth widely predicted in countries such as China, and also in low-to-medium-end car radio applications in geographies with more developed automotive markets, such as the US and Europe.

"Broadcast audio listening will remain central to automotive entertainment systems, despite the growth in 'hot' digital music playback features including compressible format CD, MP3 connectivity and Bluetooth audio streaming," said Chris Webber, VP Automotive Practice at market analyst company, Strategy Analytics. "Over 55% of in-car entertainment time is still spent listening to the radio. Head-unit designers need high-performance tuner solutions to meet consumers growing quality audio expectations. With total annual worldwide shipments for automotive audio tuners of around 100 million units a year, this will continue to be a very strong market for semiconductor vendors."

"The outstanding penetration and quick success of the TDA7540 radio tuner IC are demonstrations of ST's leadership, expertise and reputation in the automotive market," said Domenico Rossi, General Manager of ST's Car Radio and Multimedia Division. "ST is one of the very few players in this market that can offer high-performance and cost-effective car radio IC solutions, based on robust mixed-signal silicon technology, experience in the automotive market, and know-how developed by working in close partnership with leading car radio manufacturers."

Manufactured in ST's mixed-signal BiCMOS (Bipolar-CMOS) technology, the TDA7540 integrates several tuning functions, which require a minimum of external components. ST's mixed-signal process technologies enable a range of high-performance and low-cost solutions, such as introductory-level AM/FM receivers and playback mechanisms, as well as robust and powerful integrated amplifiers for driving multiple speakers from a single IC.

The TDA7540 comprises a mixer, IF (Intermediate Frequency) amplifier, demodulator for AM and FM, a stereo decoder, quality detection, ISS (Intelligent Selectivity Systems) filter, and PLL (Phase-Locked-Loop) synthesizer with IF counter. Available in a TQFP80 packages, the TDA7540 is priced at $3 in 10,000 piece quantities.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2006, the Company's net revenues were $9.85 billion and net earnings were $782 million. Further information on ST can be found at http://www.st.com/.

Source: STMicroelectronics

CONTACT: Michael Markowitz of STMicroelectronics, +1-212-821-8959, or
michael.markowitz@st.com

Web site:

http://www.st.com/

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