November 9, 2004

Discera Demos First Integrated 1.6GHz Tunable Oscillator Powered by Unique Miniaturization Technology

YOKOHAMA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 9, 2004--Discera, Inc., an innovative developer of ultra-miniaturized components for radio frequency (RF) and analog/mixed signal applications, today demonstrated prototypes of a 1.6 Gigahertz tunable oscillator powered by its micron-scale PureSilicon™ Resonator, proprietary RF/analog circuitry, and packaging technologies. Discera technologies enable the development of the world's smallest packaged oscillators, leapfrogging standard oscillator sizes by a factor of as much as 10.

The oscillator is the first example of a commercial grade application built around Discera's miniature silicon components, which can slash board space while offering the higher levels of integration demanded for Gigahertz-range RF and clock applications. The product demonstration is part of Discera's strategy to address ongoing demand for miniaturization and integration of frequency generation functions for mobile devices.

Discera received its second round of funding in February, and has been validating its technology for miniaturization of a range of applications. Besides the tunable oscillator, Discera's products offers significant benefits for phase-locked loops (PLLs) and other frequency synthesizer-based applications that typically operate in the Gigahertz range. The company is targeting cellular handset, digital camera, portable DVD player, MP3 player, wireless sensor, RFID, PDA, mini disk-drive, portable game, medical, and industrial applications.

"Quartz crystal-based solutions have been the only viable solution on the market for clocking and quartz doesn't offer any hope of integration," said Scott Smyser, Director of Wireless and Networking Research, iSuppli, an El Segundo, California-based market research firm. "Discera has proven that MEMS offers an alternative to quartz that offers the potential for the integration of the clock that designers are looking for."

"The mobile electronics industry and in particular the development of 3G phones is driven by reduction of component count and size, increased performance and added functionality," said Didier Lacroix, president and CEO of Discera, Inc. "This demonstration of a commercially-oriented product in the GHz range, delivering superior performance, directly shows how Discera plans on helping companies address the stringent 3G and other mobile application requirements."

Discera's demonstration oscillator works at 3Volts and is tunable between 1.55GHz and 1.63GHz. Across that frequency range, the Discera oscillator exhibits an RMS jitter of less than 2.1pS. The oscillator shows a temperature sensitivity of +/-3ppm across a temperature range of -40 degrees to +85 degrees.

A demonstration of the tunable oscillator and its performance will be given at the M-RF booth at the MWE 2004 Conference in Yokohama, Japan, November 10-12. Prototypes are available to qualified development partners. First commercial parts are slated for the second half of 2005.

About Discera

Discera is a fabless system semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets ultra-miniaturized, resonator-based components for advanced RF and analog/mixed-signal applications. Discera develops miniaturized clock, PLL, and other frequency synthesizer products for mobile electronics applications through a unique integration of PureSilicon resonators and advanced RF/mixed-signal circuitry in a proven, cost-effective package. Discera was started in Ann Arbor, Michigan and was co-founded by Dr. Clark Nguyen, professor at the University of Michigan, and Rick Snyder, currently CEO of Ardesta, a venture capital company. Discera has built an extensive portfolio of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for its miniaturization technology. Discera was the recipient of one of the "Top Products of 2003 Award" presented by the Microwave & RF publishers as well as the recipient of a grant from the prestigious NIST/ATP program. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California. Its investors include Ardesta, 3i, Partech, and Qualcomm Ventures.