National Semiconductor's WEBENCH FPGA Power Architect Online Design Tool Named Finalist in EDN Magazine's Innovation Awards Competition

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM) today announced that its WEBENCH® FPGA Power Architect was named a finalist in EDN's 21st annual Innovation Awards competition in the Software Category. WEBENCH FPGA Power Architect is the industry's first online design tool to model and optimize power supplies for FPGAs in minutes. 

Modern power supply systems, including advanced FPGAs, are complex to design, often incorporating multiple unique loads to drive precisely specified voltages. In addition to the required voltages and currents, each load may have specific limitations for ripple, noise filtering, synchronization and separation of supplies, as well as start up definitions (soft start). The power supply designs delivered by WEBENCH incorporate comprehensive power requirements published by the FPGA manufacturers, giving the designer confidence that their power supplies will meet these constraints while saving critical time in the process. Watch a video demonstration at http://bit.ly/videoFPGA.

Over its lifetime of more than 50 years, EDN has witnessed many distinguished achievements. In 1990, EDN embarked on a special mission to honor the most innovative technological advancements—and the designers who invent them. The EDN Innovation Awards program is now in its 21st year and proudly continues its tradition of recognizing rich talent in our industry in several categories. EDN's worldwide audience of electronic engineers and engineering managers are invited to cast online ballots at www.edn.com/innovation21 through March 31. EDN's editorial advisory board and editorial staff will determine the ultimate winners for announcement at an awards ceremony on May 2 in San Jose, Calif.

"We are honored that EDN Magazine has nominated National's WEBENCH FPGA Power Architect as a finalist in this competition," said Phil Gibson, vice president of Marketing and Web Operations at National Semiconductor. "WEBENCH FPGA Power Architect is easy to use and allows system designers to deliver mistake-free power supply designs optimized for performance, size and cost in minutes.  We are excited that it is being recognized by the engineering community."

About National Semiconductor

National Semiconductor is a leader in power management technology. Known for its easy-to-use analog integrated circuits and world-class supply chain, National's high-performance analog products enable its customers' systems to be more energy efficient. Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., National reported sales of $1.42 billion for fiscal 2010. Additional information is available at www.national.com.

National Semiconductor and WEBENCH are registered trademarks of National Semiconductor Corporation.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE National Semiconductor Corp.