Getting your systems to market faster—it's our job

Each new IC generation that we develop is usually more highly integrated than the previous. So a new IC typically offers more features and functionality, and thus should simplify the design of the final system. But we all know that those new features and enhanced functionality add complexity. Thus evaluating a new chip for your application becomes harder as device complexity increases.

In past years a typical evaluation scenario involved inserting the IC into a breadboard and connecting a few wires to make the chip "wiggle." However, today that scenario is very different. Many mixed-signal chips now contain registers or other digital interfaces that require some form of serial interface so that various control parameters can be downloaded to the chip from a host computer. Additionally, some functions on the chip can be so specialized that it is difficult to quickly breadboard a test circuit to exercise the chip. Furthermore, at high operating frequencies considerable attention must be paid to the board layout so that performance is not compromised. This extra time and effort can mount up and quickly impact a tight product-development schedule.

We know that your time is critical when evaluating a new product. To make the best use of your time, we offer a broad range of evaluation kits. These EV kits are inexpensive tools that let you evaluate the functionality of the chip, apply inputs and control functions, and view the results—all in a matter of a few hours, not days or weeks.

Of course, not all chips are simple to set up, and for those devices we offer a system-level evaluation solution. For example, we build full systems on a board for our MAXQ® microcontroller family and some of those EV kits even include evaluation installations of the software development tools. These tools include a free assembly project-development environment (MAX-IDE), the Rowley Crossworks IDE, and the IAR Embedded Workbench® assembly tool, plus emulators to help you jumpstart your program development.

And we don't stop with system-level evaluation solutions. We go a step further and offer reference designs that are complete system solutions to showcase how chips really perform. Reference designs cover a broad swath of applications, including our new MG2580 H.264 codec in an HD-resolution IP camera; proprietary 1-Wire® solutions for sensing, data collection, and identification; automotive lighting and telematics systems; battery management, like a design that derives 5V and 3.3V supplies from a USB port; microcontroller designs like using the MAXQ3222 as a digital thermostat or using the MAXQ314 for single-phase electric power monitoring; digital TV terrestrial tuners; and many other solutions.

We augment these EV kits, software tools, and reference designs with one of the industry's largest collections of application notes and strong in-house and field applications support teams. All our focus is on helping you get your design to market.

We are always open to new ideas, so let us know what else we can do to help you. Drop me a note at .

Respectfully,