Microchip's PIC(R) Microcontrollers With nanoWatt XLP Gain Global Industry Recognition as the World's Leading Low-Power Technology

XLP Technology Wins Honors From Europe's Elektra Awards, America's Wireless Design & Development Technology Awards, and EDN China's Innovation Awards

CHANDLER, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced that its PIC^(R) microcontrollers with nanoWatt XLP eXtreme Low Power Technology have won three global honors. In Europe, XLP received the prestigious 2009 Elektra Award in the Semiconductor Product of the Year category. In the U.S., Microchip's XLP Technology was selected by Wireless Design & Development Magazine for the May 2009 Editor's Choice Technology Award. In Asia, XLP received a "Leading Product Award" in the Microprocessor and DSP category, from the 2009 EDN China Innovation Awards.

Through innovative power-saving techniques, implemented using extreme low power methodologies, Microchip has successfully developed a portfolio of PIC microcontrollers that offer the world's lowest sleep currents of down to 20 nA. This technology meets the demand for eXtreme Low Power by enabling battery life of up to 20 years.

"Since the introduction of our PIC microcontrollers with XLP, there has been an overwhelmingly positive response from customers around the world who have been able to lower their power budgets substantially over competing MCUs," said Steve Sanghi, Microchip president and CEO. "We are honored by these international awards, which validate what thousands of customers have already discovered--that Microchip offers the world's lowest power microcontrollers."

All PIC microcontrollers are supported by Microchip's world-class development tools, including the free MPLAB^(R) IDE, the MPLAB REAL ICE(TM) emulation system, the MPLAB ICD 3 in-circuit debugger, the PICkit(TM) 3 low-cost debugger/programmer and Microchip's free C compilers. These tools are available today at http://www.microchip.com/get/01NN.

For additional information, contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor, or visit Microchip's Web site at http://www.microchip.com/get/7TNB.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at http://www.microchip.com/get/50QV.

Note: The Microchip name and logo, PIC, and MPLAB are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. REAL ICE, and PICkit are trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.

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    Source: Microchip Technology Inc.

Released December 3, 2009