Toshiba Targets Car-Audio Market With Launch of World's First Class-KB Audio Power Amplifier Based on BiCD Technology

Offers High-Efficiency Linear Power and Low Heat Dissipation With Uncompromised High Fidelity for the Most Demanding Car-Audio Applications

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 31 -- Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)* today announced the introduction of the world's first Class-KB audio power amplifier based on bipolar, complementary metal oxide semiconductor and double-diffused metal oxide semiconductor (BiCD) technology. Designated TB2905HQ, the new audio power amplifier joins a growing family of BiCD power amplifiers engineered for demanding car-audio applications, including CD, DVD and navigation applications. TB2905HQ incorporates four bridge-tied load (BTL) amplifier channels and its many built-in functions include standby switching, muting, offset and clipping detection, and various protective circuits.

"Toshiba Corporation, a leader in automotive electronics solutions, developed its proprietary Class-KB high-efficiency amplifier architecture for car electronics to overcome the serious shortcomings of competing high-efficiency solutions. Class-KB completely eliminates the switching noise or electromagnetic interference associated with digital or switched analog amplifier designs. TB2905HQ, the first Class-KB amplifier based on BiCD technology, is a linear analog amplifier that provides high efficiency with excellent fidelity and is another advance in Toshiba's growing product offering for the car-audio market," said David Cruikshank, business development manager in the ASSP Business Unit at TAEC. "With uncompromised audio fidelity and high efficiency, TB2905HQ supports the current automotive trend of rapidly proliferating entertainment and infotainment systems contained in ever smaller electronics enclosures."

  Technical features include the following:
   -- High output power with JEITA maximum power of 47 watts x 4 BTL
      amplifier channels at 4 ohms and 14.4 volts

   -- High performance at 2 ohms with typical power of 55 watts x 4 BTL
      amplifier channels at 14.4 volts and 10 percent total harmonic
      distortion

   -- Low distortion ratio with total harmonic distortion of 0.03 percent
      typical at 4 ohms, 13.2 volts, and 2 watts of output power

   -- Low standby current of 2uA typically

   -- Built-in standby switching and muting functions

   -- Built-in selectable offset and clipping detection

   -- Protective circuitry, including thermal shutdown, shorting of output
      terminal and overvoltage

   -- Operating voltage of 9 to 18 volts

   -- Housed in a Lead(Pb)-Free(1) SPP-25 package that is pin compatible
      with many Toshiba car amplifiers

  About the Class-KB Architecture

The Class-KB (keyed bridge-tied load) architecture is a proprietary Toshiba architecture that offers high efficiency and low heat dissipation with uncompromised audio quality. Class-KB employs a linear amplifier design rather than a switched analog or digital type and thus completely eliminates the switching noise found in other designs such as the Class-D architecture. Power consumption and heat generation is half that of conventional Class-AB amplifiers under normal driving conditions (when output power is one to four watts). Low heat generation makes it possible to design a smaller heat sink and maintain a lower internal temperature in car audio product enclosures.

Pricing and Availability

Samples and production quantities of TB2905HQ are available now. Current pricing is $5.00 each in 10,000-piece quantities.

About Toshiba Automotive Semiconductor Solutions

Toshiba is a leading provider of semiconductor solutions to the automotive industry and ranks among the top ten semiconductor suppliers worldwide (source: Gartner Dataquest, April 2005). Its products enable the automobile to become an integral part of the owner's digital world. Combining dedicated automotive expertise with Toshiba consumer and networking knowledge creates high-quality, leading-edge solutions that meet the needs of worldwide automobile manufacturers. Through engineering innovation, new products are being developed and deployed in the automotive sectors of entertainment/information, body/chassis and safety/security. In each sector, solutions are offered that deliver the highest levels of integration, increased functionality and proven quality. Whether it's CD-MP3 chips that support popular compression and sound field formats, RF transceivers/receivers with the industry's best sensitivity, high-fidelity audio power amplifiers or integrated RISC and CISC processors, Toshiba system-level solutions reduce costs, design cycles and enhance reliability. For more information, please visit: automotive.toshiba.com.

*About TAEC

Combining quality and flexibility with design engineering expertise, TAEC brings a breadth of advanced, next-generation technologies to its customers. This broad offering includes memory and flash memory-based storage solutions, a broad range of discrete devices, displays, medical tubes, ASICs, custom SOCs, microprocessors, microcontrollers and wireless components for the computing, wireless, networking, automotive and digital consumer markets.

TAEC is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba), Japan's second largest semiconductor manufacturer and the world's ninth largest integrated manufacturer of electric and electronic equipment. In almost 130 years of operation, Toshiba has recorded numerous firsts and made many valuable contributions to technology and society. For additional company and product information, please visit TAEC's website at chips.toshiba.com. For technical inquiries, please e-mail Tech.Questions@taec.toshiba.com.

(1)Lead(Pb)-Free

Toshiba defines "Lead(Pb)-Free" in accordance with current industry standards as no more than 0.1 percent lead(Pb) by weight in homogenous materials. This does not mean that Toshiba products that are labeled "Lead(Pb)-Free" are entirely free of lead(Pb).